Richmond TAFE will likely lose courses and staff from ongoing cuts to TAFE funding.

The NSW TAFE Teachers Association president, Phil Chadwick, said Richmond College programs were being ‘‘reviewed’’ and reviews often led to courses being axed.

‘‘Richmond College’s Tertiary Preparation Course, which has enabled some students to go on to uni, could go,’’ Mr Chadwick said.

‘‘Financial services courses, such as accountancy, and general education courses such as literacy and numeracy, could also be in trouble.

‘‘Richmond TAFE has a counsellor who helps students with problems and with career advice, but his position is under review.’’

He said Richmond’s sports turf course had been recently transferred to Ryde College and its florist training moved to Penrith.

Mr Chadwick said although this was better than abandoning courses altogether, locating them at more remote colleges forced Hawkesbury students to spend more time and money commuting.

He blamed the government’s SmartSkills policy, where funding follows the students voucher-style, to different TAFE colleges and to private colleges.

‘‘Fees have increased and demand has fallen, so some courses are now not viable,’’ Mr Chadwick said.

Hawkesbury state MP Dominic Perrottet said the state budget had allocated $1.99 billion to TAFE, ‘‘representing an increase of $122 million or 6.5 per cent compared to last year’’.

‘‘TAFE is now offering new qualifications, higher degree programs and more flexible and online programs that lead to jobs,’’ Mr Perrottet said.

‘‘The government is focused on building business confidence, jobs and economic development to build a skilled workforce of the future.’’

The Gazette sought a comment from Richmond College staff, but the federation said NSW TAFE’s administration had warned employees to observe its code of conduct, which states TAFE directors have responsibility for media contact and will ‘‘seek advice on potentially significant or contentious issues’’.