Blog archive
My TAFE fees jumped AND I lost my concession rate
I'm currently completing my Advanced Diploma in Marketing at RMIT in Melbourne. This past semester gone my fees were $979 for the semester, after a $170 carry-over from the previous year, as I had been overcharged. Therefore, my fees totalled $1,149 - $200 more expensive than last year.
In addition to the increased cost of a TAFE education the discount provided to those students with a healthcare card was abolished. This meant that the students, like myself, that were recognised by the government as needing financial support were no longer able to receive a discount on their TAFE fees.
I have enrolled in this course as an ulterior path to get into university, which is a common path students take. University students have the option of having a commonwealth funded place in order to undertake their studies. However, there is no such system for TAFE students. I believe my education is just as important and valid as those going straight into a university course, and I find it unfair that we should not gain equivalent support that university students have access to.
Although I understand that there is a significant difference in the cost of a university education as opposed to TAFE, I still feel that expecting full-time TAFE students - in my situation studying 22 hours a week - to fund their education as well as their basic lifestyle to be unreasonable.
more...
Back it up: turn around TAFE fee hikes
![tafe4all resized [tafe4all resized.jpg]](pics/tafe4all_resized.jpg "tafe4all resized [tafe4all resized.jpg]")
Your chance to ask the questions
If you're on the TAFE4All website it's because you care about equal and fair access to public education – for ALL.
The Australian Education Union is holding three public forums to highlight public education as a crucial issue in the federal election.
Each forum will be addressed by AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos and candidates from the Labor, Liberal and Green parties. There will also be time for Q&A.
The forums are open to all members of the community and children are welcome. Forums run from 4.30–6.00pm.
- August 3: Ringwood Secondary College, Bedford Road, Ringwood. For more information or to RSVP contact Julie Lynch at julie.lynch@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 9417 2822.
- August 4: Grovedale Primary School Multi-Purpose Room, 143 Bailey St, Grovedale. RSVP by July 30 to Denise Civelli at denise.civelli@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 5222 6633.
- August 5: The Lakes South Morang P-9 School, Administration Building, 80 Jardier Terrace, South Morang. RSVP by July 30 to Ann Dettenberg at ann.dettenberg@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 9417 2822.
The AEU's Public Education Campaign is based on one fact: public schools have a vital role in ensuring every child gets a high quality education.
But they are under-resourced. Teachers and parents are joining together to convince the Federal Government to invest more in our public schools.
more...TAFE changes ill-advised
I am a secondary teacher at public school in outer eastern Melbourne. Many of the students at my school are not from wealthy backgrounds, and our school offers a number of VET-based courses as part of its senior school subjects.
I worry that our students are undertaking a subject such as VET Music or VET IT as a sixth subject at VCE without understanding how this might affect them in the future. If after they are 20 years old they decide they need to undertake vocationally orientated education, they will face a massively increased level of fees due to the fact they already have a Certificate 1 or 2 level qualification after doing the VET subjects back in high school.
The government has made virtually no effort to educate staff or students about the impacts of these changes and instead has sought to cover up or play down the impact this will have on the future options of students, particularly those from poorer backgrounds.
On a secondary note, I am personally affected by these changes. If I wanted to get my Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment to allow me to teach outside of schools, I would now face fees of thousands of dollars. This is a path many teachers have taken before me which I am now unlikely to pursue. This is a Certificate that I am meant to obtain if I teach VET subjects at school.
I believe that the impact of the TAFE changes has been ill thought through in relation to effects on both the teaching and the undertaking of VET subjects in secondary schools.
I also believe that the changes are very ill-advised in that they undermine our proud record of publicly funded TAFEs in Victoria.
more...Thousands of dollars for a Diploma of Community Welfare - who is that helping?
I enrolled for a Diploma of Community Welfare and was told that the course would cost me around $200.
After finally getting the invoice, I was informed that I would have to pay around $13,000 per year.
