Joint media release
Leader of the Opposition, Hon Peter Dutton MP
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Hon Sussan Ley MP
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will deliver a once in a generation reform to our schools by building a new national network of Australian Technical Colleges.
Australian Technical Colleges are specialist skills schools for years 10-12 or 11-12. Students are enrolled in a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship as well as academic and business courses that lead to a Year 12 certificate.
We will invest $260 million to deliver 12 Australian Technical Colleges across our first term as the first step in transforming our education system.
A new national network of Australian Technical Colleges is part of the Coalition’s Plan to Back Australia’s Skilled Workforce. Our plan also includes our commitment to return the apprentice and trainee pipeline to over 400,000; our $12,000 small and medium business apprentice and trainee wage support; and our $5,000 to $10,000 apprentice wage supplements through our Key Apprentice Program, to support apprentices with the costs of purchasing their tools, safety gear and other essential items.
Australian Technical Colleges will be rolled out across the country but initial commitments will be made in regions with skill shortages, high rates of youth unemployment or those with strategically significant industries.
We want young people to get the opportunity to get a head start on in-demand skills. These schools will give parents greater choice on the education which best suits their children, as well as help Australia secure the workforce we need to get our economy back on track.
In countries like France and Germany, up to 50 per cent of students take up critical skills pathways in schools, but just one per cent of Australian secondary school students take up a school-based apprenticeship.
Australian Technical Colleges will be a new pathway of choice for ambitious young Australians, fast tracking them into high-skilled and well-paying jobs. It will also help students who are disengaged or respond better to hands-on learning.
Under Labor, training numbers have collapsed. Labor promised to deliver “more apprentices and more trainees” yet have overseen a loss of 90,000 apprentices and trainees. Labor has spent over $1.5 billion on its Free TAFE program but we have seen the number of new starts in construction trade apprentices drop by 30 per cent. It is why we are building fewer homes.
Only the Coalition has a comprehensive plan to skill more Australians, build more homes and get Australia back on track.