GOOD NEWS: Shayne Neumann gives the message on funding to local University of Southern Queensland students
THE Federal government has lived up to a key election promise and will fund 20,000 additional university places to tackle skills shortages.
The additional places will be allocated over two years from the start of 2023 with an investment of up to $485.5 million over the next four years.
Places will be targeted at areas of skills shortage like education, health, engineering, and technology.
Higher education providers will competitively bid for allocations of places and application processes will open this month for both the 2023 and 2024 academic years.
Higher education providers will be required to demonstrate that they will dedicate places to addressing areas of skills need as identified in the Government’s Secure Australian Jobs plan and by the National Skills Commission.
They will also be required to allocate them to people from low-socio economic backgrounds, rural and remote areas, First Nations people, and people with disability.
The additional places will skill-up Australians, helping to boost productivity and provide opportunity to Australians currently under-represented at Australian universities.
Modelling shows that 90 per cent of new jobs in the next five years will require a tertiary qualification.
Universities are critical to training Australians for these jobs and that’s why they will be represented at the Jobs and Skills Summit next month.
Blair MP Shayne Neumann said it was good news for school leavers in Blair.
“Where you live, how much your parents earn, whether you are Indigenous or not, is still a major factor in whether you are a student or a graduate of an Australian university,” he said.
“I don’t want us to be a country where your chances in life depend on your postcode, your parents, or the colour of your skin.
“How we prepare young people for the jobs our economy needs was a big focus of my recent Blair Jobs summit, and will be on the agenda at the national Summit.”
