At a time where hundreds, if not thousands, will be looking to retrain, some concerning trends are emerging in education.
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First, it was the steps to defund certain tertiary university degrees, to hike up the prices of some, and reduce the cost of others.
While on the surface, this appears to be an attempt to funnel people towards industries with healthy job outcomes - there are some severe consequences for students if the government is looking to have control over what people choose to study - if they effectively price people out.
IN OTHER NEWS:
While the news of a Senate Inquiry into those fee hikes is a positive step forward to ensuring rigorous testing of the plan, there have been some concerning trends closer to home that need as much investigation.
This week news broke that TasTAFE was seeking to restructure its curriculum and force creative subjects online, or "mixed-mode", with regional workshops planned if there is enough student demand.
Under the changes, subjects like jewellery making, design, art, and graphic design will no longer be taught primarily on campus. It follows news last year that the University of Tasmania would consolidate its course offerings.
UTAS has said the restructuring would help in its pursuit of becoming a smaller, agile university that is regionally networked - and that many of its courses had zero students in them.
However, it also announced last year it would be cutting Aboriginal Studies as a subject, in favour of "embedding Indigenous teaching into all of its courses." In a post-pandemic world, these small and seemingly insignificant changes will have a far-reaching impact.
It is no secret education will play a significant role in helping to guide Tasmania and Australia out of a recession, and both higher education providers TasTAFE and UTAS have a crucial part to play.
Tasmanian prospective and current students deserve to have the clarity to guide their study decisions, and uncertainty over which courses will and won't be available is only going to discourage people from starting study.
It's easy to see how this flow-on effect will lead to delays in the workforce, which is exactly the opposite of what we need.
