Western Sydney University welcomes significant boost to higher education places
Western Sydney University welcomes today’s announcement from the Australian Government of an additional 20,000 places for universities to help address national skills shortages and boost higher education participation for those from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds.
Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Barney Glover AO, said the announcement from Education Minister Jason Clare recognises that universities are key contributors to Australia’s economy and drivers of productivity, particularly during this important period of post-pandemic recovery.
“Today’s announcement is a significant, much-needed commitment by the Australian Government to provide tens of thousands of Commonwealth-supported places for the sector, specifically targeted at workforce areas where we need highly-skilled graduates the most,” said Professor Glover.
“This will go a long way to helping to address the critical workforce needs in areas like nursing, education, aged care and technology – particularly important in fast-growing and economically-important regions like western Sydney.”
Professor Glover said Western Sydney University has a long and proud history of opening up access and providing more higher education opportunities.
“Western Sydney University is proud to be a sector leader when it comes to opening up access to higher education for the people of our region, with more than 65 per cent of our students the first in their family to attend university,” he said.
“We know the transformative power of higher education and the impact it has on the lives of individuals, families and their broader communities, so we are pleased to see this plan to increase higher education participation, ensuring more people – no matter what their background – have the chance to succeed at university.”
The upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit will be a critical forum for ensuring that the additional university places are targeted to areas of greatest need and opportunity, added Professor Glover.
“Western Sydney will undoubtedly feature significantly given its exceedingly rapid growth, skills and cultural diversity, and the region’s unmatched concentration of industry and infrastructure,” he said.
ENDS
17 August 2022
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