The University of Canberra wants to become an institution for “tradies”, unveiling plans to shave off a year from study for people with certain TAFE qualifications after successive government reviews called for better pathways between vocational education and university.

The university’s vice chancellor, former Labor leader Bill Shorten, said the change meant people with selected existing diplomas could save up to $12,000 on the cost of some bachelor degrees.

Plumber Maric Wichman, 27, left school and enrolled in a bachelor of security studies but dropped out after two weeks. Credit: James Brickwood

“We’re going to look at people with TAFE qualifications, and we are going to treat their qualifications with parity of esteem,” Shorten said.

“[The University of Canberra] is happy to b

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