I was lucky enough to receive the government discount with having no previous education; however, I was still left with $2,148 to pay within days when I was of the knowledge that I would only have to pay $200.
I am a single mother looking to be educated so that I can return to work with qualifications and improve my current status for the benefit of me, my children and the government - ie by getting off welfare! I am now in debt and not eligible for VET FEE help either.
I am doing all I can to reskill and gain employment, however I do not have a disposable income and I am going to struggle to find the money for my second year. Please reverse this hike in fees and make TAFE accessible! – to all and especially us single mothers who are raising our children on fresh air.
more...Who decided career planning was a linear progression?
I'm very concerned about the increase in students deferring after Year 12 because they need to work to survive to pay for their education and mounting HECS debt. Non completion is a real issue young people are facing under this system.
When did education become a privilege in this country rather than a democratic right under the constitution?
The most impact for schools and TAFEs is that, on the one hand we have a federal government policy under COAG and the National Youth Attainment and Transition programs to keep young people engaged and connected with training. Yet we have a State Government policy that is encouraging exactly the opposite. These are mixed messages – let's get it right.
Who decided that career planning was a linear progression? This is not the case and never has been!
We now have a situation where we counsel youth to stay at school until year 12, then find training in one area only, then pay full fees for further training if your skill sets don't quite match what your employer needs – if you are lucky enough to find full time ongoing employment with your one certifcate. Under this policy choice comes at a high price: the future career development of our youth, their futures and ultimately all our futures.
This policy makes a mockery of the COAG agenda and forces the most vulnerable people into impossible study and training choices, without support.
more...23 and forced to get a credit card to pay for TAFE
My name is Oliver Scott and I am studying Marketing at RMIT (City Campus). I am 23 years old and live with two of my four brothers in Chadstone.
After successfully completing an advanced diploma in sound and audio engineering I was not satisfied that audio engineering was the direction I wanted to head in life, so I began looking for another course to study something completely different. I had the choice between university and TAFE but chose TAFE for numerous reasons – the most important was the cost! Being an independent student, living out of home, paying rent and relying on my Youth Allowance of $450 a fortnight, the cheapest option was going to be the most viable one. My first and second semesters' fees were $50 as I had a healthcare card and was therefore eligible for government help.
Everything was looking good until the Government decided to change its laws and I received a $1200 invoice for 2nd year, Semester 1. This came as quite a shock to me so I did not have sufficient time to manage my finances in order to put money aside each fortnight to pay for it. It put me under a lot of stress and worry, so much that I almost dropped out.
I had to get a credit card so that I could pay the outstanding amount because I would not be allowed to start the next semester until all outstanding debts had been paid. I now have the added stress of trying to squeeze money from my budget to pay my credit card off. I felt there was insufficient warning about the changes the Government was going to make and I don't understand why they made them.
more...Having to tell students to lower their sights
At my high school we are considering advising students to lower their sights, and take a Certificate 3 or 4 course so they don't burden themselves with debt later on.
We advise over 750 VCE students per year and we have not had all the TAFE changes fully explained to us. There are negative effects on the students and their pathways as we cannot properly advise them.
It is very hard for young people at that age to make decisions like that; many of them don't really know what they want to do in life and VET courses are a way of trying options out.
The advice we are giving students about their choices – given that for many the decision to pursue VET at Diploma level is now a once-only choice – is critical. If they change their minds they will have to pay full fees for the second bite of the cherry.
more...Everyone loses when TAFE is just a money-making venture
Turning TAFE into a money-making venture makes it cut-throat and reduces what we are willing to give to students. Because we now have to think about the bottom line, we actually start thinking about what we can take away from the students and considering what corners can be cut.
The TAFE changes mean that our TAFE has brought in more middle managers and then cut sector coordinator and teaching positions.
Our TAFE program has made money yearly, but because it doesn't make "enough" money, it is borderline unviable and possibly on its way out. The government would like us to cut back on face-to-face student contact hours and the amount of time spent in the field. Better yet, cut out the program for Certificate I and II altogether and only provide auspicing for those already working in the industry.
