Labor wants 50/50 universities-vocational training split

Australia’s Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles is aiming to shepherd more school-leavers into vocational education and training, saying Australia should be aiming for a roughly 50/50 split with students going to university, and hinting at fresh incentives for state governments, writes Ronald Mizen for the Australian Financial Review.

That would mean pushing tens of thousands of prospective university students towards technical and further education (TAFE) and other vocational courses in coming years, in a bid to fill the major skills gaps that threaten the government’s push to boost home building, achieve net zero and revive manufacturing.

The informal goal is more ambitious on vocational education and training than the Australian Universities Accord final report, released in February, which recommended increasing the number of 25- to 34-year-olds with a tertiary level vocational or technical qualification to 40% by 2050.
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site