ALA

Shadow Minister for Employment Participation and Training, Andrew Southcott welcomes the announcements that three Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) will be able to continue to operate past 2009, thanks to the support of the Catholic Education Office and Anglican Schools.

Australian Technical College (ATC) – Port Macquarie will become known as the Newman Senior Technical College and will continue to be owned and operated by the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore.

The Australian Technical College (ATC) – Northern Adelaide is set to become a Catholic systemic senior secondary college, which will be owned and operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.

The Australian Technical College West Sydney will be operated by the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation, and is set to expand, offering enrolments for up to 800 students from year 9 to year 12. This decision to increase the number of enrolments is clear recognition of the valuable role that Australian Technical Colleges play in offering education opportunities for students who may have otherwise disengaged from the traditional secondary schooling system.

A key feature of Australian Technical Colleges is their industry leadership, which ensures that the education and training provided by each college is relevant to the needs of industry, aiming to produce highly qualified apprentices who can make a smooth transition from school into a full-time apprenticeship.

It is crucial to the success of this model that industry involvement remains paramount.

The decision by the Coalition to build and run Australian Technical Colleges was truly revolutionary. Labor, for all their rhetoric are intent on destabilising the union between industry and education, forged by the Coalition.

If Labor is serious about addressing skills shortages, it should commit to retaining and expanding Australian Technical Colleges.