Is the government funding education or only successful educational businesses?
more...Labor government gone right, doing TAFE wrong
In a class at TAFE today, we were discussing the concept of Labor and Liberal governments changing their format, leaning to the left or the right. I was asked to give an example of my suggestion that the Victorian State Government is leaning to the right. I gave the TAFE reforms as my example. I argued the same argument I've plastered on the TAFE4All Facebook site and pages to the editors in newspapers.
In a class that started out at the beginning of the year with 20 students, now down to 10, there was no understanding of the TAFE reforms, what they meant for the students, what it meant for the future etc.
Despite my teacher agreeing personally with my argument, she informed me that the private reviews already done on the City of Greater Geelong have shown that the reforms have not affected enrolments and this was passed on to the State Government's review. I explained that enrolments are not a sign of whether the reforms don't affect student numbers because enrolment is easy. The new system affected the people in charge of enrolments - they were new to the system and many of us got accepted and enrolled, and LATER informed that we did NOT qualify for fee help.
more...TAFE4All on the road
![ed elston [ed elston.jpg]](pics/ed_elston.jpg "ed elston [ed elston.jpg]")
— Posted by Edward Elston
Fees for my course up from $800 to $8000
I am both a part-time teacher and a part-time student in a TAFE course. I am also a writer (of fiction, non fiction and journalism) and an occasional ABC arts broadcaster, so I am critically aware of the importance of supporting arts education in order to nurture the local arts industry.
more...Government keeping us in the dark
State government ministers are not giving me answers. They're not even listening to my questions.
more...Bump TAFE fee hikes
![bumper-sticker [bumper sticker 2.jpg]](pics/bumper_sticker_2.jpg "bumper-sticker [bumper sticker 2.jpg]")
— Posted by Brett, Melbourne
TAFE reforms a disaster: Bendigo Advertiser opinion piece
The Brumby Government should be returned to office. But Jacinta Allan, member for Bendigo East, should be defeated in her seat.
more...Lowest staff morale yet: TAFE4All goes regional
The TAFE4All campaign hit the road again this month – with the media following (check out newspaper coverage from one visit here and here).
more...Life-long learning will be a thing of the past
I have always been very proud that Australia has supported the idea that everybody is a lifelong learner. We live fulfilled lives because of the knowledge we gain along the way.
more...TAFE4All campaign on the streets
— Posted by Jill Biddington
Vic TAFE fees? I'm at a NSW TAFE now!
I wanted to do a Diploma of Visual Art at a regional Victorian TAFE; however, once I found out how much it was going to cost, I didn't even go to the interview that had been set up.
more...Read the ute: STOP the fee hikes
![Bumper2 Small [bumper2 small.jpg]](pics/bumper2_small.jpg "Bumper2 Small [bumper2 small.jpg]")
— Posted by Georges Bernard, Victoria
AEU's submission to TAFE review: damaging reforms must be revoked
Roll back the fee rises, change the eligibility criteria and return concessions for low income students, and improve funding for high quality training providers: these are the calls the Australian Education Union has made in its nine-page submission to the review into the Victorian Government's TAFE changes.
more...My message: Stop TAFE fee hikes
![bike fiona [bike fiona.jpg]](pics/bike_fiona.jpg "bike fiona [bike fiona.jpg]")
— Posted by Fiona Darling
Email us if you want a "Stop TAFE fee hike" sticker for your bike/car.
more...Brumby can't ignore 100s of submissions to TAFE review
When hundreds of people share stories that all paint the same picture, how can anyone ignore it?
more...Last chance to save TAFE - review ends Sunday
What’s the point of creating new training spaces if people can’t afford to fill them?
more...Only six days to save TAFE - keep speaking up
More than 160 of you have put your voice to the Victorian Government's review of the TAFE changes - are you one of them?
