The NSW Government has slashed more than $130 million from TAFE NSW, and plans to cut an additional almost $9 million this year. It has slashed more than 4000 jobs and scrapped countless services.

Under the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled reforms, course fees have skyrocketed in recent years – in some cases by more than 300 per cent.

This has meant that many have either been unable to afford to enrol or worse, complete courses they had already begun.

The Smart and Skilled reforms have also allowed unscrupulous private training providers to rip off not only vulnerable students but also taxpayers.

Investigations have revealed that almost one billion dollars has fraudulently claimed.

That’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Imagine the educational outcomes the TAFE system in NSW would be able to deliver with that level of funding?

Cuts to TAFE – once one of the foremost vocational training organisations in the world – are a direct deskilling of the future workforce in NSW.

The impact of the attacks by the NSW Government will have a slow burn effect and not be fully felt for a generation.

Think about that next time your car goes to a mechanic for brake repairs or you require an electrician because of concerns about faulty wiring in your home. Is the person you have hired up to the job?

NSW is looking into a future abyss where no-one will have the correct, properly accredited skills to safely build, maintain or repair anything.

All public funding should go to public education providers, with TAFE the main provider of vocational qualifications.

The Government needs to invest properly in TAFE and stop the spending cuts.