PM promises 100 more technical colleges

October 29, 2007 03:37pm

PRIME Minister John Howard has announced a $2.1 billion plan to build 100 more technical colleges around the country over the next 10 years.

Mr Howard said 30 of the colleges would be funded directly by the Commonwealth.

“The other 70 of those will be technical colleges which any government or independent school anywhere in Australia can choose to establish,” Mr Howard said at a school in east Melbourne.

“And if they choose to establish them, we will provide direct funding of $10 million to each of those schools established by either a government or independent school.”

Mr Howard said he would make further technical education announcements tomorrow.

“We want to restore what was a good system in a modern form,” he said.

“We need to understand that technical education is a very, very important component of the modern Australia.”

Mr Howard said boosting technical education would help drive unemployment down to 3 per cent.