Source : Perth Now news
Almost a dozen technical colleges would be established to provide a career-ready pathway for Victorian students under a coalition plan.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson will officially announce the election commitment – which would give 5000 secondary students hands-on vocational education and training in trades – on Sunday.
“My team is backing the next generation of tradies to get the skills they need sooner for a rewarding career,” she said.
Details of the announcement provided to AAP show 10 new colleges will focus on training students in trades critical to building new homes and infrastructure such as plumbing, electrical and carpentry.
The rollout will cost $222 million over eight years.
The colleges will also train young people in health care and hospitality, partnering with local businesses and industry bodies to deliver industry-focused learning.
The plan will replicate South Australia’s model, announced in 2022 and marketed online as “high school, but different”.
The colleges will have dedicated teachers and enrol students from years 10 to 12.
“Not every student thrives in a traditional classroom and not every young person wants to go to university,” Ms Wilson said.
“They deserve another pathway to a great career.”
Ms Wilson said the colleges were part of the opposition’s plan to grow the economy and boost home-building by better connecting what students learned at school with “the jobs our state desperately needs filled”.
Each college will cater for up to 500 students and be located at existing secondary schools and TAFE Institutes.
The cost of the project will be offset by more than $24 billion of “disciplined and responsible savings” including a hiring freeze on back-office bureaucrats and caps on excessive public service executive pay, the opposition said.
In August, Labor opened the Brimbank Tech School at Victoria University’s Sunshine campus, which will enrol more than 13,000 secondary students from 15 partner schools.
It was the third of six tech schools established across the state as part of Labor’s $116 million investment in STEM education.
The opposition’s announcement comes as the race to November’s election heats up, with fewer than 50 days until polling day.
The Greens launched their historic campaign earlier this week, committing to make life affordable again for voters in a state hit by cost-of-living pressures.
The party unveiled a suite of policies including a $350 million pledge to trial 10 state-owned supermarkets for four years.
Labor’s primary vote remains steady at 25 per cent, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor, conducted in September and published by Nine newspapers.
Primary support for the coalition pushed up one point to 27 per cent and One Nation was steady at 23 per cent, with the Greens on 12 per cent and independents on eight per cent.
