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TAFE needs an urgent boost to be re-established as Australia's premier provider of vocational education, a parliamentary inquiry will be told.
In a submission to an inquiry investigating poor public perception of TAFE, the Australian Education Union will argue there is a "clear and urgent need" to rebuild respect for the provider, as well as for vocational students.
"Yet parity of esteem will only come with parity of policy and resourcing," the submission reads.
"Unless the TAFE sector gets the ongoing support required to run its programs we will not see the educational outcomes of our youth improved nor our communities and industry prosper.
"When TAFE is diminished so are the opportunities for our young people."
The committee on employment, education and training will hold a public hearing on Wednesday in Canberra.
The union warned there was also the immediate need to "improve the status" of jobs that require vocational education and training qualifications, which were important to society, but "undervalued and poorly paid".
"Encouraging people into vocational education should be a policy priority and a strong TAFE, as a permanently and properly funded public institution, should be the natural anchor for developing and sustaining vocational education innovation in Australia," the statement reads.
The union recommends a central vocational training hub providing information about qualifications and career pathways, in addition to a media blitz promoting the centre.
Free training and traineeships in areas of work force shortages should also be considered by the government, the union says.
The submission says a "market driven approach" to vocational education is one of the causes behind the "crisis".