Two weeks to save TAFE - we must act now
This is the crunch point for the future of TAFE in Victoria – time to make your voice heard.
more...My TAFE invoice: $5000 - and this is a skills "reform"?
I was originally accepted to study a TAFE diploma in a subsidised place for 2009.
more...TAFE changes' negative repercussions for Indigenous learners
I’m a trainer and course convenor in Indigenous programs at a metropolitan TAFE.
more...Back off fee hikes
![TAFE Sticker [tafe sticker.jpg]](pics/tafe_sticker.jpg "TAFE Sticker [tafe sticker.jpg]")
— Posted by Karen, Melbourne
To have "Stop TAFE fee hikes" stickers mailed to you, email us!
more...How to damage generational aspirations
From where I sit, the massive TAFE fee hikes have excluded a lot of parents from returning to study.
more...Education should be for all
As a social worker, it is amazing what I've seen people do when given the support to grow and prosper.
more...I'm one of the first hit with new TAFE fees
I am part of the group of first students to pay these ridiculous fees. I would be the lucky one, only paying $6000 for a two-year Diploma at a well known TAFE.
more...Riding the message home
![anna bike cropped [anna bike cropped gif.gif]](pics/anna_bike_cropped_gif.gif "anna bike cropped [anna bike cropped gif.gif]")
Let us know if you want a "Stop TAFE fee hike" sticker for your bike/car.
— Posted by Anna Kelsey-Sugg
more...Give back the opportunity to re-skill, Mr Brumby
The complex fee system borne of the Brumby Government's TAFE Reforms makes it very difficult for Victorians to be informed about who is being impacted by these increased TAFE fees and how.
more...Pressure up on government as media hits hard over TAFE
TAFE4All campaigners - you are to be congratulated.
more...Stories set alarm bells ringing
What a fantastic turnout in Ballarat yesterday - dozens of students, a great media turn-out and some very engaged AEU members telling their stories of how the TAFE changes are affecting them.
more...Why I fear for my students' course
The AEU launches the regional results of its survey of TAFE teachers in Ballarat today. Here, one member talks about the impact of the TAFE changes on his course.
more...TAFE4All survey results prove fears a reality
Now, more than ever, it is clear the TAFE changes need be revoked.
more...Government's TAFE "reforms" haven't reformed a thing
The government’s ‘skills reforms’ are not achieving what they hoped.
more...What about the workers?
While state governments seem to be doing their utmost to attack TAFE teachers and employees, there is a broader social issue that all should consider: the impacts of changes on existing and potential workers who are being disadvantaged by the Government's long-term under-funding of TAFE.
more...Pushing the TAFE4All message
![margie bike sticker [margie bike sticker.jpg]](pics/margie_bike_sticker.jpg "margie bike sticker [margie bike sticker.jpg]")
— Posted by Margie Frye
more...TAFE4All campaign focuses on the review of changes
As the TAFE4All campaign gears up towards a review of the Victorian Government's TAFE changes, the campaign continues to gain momentum in 2010, fighting to return TAFE education to the hands of all Victorian students - not just those who can afford increased fees.
more...Higher fees have halved our enrolments
Brumby Government spokespeople still equate "Skill Reform" with "increased training places" and "encouraging people to take up Vocational Education and Training".
more...Where you can stick the TAFE fee hikes
![tafe bumpersticker [tafe bumpersticker.jpg]](pics/tafe_bumpersticker.jpg "tafe bumpersticker [tafe bumpersticker.jpg]")
Have you got a car or bike? Then email your postal address to Anna to grab your free "Stop TAFE fee hikes" bumper sticker and show your support for affordable, quality TAFE education.
THEN, send us a photo of where you've proudly displayed your sticker and we'll publish it here at the TAFE4All website. Let people know you don't support increased TAFE fees and abolished study concessions - AND make your car/bike famous. You can't lose.
