National Tafe Day: Skilled workforce must be Olympic legacy
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 131 No 7, 2 October 2026, page no.6
National TAFE Day was celebrated on Wednesday 9 September, providing an important opportunity to recognise the contribution and promote the value of public TAFE.
During the week of 7 to 11 September, the Queensland Teachers’ Union encouraged members across Central Queensland University (CQU) and TAFE Queensland to hold barbecues or morning teas at their campuses. These celebrations may have concluded, but the message remains as important as ever: the road to Brisbane 2032 and beyond begins in TAFE classrooms.
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games offer Queensland a once-in-a-generation opportunity. They can deliver a lasting legacy through better public transport networks, world-class sporting venues, modern community facilities and new public and private infrastructure across the state. However, infrastructure does not build or maintain itself. Queensland will need qualified tradespeople, technicians, health professionals, hospitality workers, and many others as part of a highly skilled workforce to turn the promise of 2032 into reality.
Workforce shortages are already recognised as a significant risk to infrastructure delivery, with pressure extending across key trades, engineering, and project management. The legacy of Brisbane 2032 should not be measured only in concrete and steel. It should also be measured in the skilled vocational workforce we develop.
CQU and TAFE Queensland are central to building that workforce. Together, Queensland’s public vocational education providers train students for careers across construction, transport, engineering, health, community services, tourism, hospitality, and other essential industries. At the heart of this work are TAFE teachers. Skilled workers must be taught, mentored, assessed, and supported by educators with current industry knowledge and the professional time required to deliver quality training.
Yet members report increasing workloads, longer working hours, declining morale, and difficulty retaining experienced teachers. Queensland cannot address skills shortages while losing the educators responsible for developing its workforce.
National TAFE Symposium
The Australian Education Union’s (AEU) National TAFE Symposium, “A Future Made with TAFE,” will be held in Canberra on 29 October, bringing together TAFE educators, researchers, policy makers, and the community to explore the future of TAFE and VET in Australia.
Join the Rebuild with TAFE campaign here.