Media release – Rebecca White MP, Tasmanian Labor Leader; Josh Willie MLC, Shadow Minister for Education and Early Years, Shadow Minister for TAFE, University & Skills & Training, 26 July 2023
Unlocking Tasmania’s economic potential through education
A Tasmanian Labor government will provide scholarships to enable an additional 500 Tasmanians to go to university each year.
The University of Tasmania has found there are more than 1,000 students each year who apply for a course, are offered a place, but then cancel their enrolments because they don’t have the financial means to support their study.
This is a tragedy for the students involved – it’s also a terrible outcome for Tasmania’s economy.
Supporting 500 additional students to complete a university degree, every year, will make a significant difference in a place the size of Tasmania.
It will unlock a massive reserve of unrealised potential, help to meet the labour force challenges Tasmania faces in both the private and public sector, and will lead to a step-change in educational attainment, particularly in the regional areas where many of these students are from.
Labor will support these students with a $5,000 annual scholarship to assist with living costs like rent, transport and study materials.
The scholarships will be provided to students most in need, and will be delivered through UTAS’s existing scholarships administration. This will provide these students with additional support from UTAS as they progress through their course to graduation.
As the University itself has said in its submission to the Accord process:
“There are well over 1,000 people in Tasmania every year who while qualified to participate in higher education, are not able to do so for financial reasons. That is a loss of human capability the State can ill afford, and a lost opportunity for each one of those people. Critically, we are missing the opportunity to activate the most powerful force we have to reduce inequality.”
The policy will cost $2.5m per year for each cohort* – a small investment to change Tasmania’s economic potential for years to come.
Labor is ambitious for Tasmania, and serious about bringing forward new ideas that will spread opportunity, support aspiration, and help deliver a strong economic future for us all.
*The policy costs $2.5 million in the first year, $5 million in year 2 with the second cohort, and $7.5 million in the third year, with the scheme costing $7.5 million thereafter.
Delivering for students and industry through TAFE scholarships
A Labor Government will support industry to grow and prosper by investing in the teaching workforce at TAFE.
For too long, Tasmanians have heard about the challenges TAFE has faced in recruiting and retaining teachers for its courses.
This in turn has impacted industry who have been left with a shortage of qualified workers.
To remedy this, a Labor Government will offer six-month scholarships to people from trade or professional backgrounds to assist them in becoming qualified TAFE teachers.
We will also support current TAFE teachers to spend more time in the trades they teach, ensuring that graduates are ready for work from the moment they walk out the door.
To support students, Labor will also increase the childcare subsidies that are available for TAFE students so people can get a qualification while they raise their children, and we’ll extend outside school hours care at 10 additional locations to allow parents to return to work sooner or pick up additional hours.
These policies will allow TAFE to be more responsive to the needs of industry and students, lifting the educational outcomes of Tasmanians while positively impacting the state’s workforce participation rate.
This will be rolled out in addition to our plan to provide 500 Tasmanians a year with scholarships to attend university and obtain a degree.
Working together, Labor’s plan will help build solid foundations for a better economic future that all Tasmanians can be proud of.
Media release – UTAS, 26 July 2023
University welcomes scholarships commitment
University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said:
“We know education provides access to opportunities and jobs that help people change their lives, but we also know that, for many Tasmanians, financial pressure closes the door to university.
“Our data suggests there are well over 1000 Tasmanians every year who could go to university – they have the qualifications – but are not able to participate for financial reasons.
“Removing the financial barrier to higher education for Tasmanians is of critical importance for individuals and for the State because we know that most jobs in the future will require higher education.
“More than productivity gains, access to education is about creating a more equitable society.
“That’s why we have been working to increase our access-focussed scholarships through our Support to Study program.
“Our ultimate goal is that every Tasmanian who needs financial support to go to the University of Tasmania can get a scholarship. This commitment would be a significant step towards that goal.”
