The Tasmanian government paid an Adelaide recruitment firm more than $500,000 to help hire 100 new TasTAFE teachers it promised at the 2021 election, a target the opposition says was never met.
The contract with Harrison MacMillan ran from February 2023 to December 31, 2025.
TasTAFE has since been asked to find $45 million in savings over four years, prompting it to cut 12 courses and put 56 jobs at risk.
“That’s Liberal waste in a nutshell,” Labor leader Josh Willie said.
“Spend half a million dollars trying to recruit 100 TasTAFE teachers, then turn around and cut 118 TasTAFE jobs.”
Willie said documents tabled in parliament showed TasTAFE planned to cut at least 118 full-time equivalent jobs, including 63 teaching roles, by 2030.
He said the cuts would affect the courses available to Tasmanians and called on the state government to back the training provider.
“Tasmania needs more tradies, nurses, aged care workers, early childhood educators, agricultural workers and skilled workers,” he said.
“That means backing TasTAFE, not cutting it.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff disputed the job figures on Sunday, describing them as “not true”.
He said the opposition was referring to a draft plan the government had not accepted.
“What I can say is that we are increasing TasTAFE expenditure … by $4m to $153m and it increases over the forward estimates,” he said.
Skills and Jobs Minister Felix Ellis said the courses being cut had low enrolments.
He said money from the sale of TasTAFE assets would be reinvested in infrastructure and training programs.
The courses cut so far include visual arts, design, screen and media, music, graphic design and meat processing.
The Diploma of Laboratory Technology and Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques will come to an end this year.
A government spokesperson said TasTAFE had advised there would be “no further significant changes to its course offering”.
