DESPITE an independent review of the vocational education and training sector that recommended a lean TasTAFE managerial structure - which was accepted by the state government - it appears this may not be followed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson said the creation of two general manager positions with salaries of $130,000 was going against the government's $80,000 independent review recommendations of the VET sector completed in early 2012.
TasTAFE chief executive Stephen Conway said this was not the case and the review's author, Virsis Consulting director Virginia Simmons, was happy with the draft model.
Under the management structure recommended in the review, the chief executive will deal directly with three regional managers, then two support and one teaching group manager.
Under the draft model distributed to VET staff this week in Hobart, there will be five general managers and a chief financial officer, who would then liaise with eight business centre managers and possibly a further three heads or groups.
Mr Ferguson said he had warned of the process being a ``lazy merger where the inefficiencies are being continued''.
``In the case of even more administration positions, opening up an application period for six days is absolutely ridiculous and tells potential applicants not to bother applying,'' he said.
``The government has abandoned its promise to use efficient management structure recommended by the Simmons review.''
Mr Ferguson said the five-day advertising period raised questions about whether the government was looking for the best candidate or was just going through the process and already had someone in mind.
The $131,978 a year positions start on July 1 and finish on June 30, 2014, with the possibility of a six-month extension.
Concerns were raised by those in the department about the time of Mr Conway's arrival to the state that the recommendation to have a lean management structure was being ignored.
``While slightly different in approach, it is based on Virginia Simmons' work and (I have) had several discussions with Virginia about the matter,'' Mr Conway said. ``Virginia is entirely happy with the draft structure and the approach.''
He said the advertised general manager positions would replace the regional manager roles recommended.
Mr Conway said the short period to apply was a standard arrangement for fixed-term jobs, and selection would be awarded through a merit-based process.
He said the positions were only short-term as they were still assessing what resources TasTAFE would need in the long term.