'Unmitigated disaster': Toll of VET cuts detailed in new report

The Association of Providers of Training Services, which advocates for non-government providers in Canberra and the surrounding region, used the report to "implore" the Barr government to reconsider its decisions to strip potentially millions of dollars worth of subsidies to the sector.

The ACT government agency in charge of vocational education has again defended the changes as necessary to return funding back to a "sustainable" level.

Skills Canberra is, however, poised to restore some funding by opening up more subsidised training places later this year.

The government sent shockwaves through the industry in January when it published details on what qualifications would receive taxpayer support in 2020.

It showed subsidies had either been significantly reduced, or axed entirely, for dozens of courses.

The number of courses subsidised through the government's Skilled Capital program was slashed from 107 to 40, with qualifications in early childhood, construction, hospitality and cyber security all cut off from the scheme.

In a report published last month, the APTS said the changes would be "felt far and wide", with repercussions for prospective and currents students, training providers, employers and the wider ACT economy.

The timing and surprise nature of the announcement meant providers wouldn't have time to adjust their operations to cope with the funding cuts, it said.

"Initial feedback from affected training providers indicates projected revenue losses of between 30% and 100%, which will significantly reduce service provision, force mass job losses and/or lead to business closure," the report said.

The 10-page report drew on anecdotal evidence from providers to highlight how the cuts would affect industries which were already struggling to find skilled workers.

According to the report, one early childhood education provider was bracing for the "vast majority" of students to pull out of the course after being told they would have to pay the full tuition fee.

"This will be an unmitigated disaster for the prospects of my RTO [registered training organisation], not to mention the devastating loss of potential new workers moving into the sector," the provider told the association.

The decision to slash support for students enrolled in a certificate III in Individual Support meant there was now "no affordable pathway" into the aged care sector, the report said.

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That was particularly consequential given both the aged care and disability royal commissions have highlighted a lack of well trained and qualified staff in the industry, it stated.

"This will worsen the current skills crisis and further compound the current quality of care issues plaguing the sector," the report said.

The hospitality, building and construction and business sectors would all suffer as a result of the cuts, it said.

The ACT government earlier this year said the changes were necessary to bring funding levels back to a "sustainable rate of growth", after high demand for certain courses caused it to blow its overall budget for student subsidies.

Tertiary education minister Andrew Barr has said existing students would be exempt from the new regime. He has also highlighted that the total amount budgeted for Skilled Capital and User Choice programs will actually increase in 2020.

In its report, the association said the government's explanations for the cuts had been "unsatisfactory, ambiguous and lack[ed] transparency".

The association's Mark Field told The Canberra Times that he believed Skills Canberra had "mismanaged" training funding over the past three years, which had resulted in the budget blowouts.

Mr Field said the agency should have addressed the problem incrementally, rather than in "one fell swoop".

"They have overspent and they haven't done anything to rectify that until now where they have been forced to rectify it," he said.

"That has meant the depth of the cuts are so much greater, when they shouldn't have had to be this deep."

Mr Field, who is the managing director of Access Recognised Training, feared there could be a 30 per cent decline in new apprentices in the ACT as a result of the cuts.

Skills Canberra would not be drawn on the association's claims that funding for training had been mismanaged in recent years.

In a statement, a spokeswoman reiterated that it wanted to return the overall level of funding for subsidies back to a "sustainable rate".

"As part of this process, priority was given to training in skills needs areas and school-to-VET pathways," the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said it was intending to open up more subsidised training places in August. The specifics would be thrashed out in consultation with the sector, she said.

"We look forward to working closely with industry as we seek to deliver the best outcomes for vocational education and training in Canberra," she said.

Opposition business and employment spokesman Andrew Wall said the ACT now faced a "massive skill shortage" because of the government's "financial mismanagement".

"The immediate impact of these cuts is that many school leavers are now left without a vocational training pathway as they simply cannot afford the fees," Mr Wall said.

"The long-term impact of this will be a lack of skills in the ACT's workforce over the coming years."