The Berejiklian-Barilaro Government is jeopardising the future of Illawarra students by refusing to name the vocational education providers that have had their funding suspended after misconduct and quality control failures.
The Government’s disdain for transparency has placed the thousands of students in the Illawarra enrolling in new vocational education courses at risk of signing up to a course with a potentially dodgy provider.
Despite the potential for these students to suffer heartache and stress at the hands of failed providers, the Government is refusing to name the VET providers that have had their funding suspended and are under investigation.
The refusal to name the providers comes after the Government fought vehemently against a NSW Labor campaign to reveal the names and the impact failed providers were having on students in NSW.
Labor’s campaign of freedom of information requests and courtroom battles in the NSW Civil Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) finally forced the Government to reveal a list of the 11 terminated providers and the courses that were being targeted but was unable to force the release of the suspended providers.
The in depth investigation uncovered that more than 470 students in the Illawarra have already been devastated by terminated or suspended providers; a number that will balloon with more students unknowingly signing onto suspended providers.
Labor’s investigation revealed the Illawarra suburbs that are being targeted by the shonks with Wollongong, Unanderra and Nowra rounding out the main targets.
A list of the ten targeted Illawarra suburbs is below.
The Government’s Smart and Skilled program offers funding to private vocational education providers offering Certificates and Diplomas in various trades and skills.
Many of the courses are offered at exorbitant prices that are unaffordable for most people.
The program has also meant a gross reduction in funding for public vocational education provider TAFE forcing course prices to climb, student enrolments to plummet by 126,000 places and 5,200 teachers and support staff have lost their jobs.
NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley announced Labor’s Private Provider Investigation Unit policy to help weed out shonky providers during his budget reply speech.
The investigation unit would investigate dodgy training providers and ensure that taxpayer money is only given to reputable providers.
Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Skills Prue Car:
“TAFE has been gutted and left to survive on the smell of an oily rag yet private providers that have been found to have lied about enrolments or attempted to dupe the system are being protected.
“If the Government was serious about vocational education it would end its war on TAFE and restore proper funding to the public educator.
“This information has the power to protect thousands of people from the potential heartache and stress that comes from signing up with dodgy providers. Ms Berejiklian should be happy to offer it to the public.”
Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for the Illawarra Ryan Park:
“Students in the Illawarra looking to get a head start in life need to be encouraged, not made to be targets for greedy private operators.
“It’s alarming that working class suburbs are being singled out as target areas. The Government needs to step up and protect people from the shonks.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson:
“The Berejiklian Government is responsible for the gutting of Dapto TAFE which has punished thousands of students in the Illawarra.
“This is a Government that shut down a TAFE campus and opened a shop front in its place. This is nothing more than generational theft.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Wollongong Paul Scully:
“The Government seems to be far more interested in protecting dodgy providers than standing up for young people in the Illawarra from being victims of a great rip-off.
“These dodgy providers are targeting our young people, whose only crime is to try to get skills and training for a better job.
“We need to be fighting in their corner, not protecting greedy, lurk merchants.”
Top Ten Targeted Suburbs
1 Wollongong
2 Unanderra
3 Nowra
4 St George’s Basin, Sanctuary Point and Vincentia
5 Shellharbour
6 Fairy Meadow
7 Dapto
8 Windang
9 Bulli
10 Berry
