Talking Point-Axed TAFE Courses a Telling Sign for Future Workers: ‘You Can’t Make It Here’ , You Will Have To Disappear
Talking Point | The Mercury | 16 October 2025; pgs 18-19 .
Axed TAFE Courses a Telling Sign for Future Workers: ‘You Can’t Make It Here’ , You Will Have To Disappear
Jobs And Skills Minister Felix Ellis Cuts Critical Learnings, Narrowing The Industry Fields Tasmanians Have To Consider, Meg Webb MLC Writes
Imagine a State Government launching a TAFE “You Can Make It Here” campaign – timed to tap into the end of the school year and grab the attention of those students considering further study options for 2026.
Picture this campaign also advocating how those potential learners could build successful and rewarding careers by taking advantage of hundreds of fee-free or low-fee courses, across a broad range of sectors and industries.
This is exactly what the Western Australian Government did this week.
Further, the WA TAFE You can Make it Here campaign demonstrates exactly what could be made by utilising a predominantly TAFE-trained creative and production crew to deliver the campaign across print, digital and social media platforms, television and cinema.
What a stark contrast to Tasmania’s Scrooge-like Skills Minister Felix Ellis, who chose the same end of school period to hike TasTAFE fees on selected courses by around 5400%, axe 12 courses and cut 26 jobs!
This was Minister Ellis telling the approximate 500 Tasmanians currently enrolled in the courses facing the chop next year that, no, they cannot make it here.
Which is an unacceptable outrage.
During the controversial 2021 TasTAFE restructure legislative debate, I called on the Government to guarantee the range of all free, subsidised and full-fee foundation skill courses would be maintained, if not increased, during and beyond the flagged five year transition period.
Instead, as was feared, as the transition period closes the Minister chooses to “redirect” subsidies.
The redirection of subsidies will see students slugged a fee hike of $18, $315 and $21,260 respectively for the Laboratory Technician certificate IV and Diploma courses before both are expected to be cut by the end of 2026.
In contrast WA offers a similar laboratory certificate IV as a low fee course with an annual cap of $400 for those aged 15-24 or concession holders or $1200 for others.
It is nonsensical for the Minister to claim the cuts are due to the Government wanting TasTAFE to address skills gaps when TasTAFE offers the State’s only lab technician course and Diploma.
By cutting the Laboratory Technology courses the Minister is ironically ensuring a future statewide drought in laboratory skills impacting education, science, agriculture, health, pathology, viticulture, mining industries, to mention a few.
Make no mistake about it, we lose the course, we lose the teachers, we lose the current specialist lab infrastructure and facilities.
Nine Arts and Design courses are also to be cut by being priced out of reach and out of existence.
This is despite the Coordinator-General website stating “Creativity is fundamental to our Tasmanian way of life “ and acknowledging the multi-million contribution the creative industries makes to the Tasmanian Gross State Product, with over 9000 Tasmanian directly employed in those industries plus those indirectly employed in related sectors such as tourism and retail.
Minister Ellis’ cuts also fly in the face of the Government’s Cultural and Creative Industries Recovery Strategy: 2020 and Beyond, and the Implementation Plan 2023 which commits to working with education providers to highlight skill development opportunities and build careers in the cultural and creative industries.
But not on Minister Ellis’ watch apparently.
Out of interest again, WA offers more than 150 arts and creative industry courses, many of which are low or no fee.
Raising fees by over 5000% for a few selected courses is arguably discriminatory.
Not only do we lose teachers and facilities, equitable access and choice is ripped away from many school leavers, regional and rural Tasmanians, and others seeking skill diversification.
It demands the question: upon what justifiable and informed basis was this decision made?
What impact assessment was made on current and projected enrolments and teaching staff?
Where is the gender lens data, detailing whether these cuts will disproportionally impact any gender over others across current and future student and teaching cohorts?
The Minister must come clean whether his intention is to try to drive Tasmanians into the fields he values and away from where their actual interests, skills and passion lie?
An underhand tactic which would be denounced as social-engineering in other contexts.
Why can’t TasTAFE make it here, Minister?
Reverse this damaging, discriminatory and illogical decision, invest in strengthening equitable career pathways for Tasmanians across all sectors, and declare TasTAFE open, affordable and accessible.
Tasmanians should be able to learn here – they should be encouraged to make it here.
Meg Webb MLC is the independent Member for Nelson
