As Victoria scrambles to address skills shortages across sectors as diverse as construction and healthcare, the Allan Labor Government has made another callous cut to crucial training funding.
Vital Skills First funding has been slashed from Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) with the axing of the 10 per cent funding premium set aside for students to undertake online learning.
Skills First funding enables RTOs to deliver subsidised courses and skill sets in areas where demand for jobs is high. It also includes additional funding for delivery in regional areas.
This follows last year’s decision by the Allan Labor Government to slash training allocations to hundreds of RTOs across Victoria by 35 per cent, despite ongoing skill shortages.
The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton District, Kim O’Keeffe, said she has been contacted by many local organisations, families and students who are directly impacted and bewildered by this funding cut.
“The government’s brutal funding cuts will have devastating and far-reaching consequences for Victorian independent Registered Training Organisations, their staff and their students,” she said.
“I have called on the Minister for Skills and Training, Gayle Tierney, to reinstate this critical funding.
“Cuts to programs like Skills First while we face critical shortages in so many regional sectors show just how out of touch this government is.
“Coming with little notice, this decision places significant financial pressure on RTOs, forcing staff reductions or closures of entire programs and potential course fee increases. I had a student contact me who was due to start her training and now faces uncertainty for her future.
“Regional students simply don’t have access to the same training services as their city counterparts with these subsidies critical to supporting regional employment pathways.
“This is just another consequence of the Labor Government’s financial mismanagement and cost cutting, and regional Victorians are paying the price.”
