Mature-age job seekers will be offered free TAFE courses as the state government considers introducing a university-style HECS loan system for younger students. Teachers fear the review will result in further cuts and the privatisation of an institution which has bled 234,300 enrolments between 2012 and 2016, when the figures were last reported. Loading Robin Shreeve, a former deputy director general of TAFE NSW - who has also been a director of two TAFE institutes, and a chief executive of Skills Australia - has been critical of the so called "One TAFE" model. He said the centralisation of TAFE into one head office three years ago, replacing a series of separate institutes, had failed. Mr Shreeve said he was "surprised" another had been commissioned so soon after the release last year of a national review of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector by former New Zealand tertiary education minister Steven Joyce. That review found university has become the default post-school pathway, displacing VET options. "It's time for action, not another review," Mr Shreeve said.

Chief executive of Business NSW Stephen Cartwright said it supports a review of TAFE. "There are significant concerns however that the review will result in a reduction in funding, which would most significantly impact young people in rural and regional areas where youth unemployment rates are high," he said. Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the race to introduce private providers in the sector had been a disaster for students who faced higher fees and fewer course opportunities. "TAFE budgets have been slashed resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and courses," he said. "We have a serious skills shortage for key trades which can only be addressed by reinvesting and reinvigorating TAFE so we can train tradespeople of the future."

Mr Gavrielatos said the introduction of HECS loans would create a barrier for disadvantaged students. Skills Minister Geoff Lee said from this year, up to 30,000 mature age students who have been made redundant will get to enrol in certificate II and certificate III courses for free under a new government policy to address unemployment. Gregory Hain has taken advantage of the Mature Aged Workers Scholarship. Credit: "Learning is a lifelong journey and people are working later in their lives," he said. "We want to support mature age workers that have lost their jobs or are unemployed to get the skills and training they need to continue working." Donna Sherriff, 47, of south-west Sydney is among the first cohort offered a free course which she will use to get a job in the disability sector.