Labor seizes on figures showing education department spent less than its budget on programs including apprenticeship incentives

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

The Morrison government underspent $214m in vocational education and training programs in the last financial year, contributing to a total $919m underspend since 2014.

In its 2018-19 annual report, the education department revealed it spent less than was budgeted for key programs including trade support loans (-$68m), Australian Apprenticeships Centres (-$51m) and apprenticeship incentives (-$35m).

Labor’s shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, seized on the figures, accusing the Coalition of “[shortchanging] Tafe and training by $1bn despite the fact Australia is suffering a national shortage of tradies”.

The skills and employment minister, Michaelia Cash, has rejected the suggestion, arguing the figures “represent underspends which come from demand-driven programs in vocational education and training”.

The education department will appear at Senate estimates on Wednesday, with Labor set to grill officials about the fact 150,000 fewer Australians are in apprenticeships than in 2013 and the undisclosed salary of TV presenter Scott Cam for his new role as an ambassador for trades training.

The annual report shows that in 2018-19 the education department had $1.1bn budgeted for vocational education and training programs but spent just $928m.

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According to Labor’s analysis of annual reports, the underspend has been persistent: with the government spending $138m less than promised in 2014-15, $247m less in 2015-16, $118m in 2016-17 and $202m in 2017-18.

Over the five years since 2014 the programs with the biggest underspend were: trade support loans (-$220m); apprenticeship centres (-$201m); the adult migrant English program (-$160m); apprenticeship incentives (-$125m); and the industry skills fund (-$75m).

Plibersek said there were more people dropping out of apprenticeships and traineeships than finishing them, and fewer apprenticeships and traineeships today than a decade ago.

“If the Liberals don’t do something serious to fix the skills crisis they have created, we could be looking at the extinction of the Australian tradie,” she said. “We have a shortage of workers in critical services including plumbing, carpentry, hairdressing and motor mechanics.

“Businesses are crying out for more trained staff. The Australian Industry Group says 75% of businesses surveyed are struggling to find the qualified workers they need.”

Plibersek said 2 million Australians who are unemployed or under-employed are not being trained because Scott Morrison is “starving Tafes and training of funding”.

Cash said the Coalition was “not going to take lectures from Labor about funding for vocational education and training”, citing a drop of 110,000 apprenticeships in Labor’s last year in office in 2012-13.

“The Coalition government is committed to ensuring Australians have the right skills for the workforce of today and the future and is funding skills through a number of different components.”

In the 2019 budget, the Morrison government announced a $525m skills package – including measures to create 80,000 new apprenticeships – but it contained just $55m of new money and reallocated $463m from the Skilling Australians Fund, set to be another focus of Labor in estimates.

The package – not reflected in the latest annual report – promised:

$200m to double the incentive payments for employers to hire apprentices in trades with shortages to $8,000 per placement

$132m to establish a national skills commission to reform vocational education

$67.5m to trial 10 national training hubs for school-based vocational education in places with high youth unemployment

$62.4m on literacy and numeracy skills for at-risk workers; and

$20m to help better identify emerging skills needs.

Earlier in October Cash said the government was “determined to shine a light on how fantastic vocational education and training is”.

She refused to disclosed Cam’s pay for promoting the National Careers Institute, a one-stop shop for careers advice and pathways to vocational education and trades training, explaining it was commercial in confidence.