THE HON JASON CLARE MP
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
THE HON STEPHEN JONES MP
MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
ASSISTANT TREASURER
ALISON BYRNES MP
MEMBER FOR CUNNINGHAM
FIONA PHILLIPS MP
MEMBER FOR GILMORE
MEDIA RELEASE
24 October 2022
MORE NURSES, TEACHERS AND ENGINEERS
20,000 MORE UNIVERSITY PLACES DELIVERED
The University of Wollongong has been allocated 936 additional university places to train more teachers, nurses and engineers by the Australian Government.
The additional places for the University of Wollongong represents an injection of funding of more than $29 million to train Australians underrepresented at university in areas of skills need.
This is part of delivering on the Albanese Government’s commitment to provide 20,000 extra university places to train more Australians.
It will provide extra places for people studying bachelor and sub-bachelor courses in areas of skills need like education, nursing, health, IT and engineering.
Across the country, higher education providers have been allocated places in the following areas:
- 4,036 places in education, including 1,469 for teachers in early education
- 2,600 places in nursing
- 2,275 in IT
- 2,740 in health professions like pharmacists, health science and community health
- 1,738 in engineering.
The remaining courses will be offered in other areas of skills shortage.
The 20,000 additional places will be allocated to students under-represented at Australian universities including those from poorer backgrounds, Indigenous Australians and students from rural and remote Australia.
The extra places will mean more Australians from these backgrounds training to be teachers, nurses, health professionals and engineers.
The additional places nationally will be for students starting next year and in 2024 with an investment of up to $485.5 million over the next four years.
Quotes attributable to Education Minister Jason Clare:
“This means more teachers, nurses and engineers and it means more Australians from poor families and rural and remote Australia doing these jobs. That’s life-changing.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP:
“This announcement is fantastic news for our community for so many reasons - supporting local people to get a good education, and helping to solve the skills shortage crisis that is hitting our region hard.
“Affordable and equitable access to education is essential to making sure local people can secure good local jobs in areas of need.
“As a former TAFE teacher, I know the difference education can make to disadvantaged sections of our community – it can literally transform lives.
“I will work closely with the university to make sure our regional campuses like Batemans Bay and the Shoalhaven receive our fair share of these places.”
