Labor pledges $9bn to boost graduate numbers

Federal Labor will spend nearly $9 billion in the next 10 years to cover an extra 200,000 university graduates over the decade.

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek in Canberra.

Federal Labor will spend nearly $9 billion in the next 10 years to cover an extra 200,000 univer­sity graduates over the decade to fulfil its promise to abolish the cap on bachelor degree numbers that the Turnbull government imposed in December.

Labor has also promised a boost to TAFE colleges, saying it will remove upfront fees for 25,000 students a year in key trade and vocational courses.

It has budgeted $473 million over the next 10 years for TAFE, including removing upfront fees for four years for a total of 100,000 students.

“These 100,000 upfront fee-free places mean that we will be able to ensure that those skills — bricklaying, pastry chef, hairdressing — come off the skills shortage list and that jobs are filled by young people getting a great education at TAFE, or older workers retraining for jobs that are relevant to them in their communities,” Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said yesterday.

The courses from which it would remove upfront fees will depend on discussions with states about ­labour needs.

Labor plans that 60,000 of the student places to have upfront fees removed will be at certificate and apprenticeship levels; the rest will be diploma and advanced diploma places.

Labor said its TAFE spending would include $100m to modernise TAFE facilities, 10,000 pre-apprenticeships for young people and 20,000 adult apprenticeships. It has shut out private colleges from its boost to vocational education, and says it will guarantee at least two out of three federally-funded training places will go to TAFE.

However, the private training sector educates three-quarters of vocational education students — some with government support — and its peak body yesterday warned of dangers in Labor’s new policy.

“There’s no question that TAFE does need support, but it's a significant limitation to policy to guarantee funding and essentially create a monopoly,” said Rod Camm, chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training.

The $9bn promise on university funding draws a clear distinction between Labor and the Turnbull government, which in December froze university course subsidies for each institution during this year and next at their nominal 2017 level, without inflation adjustment.

The government says from 2020 onwards when the freeze ends, funding increases to universities will be based on graduate outcomes and population increases.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham yesterday said Labor was “throwing money around like confetti” and making big promises without substance.