— Posted by Anna Kelsey-Sugg
more...HECS in TAFE - a single mother's perspective
Ongoing pressure and lack of confidence and finance are just some of the barriers faced by many single mothers wanting to return to study, and wanting to provide our children with opportunities.
more...New video: don't mess up our TAFEs!
Check out our new TAFE 4 All video on the difference between public and private for TAFE students.
more...Making TAFEs work or making them worse?
The new Brumby ‘skills reform' is bad education policy. It is meant to make the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector more ‘efficient' (read 'competitive'). But changing the education system into a money-making exercise is bad for students and eventually bad for our society.
more...Why the arts will suffer under TAFE changes
Premier Brumby has been on a bit of a rampage in the last year, killing off our art with legislation that stabs at the heart of Melbourne's thriving art scene by abolishing government-funded places for TAFE students.
more...A new year and new voices for the TAFE4All campaign
My name is Jo Fogarty and I'm the new vice president for TAFE at the Australian Education Union. Let me say first of all that I wish everyone a healthy, happy and fulfilling 2010.
more...Thanks from TAFE4All - and stay tuned!
THANK YOU from all of us here at the TAFE4All campaign. As students, teachers, parents and concerned community members you have joined TAFE4All to stand up for what is fair.
more...Speaking up for my friends and for a fair go
The decision to increase the TAFE fees will mean that more people will have less say over how they live their lives.
more...Imagine life without study - I'm being forced to
I have been a TAFE student for about six years now - four years part-time and one year full-time - studying Aged Care and Home and Community Care (Cert 3) and now Professional Writing and Editing (Cert 4).
more...Expect rise in mental health issues and drain on government's purse
We are concerned as Career Facilitators about the advice that we are giving our young people....and our own sons and daughters.
more...I don't want to take dollars from the family food budget
Has the government thought about this? What about women who are trying to return to work from being a parent? Women who are trying to retrain after having children?
more...My job: to burst students' bubble
I work in a TAFE assisting mature learners and sole parents. At this time of the year, I'm flat out meeting with potential students for 2010 to find appropriate course options, and navigate application procedures and help them plan for study including the financial implications.
more...I think our most disadvantaged will suffer
I completed my Diploma of Welfare studies at the Geelong TAFE in 2004. I was a single mother and dependant on welfare payments at the time of my decision to choose this course as a career path.
more...'The choice is yours'? Bloody tough choice now, Minister.
A new brochure from the Victorian Government mailed to careers teachers says their new skills reform policy will bring in TAFE changes, which are great because "the Government will pay up to 90% of your tuition fees for your chosen course if you are eligible."
more...Represent and protect us Jacinta, we'd prefer to sing your praises
Ms Allan, How could you possibly think that we wouldn't work out that TAFE fees are in reality increasing, that all TAFE users (excluding a few) will be disadvantaged by your policy changes?
more...My meeting with the Skills Minister
On Friday 6th November I was one of ten students who met with Minister for Skills Jacinta Allan at her office in Bendigo.
more...Welcome to Jacinta's Bistro
Head Chef: Jacinta Allan
Menu: Beef & Reef (only the best will do!)
Price: $65 (Usually $35)
Ingredients: Flour & Water (nothing else)
Discounts: Pensioners not welcome
Conditions: Customers are advised not to successfully eat the same or a more expensive meal at another bistro or we will charge you a non-loyal client fee of 500%.
My students with disability will lose out
The proposed rises in TAFE fees will cut most of my students out of their preferred courses for next year.
more...The Minister for Skills shirks responsibility
College collapses? Ineffective college auditing? Not my problem, says Victorian Skills Minister Jacinta Allan.
more...Is this really what you want for Victorian students, Minister?
