Laverton electorate
Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (14:41): (371) My question is for the Minister for Skills and TAFE in the other place. Our government’s free TAFE program is changing the lives of Victorians right across our state, giving people the opportunity to upskill for the careers that are in demand. Just this year alone we added an additional 10 courses to the free TAFE list to reflect in-demand fields of work, including in Auslan interpreting, agriculture work, working with electric vehicle batteries and, most importantly, mental health. More importantly, we have seen the work that our government has done in leading the nation on free TAFE supported at the national level, with the federal government supporting over 80 different TAFE courses and short courses, making them tuition-free and supporting an additional 300,000 TAFE and vocation education places, which will be available from January next year. So my question for the minister is this: how many people in my electorate of Laverton have benefited from our government’s free TAFE program?