Victorians will be able to access the training they need for the jobs they want as the Andrews Labor Government makes a $383.8 million investment in skills, training and higher education in the Victorian Budget 2021/22.

A new skills authority headlines a range of initiatives designed to strengthen the quality of teaching and training, provide affordable accredited training to more Victorians, and improve pathways for skilled workers.

The $85.9 million Victorian Skills Authority (VSA) will ensure all Victorians can access the training they need to find a good, secure job. Building on the work of the Skills Commissioner, this investment will further drive innovation across the VET sector, delivering better planning for Victoria’s future training needs and providing an integrated approach to the quality of teaching and training.

It will also lead the development of an annual Victorian Skills Plan to better guide our state’s training delivery. The VSA is expected to be launched in July 2021 and is a key response to the recommendations in Skills for Victoria’s Growing Economy led by former Federal Minister Jenny Macklin.

An investment of $88.8 million will provide subsidised VET to eligible students, including continuing the successful Asylum Seeker VET program, to improve people’s skills and job opportunities as they build their new life in Victoria. This will deliver up to an extra 12,200 training places, 7,400 of which are at TAFEs.

The Labor Government will also ensure TAFEs and training providers are properly funded to deliver high quality training with a $99.2 million boost to funding rates.

The Budget also includes $72.4 million to upgrade TAFE Campuses as part of the Building Better TAFEs Fund, including:

• $60 million to redevelop the Bendigo Kangan Institute Broadmeadows campus and
• $10.7 million to redevelop the GOTAFE Archer Street Shepparton campus.

A further $12 million will make sure our TAFEs have the modern equipment and tools they need to teach apprentices and trainees, such as mobile cranes and 3D Metal Printers.

A boost of $14.9 million means support for placement officers to better coordinate mandatory practical placements for TAFE students in areas such as allied health, community services and early childhood, education and training. A new Office of TAFE Coordination and Delivery will be established in DET to enhance collaboration across the TAFE network.

Funding of $6.2 million will increase places for pre-accredited digital literacy and employability training courses, as well as enable a new literacy and numeracy assessment tool for TAFE and training providers, including Learn Locals.

Since 2015, the Labor Government has delivered more than $3.2 billion to rebuild the TAFE system and support universities and higher education to ensure Victorians have access to high quality education and rewarding careers.