Four more private colleges have just gone to the wall. Thousands of students have been left in limbo, with no idea when or where they'll be able to complete their courses.
more...I can't afford a study loan
I am an independent student living in Bendigo. I didn't complete year 12, instead I started working in a call centre. Today, 5 years later I am still there. I do not really like the work I do, yet I need to be able to support myself.
more...I've already lost students to the new fee structure
Many years ago my grandfather said to me, "You can have all the money in the world, but if you're not happy in what your doing then it's not worth it". Seven years ago, I found what makes me happy. Teaching IT whilst helping others to change their lives.
more...I'm a young single mum and I want a say in where I'm heading
I'm a young single mum studying a certificate in mental health at TAFE. If I had to pay what the government is asking now I wouldn't be able to afford it - I'd just be on parenting payments for a whole lot longer.
more...National TAFE Day - good news needed
Today is National TAFE Day, and I'm up in Canberra, waiting to hear the Deputy Primary Minister Julia Gillard address TAFE representatives and politicians.
more...Just Ask Jacinta - but brace for some creative responses
If you haven't seen it, the Little Paper (Herald Sun) ran an eight-page ‘Victorian Government feature', Skills for Life, on Wednesday. Good on them for promoting TAFEs and the VET system in general.
more...TAFE gave me a career - more HECS would've stopped me
Encumbered already with a HECS debt from a previous degree that wasn't helping me find a job, I began the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT very glad that it wasn't going to put me further out of pocket.
more...Contact the Minister
Jacinta Allan has invited students to get in touch to discuss her changes to the TAFE system. Let's take her up on her offer — you can find her details here.
more...Jacinta misses our big day out - but invites conversation
A hugely successful day in Bendigo today! There were nearly 100 TAFE students at Minister Jacinta Allan's office this morning, chanting "no fee hikes" and carrying backpacks with $2000 bills from the Bank of Jacinta to show the debts students will be left with.
more...We're on our way to Bendigo
TAFE 4 All will be taking the campaign to Bendigo today with a rally outside Jacinta Allan's own electorate office to bring home to the skills minister the human cost of her policies.
more...Wouldn't happen at TAFE: students left in lurch as Geelong college collapses
The pattern is by now well established: dodgy private education provider goes bust; shell-shocked students lose their money and their places; local TAFEs absorb the load.
more...Regular school-leavers who change courses will be stung
The disadvantaged and disengaged young learner is going to be at great risk with the TAFE changes.
more...Minister tries (and fails) to fool angry Victorians
How else can we interpret Skills Minister Jacinta Allan new YouTube post? The video tries to defend the TAFE changes and sugar coats the increased fees and abolished concessions.
more...People will be stopped from taking steps forward
The most exciting thing about a TAFE campus is the diversity of learners.
more...Young people I teach need more opportunities - not more hurdles
Young people I teach need flexibility in education.
As a Youth Worker (8 years) and TAFE Teacher (4 years), in the last couple of years I have interviewed 600 early school leavers under the age of 19.
more...Minister's Waffle for Breakfast
Who heard Jacinta Allan this morning spruiking her government's TAFE changes on ABC breakfast radio?
more...Wake-up call for Jacinta Allan
The wellbeing of young Australians is declining, a new report by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has revealed.
more...Sign our TAFE4All petition - now online
Nearly 2000 of you have already signed a hardcopy of the TAFE4All campaign petition to stop the Victorian Government's TAFE changes. This is great - but we're aiming for many more, which is why the petition is now online.
more...TAFE4All takes to the radio
Why is Minister for Skills Jacinta Allan putting TAFE out of reach for her own constituents - some of Victoria's poorest students?
more...TAFE changes scary for low-income families
The community sector knows about the impact of "user pays" on people living on low incomes and we're particularly concerned about user pays in Victorian TAFEs.
more...My son and I are both students - and can't afford a loan
These changes have hit both me and my son. We are both students, and we cannot afford a loan. My son recently completed a Diploma in Sports and Recreation and now he wants to undertake a Diploma of Business, for a better chance at a job.
more...Seeking the truth, not shiny propaganda
If you visit the government's "Skills Reform" website you may be excited by phrases such as ‘new funding to create over 170,000 new training places' or ‘upgrade TAFE facilities' and the one I love most ‘more opportunities for training throughout your adult life and flexible fee arrangements'.
more...International students know folly of Victoria's radical TAFE experiment
Congratulations to all those involved in TAFE4All for all your efforts so far.
