In a bid to address labor market shortages, more South Australians are enrolling in vocational education and training (VET) programs, according to recent data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
The Malinauskas Labor Government’s targeted investments have led to a 9.1% increase in VET program enrollments compared to the same period in 2022, exceeding the national average and ranking as the second-highest increase among all states and territories.
Key Areas of Enrollment
The top five course areas that students have enrolled in align with the state’s needs:
- Community Services
- Construction and Plumbing
- Electrotechnology
- Business Services
- Health
Notably, TAFE SA witnessed a 4% growth in enrollments compared to the previous year, marking the first enrollment increase in over four years, a testament to the Malinauskas Labor Government’s efforts to rebuild TAFE.
Apprenticeship and Traineeship Success
The positive trend extends to apprenticeships and traineeships, with data from NCVER showing increased commencements for a second consecutive quarter. This growth comes despite the conclusion of the Commonwealth Government’s COVID wage subsidy in June last year.
Trade commencements increased by 178% in the March 2023 quarter compared to September 2022, while non-trade commencements rose by 90%. Pleasingly, commencements now exceed pre-COVID levels by 32%, compared to the March quarter in 2019.
Government Investments
- The Malinauskas Labor Government’s substantial investments to address the national skills crisis and ensure a growing workforce pipeline include:
- Establishing five new Technical Colleges for students in years 10-12 to transition directly from school into professions such as builders, electricians, mechanics, and early childhood educators.
- Providing 12,500 fee-free TAFE places in collaboration with the Commonwealth Government, with an additional 15,000 places over the next three years.
- Extending the Group Training Organization Boost Program to support mature-age apprentices in starting and completing their courses.
- Allocating funding to the Motor Trades Association and Master Builders Association to increase apprentices in the automotive and building industries.
- Providing $10.2 million for a TAFE Regional Skills Development fund to offer more courses in rural and regional South Australia.
- Allocating $8.8 million to address skills shortages in areas like bricklaying, concreting, and cookery.
Restoring aged care, disability, and early childhood courses to TAFE SA’s metropolitan campuses, which were previously cut by the former government.Investing $9 million in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to train South Australians for in-demand jobs.The Malinauskas Labor Government has also taken a leadership role in a national project aimed at increasing completion rates, with further details to be released in the coming weeks. This project will guide future investments by all states and territories to enhance completion rates.