Page 320 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 1991
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for the TAFE's many thousands of students. I think it is indicative that it is already known pretty well what the outcome of this year's candidacy for enrolment is. I seem to recall that last year many weeks elapsed before the TAFE could say with any certainty what their enrolment was and how many people they could not accommodate.
Links with industry are improving all the time, through various mechanisms put in place by the principal, and I commend the staff of the institute for the energy and commitment that they have put into this. The director recently initiated contact with all of TAFE's stake-holders to ensure that they are aware of TAFE's priorities for 1991 and of the difficulties that lie ahead. I am sure that industry will respond positively to his approaches and be encouraged by the new funding arrangements which guarantee that all of the income that the institute generates through collaboration with industry will be retained by the institute to fund new places or courses.
Mr Deputy Speaker, there has been some discussion in quite recent days, of course, about the difficulties of enrolment this year. There is no doubt that TAFE has experienced its greatest recorded level of unmet demand, in spite of increases in its fees and other perceived deterrents and other inducements. I think this strength is indicative of the high standards of ACT TAFE courses, amongst both students and their employers. Mrs Nolan outlined some of the examples of excellence of student performance which helps to bring to note the high quality of education in this institution.
I wonder whether we should not be doing some research, Mr Deputy Speaker; whether the increasing numbers of students that apply and cannot be accepted at the TAFE indicates a preference for students to move away from university-type education and towards vocational-type work. If this is a trend, then, of course, the Government has to reconsider where it puts its money. It may well be that research would show that we should be re-evaluating the direction of our commitment of our resources to education. If that is a continuing trend, then the TAFE may perhaps be deserving more of the resources and our other institutions less.
I think it is significant, as already pointed out by one speaker, that the TAFE has an enrolment equal to or greater than the combined enrolments of the other tertiary institutions in the ACT. Of course, it is obvious that the TAFE does not have adequate funds to offer the number of courses sought by the community. In some cases TAFE limits enrolments in response to labour market forces. It would simply be unacceptable for the TAFE to be turning out students with some qualifications where there was no employment possible before them in the first place. I think the TAFE has been very good in making sure that they do not consume resources wastefully in that way.
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