Bartlett clueless on threat to teacher’s aide training

· When questioned in Parliament about the future of teacher’s aide training, the Premier was clueless

· His failure to answer our question shows he doesn’t even understand his own Tasmania Tomorrow changes

· The Premier should immediately act to ensure teacher aide training is made a priority

The Premier’s failure to answer a question on teacher aide qualification courses delivery by the Skills Institute and Polytechnic shows that even he does not understand the reforms he is responsible for.

The State Opposition has been made aware of possible threats to the delivery of Certificate III in Education (Teacher Aide/Assistant), and we are extremely concerned that this course may no longer be offered and if it is, it may be wound back, requiring participants to pay full fee.

The Premier was unable to explain why Skills Tasmania no longer see having qualified teacher aides as a priority for Tasmanian children, and why they have indicated that they will not provide funding for the training of teachers aides in the Polytechnic next year .

Does the Premier believe that teacher aides are so well paid that they can afford to pay the full cost of the course fee, or does he believe that teacher aides do not need training for their current specific support services?

Under the Premier’s Tasmania Tomorrow changes, Skills Tasmania now requires employers to pay full cost for the training of their employees via the Skills Institute. I would have thought that the Premier would at least be able to say whether his Department would consider offering to pay for the training of their own teacher’s aides.

Many other employers are facing the same question, as Skills Tasmania and the Polytechnic move toward asking paid employees and their employers to pay for whatever training they want to have.

Has the Premier discussed this additional impost with the non-government sector?

The Opposition has been told that a priority list currently being developed by Skills Tasmania does not include this course for the Polytechnic, and that the Tasmanian Skills Institute is the most likely place for presently employed teacher’s aides to undertake training.

I am aware that there are at least 75 people in the South of the State alone that have expressed an interest in taking part in this course in 2010 and it astounds me that there is even a question as to the need and demand for this course to be offered.

There is always a high demand for teacher aides, with most people being sought directly from their studies at the Polytechnic. There will be a number of people who are looking at this training as a way to get back into employment, so it begs the question of how they are supposed to get into a Skills Institute course.

Teacher’s aides provide a vital service in schools across the state, their opportunities for professional development and training must be maintained.

Instead, their training is being undermined by a Premier too consumed by political problems to focus attention on his education portfolio and this is totally unacceptable.
Sue Napier MP Shadow Minister for Education