Election 2025: Peter Dutton channels John Howard in $260m plan to train high school tradies
Peter Dutton will pledge to build 12 new technical colleges under a $260m plan aimed at training high school students in trades.
Peter Dutton will pledge to build 12 new technical colleges under a $260m plan aimed at training more high school students in trades to accelerate new homes and support infrastructure, defence and nuclear energy projects.
As revealed by The Australian last year, the Opposition Leader will commit a first-term Coalition government to a dramatic overhaul of the education system geared around lifting apprentice and trainee completion rates.
Mr Dutton on Thursday will announce a John Howard-inspired May 3 election commitment to establish a network of Australian technical colleges in the battleground NSW Hunter Labor-held electorate of Paterson, which Meryl Swanson holds on a 2.6 per cent margin.
The Liberal leader, who is expected to announce an upgrade to the existing Hunter Trade College and promise to build an additional ATC in the Coalition target seat of Paterson, said “not enough students are taking up the skills we need to solve the urgent national challenges we face”.
In contrast to countries like Germany and France that have up to 50 per cent of school students taking up critical skills pathways, the Coalition warns that only about 20,000 out of 1.6 million Australian high school students are doing school-based apprenticeships or traineeships.
The ATC network, which consists of specialist schools for years 10-12 or 11-12, will initially be focused in regions with skills shortages, high rates of youth unemployment and boasting strategically significant industries.
The Coalition’s election commitments, which include the technical colleges, providing employers with $12,000 in support of wages for new apprentices and trainees, and handing eligible apprentices between $5000-$10,000, contrasts with Labor’s fee-free TAFE focus and $626.9m pledge to provide eligible apprentices up to $10,000 in staggered payments to lift completion rates. Mr Dutton, who will make further ATC commitments ahead of the election, said there would be at least one college in each state and the commonwealth would invest in the specialist schools in partnership with state and territory governments, industry and non-government organisations to fund capital and establishment costs. Ongoing financial support would be provided similar to school funding arrangements.
“I want to be the prime minister for home ownership and for housing affordability and accessibility. I also want to see more young Australians learn a trade, build a great career and contribute to our national success,” Mr Dutton said.
“Under Labor, we have lost 90,000 apprentices and trainees and we are determined to reverse that decline.
“Part of our plan will mean building the workforce we need to tackle the housing and construction challenges head-on.”
Mr Dutton said the ATC network would help “build more homes and infrastructure, and our efforts in areas like defence and nuclear energy”.
After the 2004 election, the Howard government established 28 ATCs in regions with serious skills shortages and high youth unemployment and promised to build 100 more training colleges during the 2007 election campaign. Under the Rudd and Gillard governments, Labor moved away from the ATC model and redirected funding into state-run TAFEs.
Under the ATC system, students enrolled in a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship, as well as IT, business and academic courses would achieve Year 12 certificates.
The new colleges will be built on both greenfield and existing sites but must be new schools or substantially new campuses. Defunct TAFE facilities could potentially be targeted for redevelopment.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, the Coalition spokeswoman for skills and training who devised the ATC plan, has argued that while TAFEs report completion rates of about 40 to 50 per cent, technical colleges would deliver higher completion rates of 80 to 90 per cent.
Ms Ley said the ATC network was a “once-in-a-generation reform to our schools”.
“They will give young people the opportunity to get a headstart on in-demand skills. We have always rejected the idea that if you haven’t made it to university then you haven’t made it in life – and that principle underpins this significant announcement,” Ms Ley said.
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