Site-specific enrolment figures obtained by the Mercury, and published in IRIS Research’s 2016 Illawarra statistical guide, have revealed every one of TAFE Illawarra’s 14 campuses recorded a drop in students between 2013 and 2015. 

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The defunct Dapto campus was the hardest hit, with a 95.3 per cent decrease in students between 2014 (215 enrolments) and last year (10). 

The campus, which was replaced by an off-site Connected Learning Centre when it closed earlier this year, had 274 students enrolled in 2013.

The main Wollongong campus wasn’t immune to the falling numbers, with enrolments there dropping by about 3100 (26.9 per cent) between 2014 and 2015. 

The NSW government’s Smart and Skilled reforms of the vocational education and training (VET) system were introduced on January 1, 2015 and NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) TAFE organiser Rob Long said the enrolment figures showed just how hard the changes had hit students.  

“They [the government] are cutting public services and now we're seeing the impacts of what it really means,” Mr Long said.  

“Students are getting less access to high-quality education that, in the Illawarra, always got them jobs.”

Overall TAFE Illawarra enrolments fell from 32,369 in 2013 to 23,116 in 2015 – a drop of 28.6 per cent. 

During the same period, student numbers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) grew 5.9 per cent from 22,994 to 24,362.

The UOW figures don’t include its offshore campuses in Dubai and Hong Kong or the UOW College. 

Often seen as a stepping stone to university, TAFE’s downward spiral has the NSWTF “deeply concerned”.

“Smart and Skilled is basically a huge budget cut,” Mr Long said, adding the falling enrolments were just one piece of an overall puzzle.

“There’s been a reduction in courses available, but also [a reduction in] the hours of delivery that students get access to.

“Every course has taken a huge whack in relation to the number of hours that they’re allowed to deliver.”

When questioned specifically about the plummeting TAFE Illawarra enrolments, a spokesman for Skills Minister John Barilaro quoted TAFE NSW figures and said “enrolments are actually on the increase”.

“TAFE NSW year-to-date data shows that enrolments are substantially higher in 2016 compared with 2015, some 20 per cent higher than for the same period last year,” the spokesman said. 

Asked about the future of physical TAFE Illawarra campuses, given enrolments were down at every one, the spokesman reiterated one of Mr Barilaro’s earlier phrases – “Where TAFE is now, TAFE will be tomorrow.”

“TAFE NSW remains committed to its physical presence in the Illawarra and is dedicated to having a central role in supporting the growth and development of skills and jobs across the region,” he said.

The NSWTF fears for the future of other TAFE Illawarra campuses like Cooma and Queanbeyan, which also felt the brunt of falling numbers.

Enrolments at Cooma and Queanbeyan dropped by 52.6 per cent and 44.8 per cent, respectively, between 2014 and 2015.  Cooma’s 2014-15 percentage decrease ranked it second behind the now-closed Dapto campus.  

The only TAFE Illawarra area to record a rise in enrolments was online, up 144 per cent between 2014 and 2015. 

The online study figures were from a low base – 109 up to 266.

The Shellharbour TAFE campus also recorded an increase – of 200 students between 2014 and last year (a rise of 5.4 per cent). 

However, when looking at Shellharbour over a three-year period the change was a 9.5 per cent drop between 2013 (4296 students) and 2015 (3886).

TAFE Illawarra was contacted for comment.