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THE state government has distanced itself from Bendigo Tafe redundancies despite coming under fire from the opposition and unions.
A spokesman for Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall yesterday said staffing levels were independent of government.
His comments come after
Bendigo West Labor MP Maree Edwards said the National Party had abandoned regional families. “It is not just jobs, these are people,” she said.
“These are people who have families, children, mortgages to pay. I don’t think this government cares.
“The Nationals should be in there fighting against this and not caving into the Liberals.”
The government spokesman said the state had pledged an extra $1 billion for Victoria’s training system over the next four years.
“Much of this money will go to better support courses that provide higher level training such as apprenticeships, areas of skills shortages or areas that make an important contribution to the Victorian economy and Victorians’ chances of gaining meaningful employment,” he said.
“These are the very areas in which TAFEs traditionally have a very strong market share.
“The government believes there are many opportunities for TAFE institutes, such as BRIT, to grow their businesses by focusing on these important training areas.”