The union representing over 17,000 teachers and staff across Queensland and Northern Territory non-government schools and the Vocational Educational and Training (VET) sector has called for the expansion of the fee-free VET scheme to the private sector.
Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) Branch Secretary Terry Burke said expanding the recently announced program outside the TAFE sector would further boost jobs and the economy.
"The federal government's announcement of the scheme for the public sector is a positive one that should be replicated in the private VET and Registered Training Organisations (RTO) sector," Mr Burke said.
"The private sector has the ability and agility to provide further training and education complementary to the TAFE sector.
"This would provide increased opportunities for job seekers and help address the current skills shortages," he said.
Mr Burke said any federal government expansion of the scheme to private VET and RTO providers should be done in tandem with additional funding for the sector.
"This is critical to ensuring the trainers and assessors providing these courses have secure jobs and contemporary working conditions – issues that have plagued the sector for decades," Mr Burke said.
