Bid to recruit TasTAFE jobs
NEW recruits with industry experience should be offered incentives to fill staff shortages at TasTAFE, says the Australian Education Union.
The AUE wants to negotiate a package so people with industry experience can leapfrog into TasTAFE teaching roles on more competitive salaries.
AEU Tasmania president Simon Bailey said there were skills shortages in booming industries, and expertise was urgently needed to teach new recruits.
The union’s proposal for a new “teacher under supervision” role would also help people gain their teaching qualifications faster.
“The role would attract people with plenty of industry experience with a permanent job and the opportunity to obtain the necessary qualifications to teach in their first year of employment,” Mr Bailey said.
“We want a new classification for teachers under supervision that would allow new starters to negotiate a wage competitive with what they would receive in the industry they’re working in.”
The proposal comes as TasTAFE struggles to attract teachers in key industries such as IT and construction trades, in some cases refusing new students and delaying graduation and employment for current students.
The Mercury has in the past revealed that staff shortages in nursing are so severe that students who have finished courses are waiting weeks for their qualifications.
TasTAFE said it was aware of the delay for southern nursing students and was seeking external markers from other parts of the state and interstate.
TasTAFE chief executive officer Jenny Dodd said staff absences due to unforeseen circumstances had delayed the marking.
The AEU will take its proposal to attract industry expertise to the Government as it continues to negotiate wages for the sector.
“We are looking forward to getting back to the negotiating table with the Government so we can start addressing the issues for both TasTAFE and Tasmanian industries,” Mr Bailey said.
“Along with attracting quality staff, TAFE teachers’ key priorities are workload and a professional pathway that leads to a tertiary qualification.”