So much is at stake in this campaign - not just in Victoria.
more...Shifting the cost of education - onto your shoulders
When we meet students in new secondary schools and TAFEs we are still finding that they are hearing about the changes to TAFE for the first time. They have no idea what's coming - and they are furious.
more...Others won't have the opportunity I had
As a single parent I would not have considered TAFE with such high fees. The Diploma of Welfare has opened so many doors not just for me, but for my children too.
more...Under the changes I would have missed out
Encumbered already with a HECS debt from a previous degree that wasn't helping me find a job, I began the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT very glad that it wasn't going to put me further out of pocket.
more...Download the TAFE4All petition
If there's one thing governments take notice of, it's numbers. Download the TAFE4All petition by cutting and pasting the following url into yourinternet browser: http://tafe4all.org.au/tafe4all_petition.pdf
more...This is my piece of paper
Accessible TAFE is critical to deliver new jobs
TAFEs have an important role as Australia faces the pressing challenge of skills for a growing workforce as well as the transition to a clean energy economy.
more...Folly to risk a national treasure
I've heard whispers about the TAFE fees and am appalled to think what such elevated fees will do to Professional Writing and Editing and the other writing programs. Especially since writing students can't usually look forward to earning a great deal of money on graduation with their new skills.
more...TAFE teachers will walk away
I've been a TAFE teacher for 20 years and I'm personally bewildered by the government's Skills Reform Agenda, and what it means not just for TAFE students, but for TAFE teachers too.
The reforms are an attack on the professionalism of TAFE teachers.
more...Reality hits home
We left Chisholm TAFE yesterday - 280 sausages later! - after meeting lots of young men and women who've already started hearing about the fee increases and abolished concession rates. Young students came along to find out more - and they were listening very intently.
more...Marketisation reforms won't stop here
A hearty congratulations to the AEU for its TAFE4All campaign.
These TAFE changes not only affect TAFE teachers and TAFE professional, administrative, clerical, computing and technical staff, which the NTEU covers - but they have a direct impact in the higher education sector.
Thousands to be shut out of education and training
The ACTU is a supporter of the TAFE 4 All campaign and of the provision of high quality, affordable and accessible training through the TAFE system for all Victorians.
TAFE is a cornerstone of the vocational education and training delivery systems.
more...Under TAFE changes I wouldn't be here
I'm at Gordon Institute in Geelong and I've nearly finished my Diploma of Community Welfare. The course changed my life; through it I've gained skills for life as well as for work.
more...
It's time for hypocrisy
Wait just a MINUTE.
Is Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard so confused as to not be able to see the lesson in her own message?
She says free education is the way to go - so why is her government supporting the Victoria Government introducing TAFE fees that are now many thousands of dollars?
more...Changing your mind just got a lot more expensive
Have you seen the new uni ads around town? They play on something that everyone seems to know except Jacinta Allan - that choosing a career is a tough call.
more...
Market approach will fail
The government’s idea that we should all have the entitlement to broader education and training opportunities sounds fair – it is a good thing to have a greater proportion of the population with higher levels of qualifications, and it is a good thing to broaden access to education and training. But we should be asking ourselves what training, and at what price?
more...Study was already difficult - now it's impossible
I come from a family where everyone's on welfare, in an area where everyone's on welfare and I've been trying really hard to get myself educated and out of the welfare system. It's hard work to stay in TAFE and study and pay for food and petrol and parking and books.
more...
Tough questions for Minister Allan
Did you see the advert in today's editions of the Herald Sun and The Age? We thought it was time to ask the Skills Minister Jacinta Allan directly why TAFE fees are almost tripling for many courses.
more...
