Victoria's TAFE 'best in Australia'

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, Phil Honeywood, has responded to criticism of Victoria's TAFE system by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Brumby.

"On all important measures Victoria's training and further education sector is recognised as the best in Australia.

"We have the highest participation rate of any state - including the highest participation rate for regional areas, the highest levels of customer satisfaction from students and employers and we deliver more hours of training per head of population than any other state. We have also delivered a 22 per cent increase in new apprenticeships.

"We have been able to achieve these positive outcomes without mis-spending taxpayers' dollars on unnecessary bureaucracy and waste.

Mr Honeywood said the recent Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) report represented a big tick for Victoria's training and further education system.

Victoria's TAFE system now has:

· The highest participation rate in the country - 12 per cent of all Victorians aged between 15-65 undertook a TAFE course last year compared to a national average of 10 per cent

· The highest proportion of rural and regional students in the country - 11.4 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in the rest of Australia

· The highest employer satisfaction rating in the country - 88 per cent compared to a national average of 78 per cent

· Twenty two per cent more New Apprentices this year compared to last year

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, 26 November 1998)