TAFE South Australia

TAFE South Australia (TAFE SA) provides vocational education and training in South Australia. The acronym TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education and is used and recognised nationally throughout Australia. TAFE SA is a Registered training organisation (RTO) under the jurisdiction of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

TAFE SA Logo

TAFE SA is an independent statutory corporation of the Government of South Australia and one of Australia's providers of Vocational Education and Training (VET).

TAFE SA delivers training to around 70,000 students each year, about the same number of students as all of South Australia's public universities combined. TAFE SA delivers 1,300 qualifications ranging from certificates through to advanced diplomas and bachelor's degrees. It also delivers skill sets and customized short courses.

Students develop skills in sectors such as building and construction; tourism and hospitality; creative arts; mining, engineering and transport; primary industries, animal and laboratory sciences; community services, health and lifestyle; business, justice and information technology; language, literacy, numeracy; and Indigenous education.

TAFE SA's training facilities include the Tonsley campus, which opened in January 2014; the Adelaide College of the Arts, the International Centre for Hospitality, Tourism and Food Studies, training restaurant and Mining Engineering and Transport Centre at Regency Campus; driving simulators for the mining industry; truck-mounted mobile engineering training units and virtual enterprises.

History

On 1 November 2012, TAFE SA became a statutory corporation separate from the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology. At this point, TAFE SA decided to merge the three districts (institutes) into one to provide more streamlined services and a more consistent experience for students.

2017 Training Scandal

In December 2017, following a random audit of TAFE SA courses by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), fourteen courses were suspended for small discrepancies in assessment, affecting 630 students that were individually case managed. The Weatherill Government and Education Minister Susan Close announced that the government would cover expenses for affected students, but opposition and cross-bench figures have called for broader solutions such as a specialised Ombudsman or a statutory compensation scheme.[1] This was taken up as a political issue by the Nick Xenophon Party. Close further sacked TAFE SA's chairman, with four courses being scrapped, and the other ten suspended by ASQA.[2][3]. All assessment errors were rectified.

See also

• Education in Australia

References

1. "Compensation demanded for students affected by TAFE SA crisis". ABC News. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
2. "TAFE SA given extra time to fix substandard courses - InDaily". InDaily. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
3. "TAFE SA given extension to fix course problems". ABC News. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.