A Shorten Labor Government will invest in 56,000 new apprenticeships and TAFE places with no upfront fees for Queenslanders as part of our Queensland Skills Guarantee. 

The LNP has made massive cuts to TAFE and skills training so they can give bigger tax handouts to the top end of town. Labor will stop the LNP cuts.
 
Skills shortages should not last a day longer than it takes to train a local – and Labor will make sure Queenslanders can get the skills they need to secure local jobs.
 
The equation is simple. If Queenslanders can’t access the right training, they will miss out on local jobs.
 
Under the LNP, Australian apprenticeships have plummeted by 34 per cent in Queensland – with over 29,000 apprenticeships and traineeships lost since 2013. 
 
TAFE enrolments have also dropped by 25 per cent nationally. 
 
This is despite the fact that nine in 10 jobs will need a TAFE or university qualification in the coming years.
 
A Shorten Labor Government will turn this around by investing more than $1 billion in TAFE and apprenticeships. This will mean more opportunities for Queenslanders, including:
 

• 20,000 TAFE places with no up-front fees – so Queenslanders can get skills in growing industries. 
• Additional Apprentice Incentives for an extra 30,000 apprentices in areas of skills shortage – helping to reverse the decline that has occurred under the LNP.
• 2,000 pre-apprenticeship places for young Queenslanders – to give young Queenslanders at risk of unemployment the support they need to get into a trade. 
• 4,000 Advanced Entry Adult Apprenticeships – to support Queenslanders to get their skills recognised and complete an apprenticeship when the economy changes.

 
A Shorten Labor Government will also guarantee at least two in three public vocational education dollars goes to TAFE. And we will require one in 10 jobs on major Commonwealth and Defence projects to be an apprentice.
 
We will also work with the State Labor Government to re-build and renew TAFE facilities across the state as part of our $200 million Building TAFE for the Future Fund.
 
This election is a choice between Labor’s plan for better TAFE and more apprenticeships or bigger tax loopholes for the top end of town under the LNP – paid for by bigger cuts to the services families rely on.
 
After six years of LNP cuts and chaos, our united Labor team is ready to deliver a fair go for all Australians, not just the top end of town.