If you’re looking for a job in Adelaide and thinking of adding a new TAFE SA qualification to your resume, the SA government just made it harder.

TAFE SA chief executive David Coltman told SA Parliament recently some industries had raised deep concerns about cutting TAFE courses in, “vulnerable community areas, including childcare, aged care and disability services.”

Coltman said the organisation would provide teaching support to private training providers.

“Our interest is ensuring that the students of South Australia have the best teaching and learning opportunities and we will support that delivery.”

A few readers might remember the Private Training Provider VET Fee-Help disaster, which ripped off billions of dollars from students and the Commonwealth Government.

Many private providers simply haven’t shown the diligence or governance to run vocational programs. Now TAFE SA is going to help them teach. It’s like Groundhog Day all over again.

Coltman said, “the policy position of the government is to grow vocational education and training access and choice through the development of a contestable market.”

But education isn’t ‘contestable’. It’s what informs human consciousness. It’s like putting a market price on air.

TAFE SA last year revealed that 20 courses would be scrapped from metro campuses this year.

Australian Education Union state president Lara Golding said, “Private training businesses exist to make a profit and when businesses seek to make a profit they sometimes cut corners.”

Five years ago I wrote for Campus Review that, “Like a drunken hoon in an underpowered car, the South Australian government is speeding towards disaster, with the public bouncing around in the back.

Back then a leaked parliamentary briefing note prepared for ALP Skills Minister Gail Gago, showed TAFE’s full-time jobs will fall by 814 positions. TAFE has been bleeding jobs for years.