The NT News understands up to 50 jobs and dozens of students could be affected by restructure

CHARLES Darwin University will soon announce major proposed changes to a key sector which the NT News understands could impact up to 50 jobs and dozens of students.

CHARLES Darwin University will soon announce major proposed changes to its Vocational Education and Training sector, which the NT News understands could affect up to 50 jobs.

In October last year the university initially announced it would restructure VET offerings, which proposed to axe 35 qualifications and 16 permanent staff.

This was part of larger changes to VET/Higher Education, however was put on hold and resumed earlier this year.

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An email to all staff revealed the university was in the final stages of preparations before announcing the proposed changes.

“Since then (restructure resumed) we have worked closely with the unions, staff and stakeholders to review the offerings and structure of our VET program,” it read.

“This has included two independent reports from Ernst & Young, and Drs Shanahan and Zoellener.

“External consultant, Samantha Patel, was also appointed in January as a transformation lead, working with a dedicated team to plan the way forward for better integration of Higher Education and VET across the university.

“Following the change in reporting lines, the heads of schools and college deans have been working with their teams to develop a body of work that will form the basis of a change proposal.

The NT News understands the changes could affect up to 50 jobs and as many as 200 students.

The next stages of the proposal include presenting it to university council, briefing the unions, and holding a three week consultation period.

“This work is not complete and in good faith, any change will follow the requirements of the Enterprise Agreement and proper notifications and consultation with unions and all staff,” the email read.

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“Importantly, college deans will meet individually with staff directly affected during the VET 1 change proposal before any all-staff or student announcements are made.

“We recognise the coming months will be a difficult period for staff and we undertake to communicate directly with affected staff at every step.

“This will be done in conjunction with detailed all-staff communication and consultation with unions.”