Search results

In 1913 the NSW Department of Public Instruction introduced a rule whereby people enrolled in classes in technical colleges needed to be employed in a trade for which the classes were deemed appropriate. This had the immediate effect of reducing enrolments by almost half throughout the state. This article looks at the lessons in this episode - now that pressures are once again being felt for reducing the `non-vocational' (or `further') role of TAFE in the community. A study is made of the kinds of `non-vocational' courses people were pursuing in NSW technical colleges prior to 1913, and parallels are drawn between certain perceived skills needs of that time and today.