The
Hodgman Liberal Government welcomes changes announced today by Federal Minister
for Education and Training Simon Burmingham for an affordable, sustainable and
student-focussed vocational education and training student loans program for
2017.
The
new Vocational Education and Training (VET) Student Loans program announced by
Minister Birmingham replaces Labor’s tenuous VET FEE-HELP scheme which
potentially exposes students to dodgy private providers and was a waste of tax
payers money.
The planned introduction of the new VET Student Loans program is positive news for Tasmania’s VET sector, including TasTAFE, which has been limited in its ability to provide loans under current arrangements. As a government we have worked hard to ensure this is rectified.
We know TasTAFE takes its responsibilities as a public provider seriously, having always provided reputable and high quality training.
Ensuring our education system continues to support our students from play-based learning through to vocational education and Higher Education is a top priority for this government, and this change will protect the reputation of the entire VET sector which was unfairly tarnished through the past actions of a small number of unscrupulous providers.
Importantly, students undertaking courses from 1 January 2017 will be protected if they undertake vocational training interstate, and students already in such courses will be covered by ‘grandfathering’ provisions through to the end of 2017, ensuring a smooth transition for current students.
These positive changes, which include appropriate loan caps on courses and stronger course eligibility criteria aligning with industry needs, mean Tasmanian students are protected from undertaking study which does not deliver value-for-money outcomes.
Through the Education Act, which is being debated in parliament next week, the Hodgman Liberal Government is working to ensure Tasmania creates a job-ready generation and leads the nation in Education, and changes to ensure the integrity of our vocational system will help achieve this.