A former TAFE Queensland chief executive and Newman government appointee received a $390,000 termination payment despite leaving her role “voluntarily”, according to the Palaszczuk government.
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Jodi Schmidt was appointed to head up the training body in July 2013 and left on September 15, 2017, three months before her contract's end date, and received a payout at the end of the year, according to the TAFE Queensland annual report.
On her LinkedIn page, Ms Schmidt describes herself as an experienced CEO with “a track record of successful business transformation, returning underperforming organisations to profitability and significantly enhancing shareholder value”.
She was previously a deputy director-general of the former Department of Education, Training and Employment, and chief operating officer of the Southbank Institute of Technology.
Ms Schmidt’s replacement, Mary Campbell, worked in TAFE Queensland for 11 years before taking over the role.
Fairfax Media contacted TAFE Queensland and the office of the Minister for Training and Skills to clarify the details of Ms Schmidt’s departure and the termination benefit, but staffers insisted she “left voluntarily” at the “time of her contract end date”.
Training and Skills Minister Shannon Fentiman would only say Ms Campbell was doing a “wonderful job steering TAFE in a positive direction”.
Comment was sought from Ms Schmidt, but she did not return calls or respond to messages.
Meanwhile, the body’s annual report showed it haemorrhaged $2.76 million despite budget forecasts it would turn an $8.129 million profit.
The number of TAFE students also dropped over the past year, from 122,034 to 120,851, and the number of Certificate I qualifications awarded fell from 41,600 to 37,214.
Ms Fentiman blamed the drop in TAFE student numbers, and losses to the agency’s bottom line, on budget cuts imposed by the federal government.
“TAFE has been impacted by external factors relating to changes in the national vocational education and training sector, including cuts by the Commonwealth of $27.4 million to TAFE’s 2017-18 budget,” she said.
“These cuts include [a] reduction [in] students accessing VET Student Loans, cuts to the Adult Migrant English program, and cuts to the Commonwealth Skills for Education and Employment program."
She added that federal government cuts of $70 million in the first year of the National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund had put 7000 Queensland apprenticeships and traineeships at risk.
The drop in student numbers was “largely attributed” to the same federal cuts, the Minister said, but added the state government expected to see a lift in numbers because of initiatives such as Free TAFE for all Queensland year 12 graduates.
The LNP’s training and skills spokeswoman, Fiona Simpson, hit back, saying the report showed the agency was in turmoil.
“Just a week ago, Minister Shannon Fentiman said TAFE had made a profit, yet the annual report states in black and white TAFE lost nearly $3 million – over $10 million worse than the government had forecasted,” Ms Simpson said.
“The annual report has shone a light on how dire the situation is, and no matter how hard Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor try, they can’t hide the ugly truth that has been revealed in TAFE’s financials.”
Ms Simpson said the termination payment made to Ms Schmidt was “concerning”, and raised questions over the manner of her departure.
“Termination payments aren’t typically made for employees who leave voluntarily,”” Ms Simpson said.
“The fact that such a large sum has been paid by Labor raises serious questions as to what the money was for.
“If the Premier can’t explain the payment, an independent investigation may be required to get to the bottom of this.”
She added that training for the next generation of Queenslanders would be impacted if problems in the TAFE sector were not addressed.
“With the highest unemployment rate in the nation we can’t afford to wreck our training industry,” Ms Simpson said.
“This year, TAFE trained fewer students, over fewer hours and awarded fewer accreditations.
“Minister Fentiman needs to stop the cover-ups and focus on getting TAFE’s priorities right, and the Premier needs to step in and fix this crisis immediately.”