Disabled students shut out by TAFE changes
I applied at Swinburne TAFE in the Diploma of Community Development after completing a leadership program for people with disabilities.
There were between 25 and 30 people doing the leadership program and to my knowledge I'm the only one continuing with education this year. A few people I've spoken with from last year's leadership group say the TAFE fees have really changed their mind with regards to continuing studies.
more...
Not happy Jacinta: message clear at TAFE4All conference
The TAFE4All conference on Friday 21 August kicked off the second phase of the TAFE 4 All campaign.
more...
TAFE changes need a serious rethink
Vocational education is an important sector in the community - it's an entry level for a lot of people and the government changes will see a door to education shutting for the people who really need it.
more...What do students say about the TAFE fee hikes?
Here's what:
more...
Doors close at open day
Open Day at our college was really tough. I met several mature aged potential students who were upset and angry to hear that they would be hit with over $10,000 in fees to re-train for work.
more...Take the TAFE survey
If you're a TAFE student the TAFE 4 All campaign would like to know your views on the Brumby Government's changes to the TAFE system. We are inviting you to complete a short survey - it takes less than five minutes to complete - and your responses will remain strictly confidential.
more...Heading home after a big week on the road
It’s been a big week for TAFE4All, as a week of visiting secondary schools around the state wraps up.
more...Angry public isn't afraid to speak up
Have you joined the TAFE4All Facebook group? If you have you will have seen even more stories from Victorians who are angry and worried about how the government's TAFE changes are affecting their education choices.
more...Secondary teachers riled up over TAFE changes
This week I've been hitting the secondary school campuses to talk to teachers and school staff about the hikes in TAFE fees and the scrapping of concession rates - and I can tell you, they're just as angry about it as the students and teachers I've met on TAFE campuses.
more...Claims of cost free a con job
I'm off to Kurnai College in Morwell today as the next leg of our TAFE 4 All campaign kicks off.
more...Minister Allan's misinformation
Skills Minister Jacinta Allan was pulled up by ABC Goulburn Murray Morning's host Joseph Thomsen for claiming low income earners will pay "zero" dollars for a TAFE diploma, when the changes she's responsible for will see them hit with a bill for $2500.
more...Students stand together against these changes
The Young Unionists' Network stands in solidarity with the AEU, TAFE teachers and students in opposing the Brumby Government's unfair reforms to the TAFE system.
more...Check out the TAFE4All truck
![Mobile billboard [debt truck 1.jpg]](pics/debt_truck_1.jpg "Mobile billboard [debt truck 1.jpg]") |
The TAFE4All mobile billboard is spreading the message across Victoria. Watch out for it on our visits to TAFE campuses in Shepparton, Warrnambool, Geelong, and Wodonga. The truck is out there telling the public what the government won't - that its changes to vocational education and training are going to cost you money. |
Frustration across Victoria
In Bendigo last week I met a 60-year-old woman as disappointed as she was furious.
more...TAFE out of reach
Deciding to quit my job and study writing, at the age of 44, was like stepping out of a plane and going into free-fall - a fantastic but terrifying thrill.
more...Locked out of the workplace
The Brumby Government's changes to the TAFE system will have a devastating impact on mature unemployed people (the over-40s) who are retraining to return to work, people who have been parenting, carers, injured and so-forth.
more...TAFE 4 All on the road
The AEU is on the road, visiting TAFE campuses across Victoria to alert students, staff and community to the Government's fee hikes.
Join us at your nearest campus!
more...Sense of disbelief on campus
I've just come back from central Gippsland and the Newborough TAFE campus, talking to students and teachers about the Government's skills reforms.
more...System we need to protect
Did you know 80% of Victorians are unaware of exactly what the State Government is doing to the TAFE system?
more...Young people told to skill up - but pay more
In a display of incredible hypocrisy the Federal Government has told young people they need to skill up - just as increased Victorian TAFE fees kick in.
more...Proudly funded & supported by:
