tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/tafe-2413/articlesTAFE – The Conversation2023-12-17T19:17:42Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056522023-12-17T19:17:42Z2023-12-17T19:17:42ZUniversity isn’t right for everyone. Pushing young people to go can have devastating effects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547106/original/file-20230908-21-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian school students feel immense pressure to go to university, often at the exclusion of all other pathways, which can lead to devastating mental health effects. </p>
<p>That’s among the headline findings of our decade-long program of research on the aspirations and post-school trajectories of young Australians. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2023.2287417">research</a>, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cedr20">Educational Review</a>, reveals the unintended consequences of government higher education policies, inadequate school career advice, and a wider public devaluing of the vocational education and training sector.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-would-you-go-to-uni-a-new-study-looks-at-what-young-australians-do-after-school-200073">'Why would you go to uni?' A new study looks at what young Australians do after school</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>Since 2012, we’ve conducted one of the largest <a href="https://www.aspirations.edu.au/the-research">studies</a> to date on the aspirations of Australian youth, involving more than 10,000 students in Years 3-12.</p>
<p>Recently, we followed up with 50 of these young people <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/aspirations-equity-higher-education-course-choice/">post-school</a> to see where they ended up in terms of their career and educational pathways.</p>
<p>Our findings reveal some significant and, at times, devastating insights into how young Australians – particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds – have experienced the “push” towards higher education.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crisp winter light falls upon the University of Sydney." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547108/original/file-20230908-19-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not everyone needs to go to university.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Pressure to attend university and the devaluing of TAFE</h2>
<p>The young people in our research consistently said university was explicitly pushed as the only post-school pathway worth pursuing during their schooling. Other pathways were often deemed to be “not good enough”. One university graduate told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think there’s quite a lot actually of […] pressure given, not from all teachers, but some teachers, to really go towards higher education […] I’d say I felt pressured as a group, or as like, as a generation […] I just think that was just an overarching expectation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This pressure frustrated some students. Angus* fulfilled his dream of becoming a chef by training at TAFE and eventually working in a top restaurant in London. In his first interview in 2014 he described restaurants as a place he “fits in”. </p>
<p>However, he also told us he had been repeatedly told by his teachers that “cheffing’s a horrible job”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Almost every teacher at my school wanted to push me into their career path, [and I was told], ‘You’re very smart […] you should go to uni’ [otherwise I] might not become successful […] They always pushed me towards university. Regardless of what my feelings were, to be honest, I never felt truly supported by my career adviser.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Limited career education in school</h2>
<p>Young people also overwhelmingly said the career education provided at school was unhelpful, impersonal, and pushed them towards university. </p>
<p>Career guidance was mainly focused on achieving a high ATAR (university entrance rank), with one student describing how her career adviser spent “more time trying to calculate my ATAR than imparting actual advice”.</p>
<p>Alternative entry pathways into university often weren’t openly discussed or fully understood. Such pathways were often devalued in favour of achieving the best ATAR possible. One young person told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think with the pressure in schools on ATARs and that sort of thing – and they have to put that pressure on because they want you to do well. But it sort of develops a stigma around, well, if I don’t do Year 11 and 12 […], then I can’t get into university, without [young people understanding] there’s actually [alternative] pathways.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Stress and poor mental health</h2>
<p>Many young people therefore felt high levels of stress and poor mental health during the final years of high school and the beginning of university, with some “losing the plot” or feeling “burnt out”.</p>
<p>The most extreme mental ill health reported in our interviews was experienced by Dahlia, a young Indigenous woman.</p>
<p>When we first spoke to her in 2016, she was a high achieving Year 11 student with aspirations to become a criminal psychologist. </p>
<p>When we next spoke to her in 2021, she described how the pressure of Year 12 caused her to drop out of school. During this year, Dahlia had severe mental ill health and made an attempt to end her life. </p>
<p>She later completed a traineeship in early childhood and care, before entering university to study a combined degree in primary and early childhood teaching. Dahlia was eager for her experience to be a warning about the pressure and stress of Year 12 exams:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was just a burn out, like, I was just so overwhelmed. I felt like I was so pressured to do the best and I felt like I wasn’t the best […] then I’d get anxiety about not being as good as everyone thinks I am […] that’s why I really wanted to do this interview, because I wanted to put it out there that high school is not the be all, end all […] getting that high [Year 12] mark isn’t the be all, end all. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of high school students look at a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547109/original/file-20230908-17-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many young people feel high levels of stress during the final years of high school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>The pressure to attend university compounds stress and poor mental health for some young people. This isn’t surprising given the transition to adulthood is the peak period for the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5694/mja2.51327">onset of mental disorders</a>. </p>
<p>We must urgently address the limited career education available to students and the narrow version of success linked to <a href="https://theconversation.com/they-dont-expect-a-lot-of-me-they-just-want-me-to-go-to-uni-first-in-family-students-show-how-we-need-a-broader-definition-of-success-in-year-12-196284">Year 12 exams and the ATAR</a> in schools and society.</p>
<p>This would involve:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>providing adequate training and resources to schools and career advisers</p></li>
<li><p>raising the status of vocational education and careers; and</p></li>
<li><p>valuing alternative pathways to university, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-enabling-programs-how-do-they-help-australians-get-to-uni-210269">enabling programs</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman looks very stressed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547107/original/file-20230908-29-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pressure to attend university can compound stress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/resources/accord-interim-report">The Universities Accord</a> (a major federal government-led review that seeks to “reimagine” higher education for the next 30 years) provides an opportunity to change the lives and trajectories of Australian students. Ensuring the higher education sector is fair and equitable is at the heart of this process.</p>
<p>Its <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/resources/accord-interim-report">interim report</a> claims that “too few Australians are going to university.” This is based on estimates that more than 50% of new jobs in the next five years will require a university degree. </p>
<p>However, the skills gap is even greater in technician and trade careers <a href="https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/2022%20SPL%20Key%20Findings%20Report%20-%206%20October%202022_0.pdf">than professional occupations</a>.</p>
<p>This means the spotlight can’t only be on universities; a focus on vocational education and training pathways (such as TAFE) is crucial too.</p>
<p>To confront the challenges of the coming century, we need a broader public conversation about the place of tertiary education – not just university – and the diverse educational and career pathways available.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-dont-expect-a-lot-of-me-they-just-want-me-to-go-to-uni-first-in-family-students-show-how-we-need-a-broader-definition-of-success-in-year-12-196284">'They don’t expect a lot of me, they just want me to go to uni': first-in-family students show how we need a broader definition of 'success' in year 12</a>
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<p><em>*Names have been changed to protect identities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Aspirations Longitudinal Study and related studies (2010-2021) were funded by the Australian Research Council, the NSW Department of Education, and the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Patfield currently receives funding from the NSW Department of Education, the Commonwealth Department of Education, and the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p>We uncovered some significant and often devastating insights into how young Australians – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – have experienced the ‘push’ towards university.Kristina Sincock, Researcher and Project Manager, University of NewcastleFelicia Jaremus, Senior research officer, University of NewcastleSally Patfield, Senior Research Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158002023-10-19T00:23:57Z2023-10-19T00:23:57ZAustralia has a new National Skills Agreement. What does this mean for vocational education?<p>This week, national cabinet signed off on a <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/landmark-national-skills-agreement-unlock-billions">National Skills Agreement</a>. This is a A$12.6 billion funding agreement determining federal and state funding for vocational education and training over the next five years. </p>
<p>More than a year in the making, the agreement also promises a new era of cooperation between governments, the vocational education and training sector, business and the community. </p>
<p>What is in the agreement and will it actually boost skills and productivity?</p>
<h2>What is the National Skills Agreement?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/skills-reform-priorities/national-skills-agreement-vision-and-principles">National Skills Agreement</a> updates and renames the <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-information-training-providers/national-agreement-skills-and-workforce-development">National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development</a>, first set up in 2012.</p>
<p>This agreement was supposed to be finalised in 2022 but was hampered by state <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media%2Fpressclp%2F8498578%22">objections</a> to the Morrison government’s potential reductions in funding to TAFEs and increased course fees, among other concerns. Then the change in government further delayed the agreement. </p>
<p>But the delay also provided a opportunity to respond to <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/skills-workforce-agreement/report">Productivity Commissions concerns</a> concerns two key targets – increasing skill levels and qualifications – were not being met by previous arrangements. </p>
<h2>What’s in the new agreement?</h2>
<p>Under the <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/national-skills-agreement">new agreement</a> Australian governments have agreed to work together to: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>deliver a high quality national vocational education and training system to boost productivity</p></li>
<li><p>support Australians to develop the skills they need to obtain well-paid, secure jobs</p></li>
<li><p>ensure Australia has the skilled workforce it needs now and in the future, with TAFE “at the heart” of vocational education and training.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The federal government will provide $12.6 billion over five years from January 2024.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/there-may-not-be-enough-skilled-workers-in-australias-pipeline-for-a-post-covid-19-recovery-140061">There may not be enough skilled workers in Australia's pipeline for a post-COVID-19 recovery</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>How much of the money is new?</h2>
<p>Based on the <a href="https://budget.gov.au/content/bp3/download/bp3_06_part_2_skills.pdf">2023-24 federal budget</a>, the states and territories were already planning to receive about $9.8 billion of the $12.6 billion over the next five years. </p>
<p>Much of this was based on initiatives that had already been agreed during the first year of the Albanese government, including $8.6 billion in federal funding for states’ training systems. There is also $1.2 billion to fund schemes such as fee-free TAFE courses and to revitalise TAFE campuses across Australia. </p>
<p>The government says there is $3.7 billion in new funding. Looking at available government statements and documents, (such as the <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/p2023-447996-working-future.pdf">Working Future White Paper</a>), our best estimate is there is between $2.8 billion and $3.7 billion of “new” funding from the federal government. This because because some of the funding is contingent on states also contributing funds to different components (and they may not choose to do all of this). </p>
<p>In terms of average yearly funding, the federal government will contribute an average of $2.5 billion per year to the new national skills agreement.
This is significantly higher than the average of <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/vet-knowledge-bank-landmark-documents-funding-historical-overview">$1.6 billion per year</a> under the previous agreement. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1638316701589680128"}"></div></p>
<h2>What will the agreement do?</h2>
<p>The bulk of the new money will be for “<a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/landmark-national-skills-agreement-unlock-billions">flexible funding</a>” to state and territories to meet <a href="https://ministers.dewr.gov.au/oconnor/communique-skills-ministers-meeting">national priorities</a> including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/Attachment-D_Employment-Session-Two-Skills-Meeting-Summary.docx">gender equality</a>,
<a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/reports/closing-the-gap-2019/education.html">Closing the Gap</a> and <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/supporting-australian-workers-industries-communities-power-our-net-zero-future-fs.pdf">net zero</a> in vocational education and training</p></li>
<li><p>sustaining <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/mitchell-institute-skills-for-recovery-the-vocational-education-system-we-need-post-COVID-19-updated.pdf">essential care services</a> such as child and aged care</p></li>
<li><p>developing Australia’s <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/business-industry/industry-capability-programs/sovereign-industrial-capability-priorities-plans">sovereign capability</a> or ability to make things ourselves, <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2010/12/securing-australia%25e2%2580%2599s-future-pmseic-releases-expert-reports-on-food-security-and-energy-water-carbon-intersections">food security</a> and <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-and-training/resources/australian-digital-capability-framework">technological capability</a> and</p></li>
<li><p>improving regulation of <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/quality-reforms">VET qualifications</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The remainder of the funds will address some reforms <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/national-skills-agreement">recommended by the Productivity Commission</a> and previous reviews. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>establishing a national network of <a href="https://tda.edu.au/newsletters/nationally-networked-tafe-centres-of-excellence-comment-by-ceo-jenny-dodd/">TAFE Centres of Excellence</a> and strengthening collaboration between TAFEs, universities and industry and</p></li>
<li><p>improving <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/news-and-events/media-releases/apprentice-and-trainee-completion-rates-decrease-2021">vocational education and training completions</a>, including for women and others who face completion challenges.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/migration-is-a-quick-fix-for-skills-shortages-building-on-australians-skills-is-better-159207">Migration is a quick fix for skills shortages. Building on Australians' skills is better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Will this work?</h2>
<p>At this early stage, the new funds seem to be well targeted. It is also significant states and territories have agreed to address these issues and <a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/resources/national-skills-agreement-overview">match the federal funding</a>. When combined, this essentially doubles the investment to resolve some <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/are-we-all-speaking-the-same-language-understanding-quality-in-the-vet-sector">urgent and complex problems</a> in the sector. </p>
<p>The National Skills Agreement is also based on a new “<a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/resources/stewardship">shared stewardship</a>” approach. This will see governments working together and <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/news-and-events/media-releases/collaboration-key-in-upskilling-australias-workforce">engaging with community stakeholders</a>, to set shared outcomes for skills and workforce development. </p>
<p>This will be important for the next steps for the sector, which involves the federal government developing a vocational education and training “<a href="https://www.dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/resources/vet-workforce">workforce blueprint</a>” by early 2024, to grow the vocational education workforce and ensure it is sustainable. Next year all governments will also develop public “skills plans”, setting out how they will deliver on agreed priorities and targets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An elderly man holds a stress ball, while another person helps." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554469/original/file-20231018-29-gwn3z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The National Skills Agreement acknowledges the need for more aged care workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-a-stress-ball-339620/">Matthias Zomer/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-keeps-talking-about-revamping-vet-but-is-it-actually-doing-it-117743">The government keeps talking about revamping VET – but is it actually doing it?</a>
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<h2>There are still risks and challenges</h2>
<p>But it is important employers do not see this additional funding as a further excuse to reduce their contribution to employee skills and training and development. We need <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/vet-knowledge-bank-landmark-documents-funding-historical-overview">industry to coinvest</a> in areas such as skills development and Closing the Gap if they are to truly succeed.</p>
<p>Other major training organisations apart from TAFEs will also have to do their part. </p>
<p>For example, a large amount of targeted federal funding is for strengthening collaboration between TAFEs, universities and industry and for growing and retaining a quality vocational education and training workforce. So <a href="https://vuir.vu.edu.au/40391/1/Australian-Investment-in-Education-Higher-Education.pdf">universities</a> and private <a href="https://www.iteca.edu.au/ITECA/Content/News/2023/vet-q1/rto.great.for.taxpayers.aspx">Registered Training Organisations</a> will also need to invest and support these initiatives. </p>
<p>This may also form part of the upcoming <a href="https://universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/unis-key-to-solving-nations-skills-challenge/">Universities Accord</a>. A final report on the accord is due in December 2023. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-the-implications-of-technological-disruption-for-australian-vet">our research</a> notes, we need all stakeholders to have skin in the game if Australia is going to to reverse <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview202223/SkillsTraining">its’ long decline</a> in skills and training investment. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-are-changing-and-fast-heres-what-the-vet-sector-and-employers-need-to-do-to-keep-up-118524">Jobs are changing, and fast. Here's what the VET sector (and employers) need to do to keep up</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215800/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The $12.6 billion agreement promises a new era of cooperation between governments, the vocational education and training sector, business and the community.Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan UniversityJanice Jones, Associate Professor, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142562023-09-25T02:00:18Z2023-09-25T02:00:18ZGovernment’s employment white paper commits to jobs for all who want them – and help to get them<p>The employment white paper, released on Monday, has outlined multiple measures the Albanese government will implement to assist the about three million people who want jobs or more hours of work. </p>
<p>They include making permanent a temporary measure allowing pensioners to earn more, smoothing the transition to work for people on welfare, and alleviating the disadvantage many of the unemployed face. </p>
<p>In the white paper, prepared by Treasury, the government commits to full employment, which it defines as “everyone who wants a job [being] able to find one without having to search for too long”. </p>
<p>It does not put a number on the unemployment rate this represents.</p>
<p>The government will make permanent the current work bonus measure for older pensioners and eligible veterans so they can work more without reducing their pension.</p>
<p>It will double the period during which many income support recipients can receive no payment, thus allowing them to keep access to social security benefits such as concession cards for longer when they first get back into work.</p>
<p>Social enterprises will be backed to address persistent labour market disadvantage. TAFE will be boosted, and the take up of “higher apprenticeships” in the priority areas of net zero, the care and digitisation will be accelerated. </p>
<p>In addition to nine immediate measures the paper looks to longer term policies to enhance people’s access to the labour market. </p>
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<p>“The government’s vision is for a dynamic and inclusive labour market in which everyone has the opportunity for secure, fairly paid work and people, businesses and communities can be beneficiaries of change and thrive. We are working to create more opportunities for more people in more places,” the paper says.</p>
<p>The paper comes as the unemployment rate is at 3.7%, which is expected to tick up as the economy slows. This is very low for modern times but the white paper highlights constraints to higher employment. </p>
<p>“Inclusive full employment is about broadening opportunities, lowering barriers to work including discrimination, and reducing structural underutilisation over time to increase the level of employment in our economy.” </p>
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<p>Structural underutilisation is a mismatch between potential workers and available work. Reasons include workers’ skills not matching what the jobs need, workers and jobs being geographically apart, and barriers presented by disadvantage or discrimination.</p>
<p>“The government will take a broad approach to achieving sustained and inclusive full employment. This includes sound macroeconomic management to help keep employment as close as possible to its current maximum sustainable level in the short term. We are also committed to addressing the structural sources of underutilisation to increase the level of full employment that can be sustained over time without adding to inflationary pressures,” the paper says.</p>
<p>“We are taking comprehensive action, including improved education, migration and regional planning systems, and setting out reform directions to improve key enablers such as employment services, affordable and accessible child care, and housing. We are equipping the workforce with the skills needed for the jobs of the future, and enhancing the ability of individuals and businesses to adapt to the modern labour market”.</p>
<p>The report says increasing participation in work promotes social inclusion as well as boosting the country’s economic potential. </p>
<p>It notes the five regions with the highest long term unemployment make up 12% of all the country’s long term unemployed, although they have only 5% of the working age population. </p>
<p>Disadvantage can led to “intergenerational cycles of joblessness”, the paper says. Complex personal circumstances and discrimination compound local factors.</p>
<p>“Many people face multiple, interconnected barriers to employment such as a lack of access to services or secure and affordable housing.” </p>
<p>Unemployment particularly affects certain cohorts, including Indigenous people, people with disabilities and the young. </p>
<p>The paper points to the major forces that will shape the economy over coming decades. They are the ageing population, a rising demand for care and support services, the growing use of digital and advanced technologies, the global net zero transformation, and increasing geopolitical risk and fragmentation disrupting supply chains and making resilience more important. </p>
<p>“These forces are changing the composition of our industries, workforce needs, and the nature of work itself.”</p>
<p>The paper looks to renewable energy and digital technologies to improve productivity and says boosting productivity in industries such as care and support services will be increasingly important. “Rather than repeating previous waves of reforms, Australia’s productivity agenda needs to respond to current economic circumstances and identify modern strategies to advance enduring policy goals.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214256/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the white paper, prepared by Treasury, the government commits to full employment, which it defines as “everyone who wants a job being able to find one without searching for too long”Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1897762022-09-01T01:36:47Z2022-09-01T01:36:47ZWord from The Hill: Albanese announces more than $1 billion in federal-state TAFE funding<p>As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. </p>
<p>In this podcast, Politics and Society editor Amanda Dunn and Michelle canvass the start of the jobs summit – at which Anthony Albanese announced a package of more than $1 billion in federal-state funding for free TAFE places. They also discuss the government’s continued commitment to the Stage 3 tax cuts, national cabinet’s easing of COVID restrictions, and the inquiry into Scott Morrison’s multi ministries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation's politics team.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864722022-07-06T10:16:58Z2022-07-06T10:16:58ZJason Clare promises ‘reset’ of government’s relations with universities<p>Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has committed to a “reset” of relations between government and universities, and promised more effort to boost the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a major speech on higher education.</p>
<p>He is also speeding up visa processing to help rebuild Australia’s education export industry, and wants Labor’s September jobs summit to discuss how to retain foreign students after they complete their degrees, to enlarge Australia’s skilled workforce. </p>
<p>In his address, titled Reset, Rebuild and Reform, to a Universities Australia dinner in Canberra on Wednesday night, Clare announced an independent inquiry into the role and function of the Australian Research Council, which administers the national research grants program. </p>
<p>The higher education sector had a fraught relationship with the former government, which declined to include universities in the JobKeeper scheme in the pandemic. </p>
<p>Clare said that in coming months he would appoint a group of eminent Australians to lead Labor’s planned “Australian Universities Accord”. </p>
<p>The accord would draw on university staff, unions, business, students, parents and all political parties, and look at “everything from funding and access to affordability, transparency, regulation, [and] employment conditions”. </p>
<p>It would also examine how universities, TAFEs and other providers worked together. </p>
<p>Highlighting the importance of more action on equity, Clare said in 2008 when the Bradley review of higher education was published, 29% of 25-34-year-olds had a bachelor degree. The review set a target of 40% by 2020. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-jason-clare-on-australias-education-challenges-186473">Politics with Michelle Grattan: Jason Clare on Australia's education challenges</a>
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<p>That target was met – the figure was now more than 43%. But Bradley’s other target – that 20% of enrolments by 2020 should be students from low socio-economic backgrounds – had not been met. </p>
<p>“At the time it was about 15%. And it has barely moved,” Clare said. </p>
<p>“Where you live also matters,” he said. In capitals more than 48% of 25-34-year-olds had a degree, but in regional Australia it was just over 20%, and in more remote areas about 16%.</p>
<p>“And it’s even worse than that for our Indigenous brothers and sisters. That figure is less than 10%.”</p>
<p>“Where you live, how much your parents earn, whether you are Indigenous or not, is still a major factor in whether your are a student or a graduate of an Australian university.”</p>
<p>Clare said just over 70% of students who walked into a university walked out with a qualification. But the figure was lower for those from a poor family, lower again for those from regional or remote areas, and lower again for Indigenous people. </p>
<p>He announced $20.5 million over four years to expand the work of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education based at Curtin University. </p>
<p>Clare said rebuilding the international education sector “starts with sending a clear message to students around the world that we want you to study with us”.</p>
<p>A visit next month by the Indian education minister would be an important opportunity for rebuilding, and “we need to do that with other countries in the region as well”. </p>
<p>The backlog in processing student visas was a problem and he had asked the secretary of his department to work directly with the secretary of Home Affairs on this. </p>
<p>“I also think there is more we can do to get more of the students we teach and train to stay after their studies end and help us fill some of the chronic skills gaps in our economy. </p>
<p>"Only 16% of our international students do that at the moment. In some of the countries we compete with for talent, it’s a lot higher than that. This is something I’d like to see discussed at the jobs summit in September.”</p>
<p>Clare said delays and political interference in the operation of competitive grants needed to end.</p>
<p>“It damages our international reputation. It also makes it harder for you to recruit and retain staff”, he told his university audience. </p>
<p>“I get it. You work with industry. We want you to work with industry. Industry want certainty. Time means money. They want to get on with it. So do you.”</p>
<p>Following a Senate committee recommendation from March, he would set up an independent review of the ARC’s role and function, with “a particular focus on the governance framework and reporting mechanisms”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has committed to a “reset” of relations between government and universities, and promised more effort to boost the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a major speech on higher education.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1748832022-01-17T05:25:48Z2022-01-17T05:25:48Z3 local solutions to replace coal jobs and ensure a just transition for mining communities<p>As the world <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/12/second-cop26-draft-criticised-for-weakened-language-on-fossil-fuels">shifts to renewable energy</a>, helping the communities that have depended on fossil fuels for jobs is becoming ever more pressing. </p>
<p>The 2015 Paris Agreement notes the imperative of a “just transition” for affected workforces, with “the creation of decent work and quality jobs” to replace those lost. </p>
<p>Trade unionists have been <a href="https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_frontlines_climate_change_report_en.pdf">arguing this point</a> for at least several decades. The first use of the phrase “just transition” attributed to the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, which called for a “Just Transition Program” for workers in the logging industry <a href="https://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0597/et0597s4.html">in 1996</a>.</p>
<p>Yet for all the talk since, action remains scarce. </p>
<p>Three clear priorities for policy makers, however, have emerged from Australia’s Hunter Valley region, where coal mines <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-02/coal-transition-climate-change-hunter-region/13109642">employ about 14,000 workers</a> directly and thousands more indirectly. These are: </p>
<ul>
<li>the need for a local coordinating authority</li>
<li>funding for a “flagship” job-creation project, and</li>
<li>more resources for technical and vocational education. </li>
</ul>
<p>These priorities were identified through consultations undertaken in late 2021 by two community organisations, <a href="https://www.hunterrenewal.org.au/">Hunter Renewal</a> and <a href="https://www.hunterjobsalliance.org.au">Hunter Jobs Alliance</a>. They did so in response to the NSW government announcing A$25 million a year to a <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/expert-panel-for-royalties-for-rejuvenation">Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund</a>.</p>
<p>The fund is meant to “ensure coal mining communities have the support they need to develop other industries in the long-term”. </p>
<p>But how to spend the money wisely? </p>
<p>The consultations involved 314 people from across the region ranking 22 ideas from from previous work on this issue. About one-third of participants were involved in workshop discussions. The balance contributed through a survey.</p>
<p>Key to the top three priorities is the need for <a href="https://climatejusticealliance.org/just-transition/">self-determination</a>, allowing local communities to decide on which solutions are best and how to implement them, not a “cookie-cutter” approach imposed from the top.</p>
<p>As one workshop participant put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The most important thing is involving the local community in designing the transition. Unless you take the locals with you on the journey, so that they own the changes, it will not be successful.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>1. Have a local coordinating authority</h2>
<p>Local coordination is important to ensure solutions reflect a community’s needs, skills and opportunities. </p>
<p>In Victoria, the state government set up the <a href="https://lva.vic.gov.au/">Latrobe Valley Authority</a> in 2016, following the unexpected announcement of the closure of <a href="https://theconversation.com/hazelwoods-closure-calls-for-a-rethink-on-latrobe-valley-solutions-68143">the Hazelwood power station</a> in 2017. </p>
<p>Beginning with $270 million in funding, the authority is headquartered in Morwell, in the heart of the Latrobe Valley’s coal-mining industry.</p>
<p>This means those who work for the authority know the region and are in touch with the stakeholders from industry, government, education and community organisations who inform its <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/smartspecialisation.htm">“Smart Specialisation”</a> approach to identify local strengths and competitive advantages. </p>
<p>A local authority can also coordinate with other authorities to ensure fossil fuel communities aren’t competing against each other by pursuing to create jobs in the same new industries.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hazelwoods-closure-calls-for-a-rethink-on-latrobe-valley-solutions-68143">Hazelwood's closure calls for a rethink on Latrobe Valley solutions</a>
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<h2>2. Fund flagship job-creation projects</h2>
<p>Flagship projects give tangible direction to the transition and create hope for the future. </p>
<p>An example comes from the coal-mining community of Collie in Western Australia. It involves industry, government and university researchers working together on <a href="https://colliecrete.com.au/">a project</a> to make “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-18/geopolymer-concrete-coal-mining-town/100464518">Colliecrete</a>”, a more sustainable form of concrete made from fly-ash, a waste product from the burning of coal by the local coal-fired power stations.</p>
<p>Emulating this plan using waste fly-ash from Hunter Valley power stations could potentially create 3,000 permanent full-time jobs in NSW, according to <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/14147/Report.pdf">a report</a> commissioned by Hunter Community Environment Centre.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-the-concrete-jungle-how-to-make-environmentally-friendly-cement-82686">Greening the concrete jungle: how to make environmentally friendly cement</a>
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<h2>3. Expand vocational training</h2>
<p>Retraining is crucial to new industries to flourish, and for workers to find new jobs. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/resources/resources-hub/clean-energy-at-work">2020 report</a> from the Clean Energy Council found shortages of skilled and experienced staff are hampering development in renewable energy industries. The report recommended the entire vocational educational system needs reviewing, because “existing training systems are not meeting industry needs”.</p>
<p>Indeed in the Hunter region, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-22/rural-tafe-campus-sale-fears-for-agricultural-education/13162414">TAFE closures</a> are occurring at a time when they should be expanding. </p>
<p>As a workshop participant put it (with great understatment): </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is problematic when funding keeps getting cut.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Think local, act local</h2>
<p>Local communities understand the transition away from economic reliance on fossil-fuel industries can’t happen overnight. They are keen to get moving.
These priorities identified by the coal-mining communities of NSW Hunter Valley hold lessons for the rest of Australia, and the world. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-transition-from-coal-4-lessons-for-australia-from-around-the-world-115558">How to transition from coal: 4 lessons for Australia from around the world</a>
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<p>What’s important is that local communities take the leading role in defining their challenges, and then addressing them. </p>
<p>The people who know a community best, and what is possible, are those who live in them. You just have to ask them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberley receives an Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend as part of her PhD programme with the University of Technology, Sydney. She is affiliated with Hunter Renewal and Hunter Jobs Alliance as a volunteer. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Phelan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Three ‘just transition’ priorities identified by the coal-mining communities of the Hunter Valley in NSW hold lessons for the rest of Australia, and the world.Liam Phelan, Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of NewcastleKimberley Crofts, Doctoral student, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1280912019-12-10T01:40:41Z2019-12-10T01:40:41ZWhy the profit motive fails in education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305579/original/file-20191206-183360-1o6rl16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C428%2C5499%2C3688&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The disastrous experience of vocational education and training in Australia holds many lessons about trying to fit education into a for-profit market model.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Morrison government’s waiving of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">almost A$500 million</a> in dodgy vocational education and training debts holds many lessons about the nature of education and public services being provided by for-profit enterprises.</p>
<p>The debts were collected by about 38,000 students unwittingly locked into federal VET FEE-HELP loans by dodgy for-profit education providers. Thousands more complaints seeking to have debts waived <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">have yet to be processed</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-set-of-priorities-for-vet-would-make-great-social-and-economic-sense-101516">A new national set of priorities for VET would make great social and economic sense</a>
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<p>One of the lessons from the disastrous mix of public funding and private profits in the VET sector is that policymakers infatuated with the dogma of “reform” are incapable of learning from experience. </p>
<p>That’s true of both sides of politics.</p>
<h2>Victorian reforms</h2>
<p>A brief history of the “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">most disastrous education rort in Australia’s history</a>” illustrates the point. </p>
<p>The story begins in about 2008.</p>
<p>Historically, vocational education and training was the domain of the government-run Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges. To create an expanded demand-driven sector, the Labor government of John Brumby in Victoria made two key “reforms”.</p>
<p>One was to open up the TAFE system to private-sector competition. The other was to shift costs <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/tafe-shakeup-shifts-cost-burden-to-students-20080826-430t.html">to students</a>, through a fee loans scheme similar to the one federal Labor introduced to fund university education expansion.</p>
<p>These reforms were embraced by Brumby’s Liberal successor, Ted Baillieu, who <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/deeper-tafe-cuts-revealed-in-secret-documents-20120913-25v7o.html">severely cut TAFE funding</a>, and by both Liberal and Labor federal governments.</p>
<h2>How not to reform</h2>
<p>But what Victoria provided, in the words of education policy researcher Leesa Wheelahan, was “a great template in <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-tafe-chaos-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-reform-vocational-education-7296">how not to reform vocational training</a>”. </p>
<p>As Wheelahan noted in 2012, problems emerged almost immediately. For-profit providers enticed students (and therefore the money flowing from the government) with sweeteners such as “free” iPads. Diplomas requiring 600 hours of work were granted on the basis of 60 hours. And so on.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-tafe-chaos-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-reform-vocational-education-7296">Victorian TAFE chaos: a lesson in how not to reform vocational education</a>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/file/0020/9920/structures-in-tertiary-education-2616.pdf">an essay</a> published in 2013, I wrote: “Attempts by for-profit firms to enter (what they perceive as) education markets have almost invariably ended either in failure or in fraudulent exploitation of public subsidies.”</p>
<p>But the Victorian template was embraced federally first by the government <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1617a/17bd041">of John Howard</a>, which extended the Higher Education Loan Program to VET, and then those of <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/administration-vet-fee-help-scheme">Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard</a>. </p>
<p>It grew even more under Tony Abbott, increasing at triple-digit rates <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/birmingham/press-conference-vet-fee-help">between 2012 and 2015</a>, until evident problems forced government action. The Australian National Audit Office’s <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/administration-vet-fee-help-scheme">scathing assessment</a> of the scheme in 2016 led to it <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-02/parliament-passes-bill-to-scrap-troubled-vet-loans/8085860">being scrapped</a>.</p>
<h2>Examples of failure</h2>
<p>Policymakers could have learned not only from the initial failures of VET reform but from examples of for-profit education at all levels. </p>
<p>Australian universities have dabbled unsuccessfully with the for-profit tertiary model exemplified by the University of Phoenix. It and other for-profit universities have been accused of rorting federal education funding provided for military veterans, by spending <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1USxgmt2o5tI3hZ5WOVaRnvzJTEDRKWfo/view">15% or less of the fees received on instruction</a>.</p>
<p>It’s perhaps a good thing that Australian universities rooted in the traditions of public education have routinely failed with for-profit ventures such as as Melbourne University Private. It closed in 2005 after losing an estimated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1386873.htm">A$20 million</a> over the previous seven years.</p>
<p>At the level of school education, the US has plenty of failed experiments. One is <a href="https://www.hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-75-issue-4/herbooknote/the-edison-schools_3">Edison Schools</a>, which at its peak in the early 2000s had hundreds of school contracts. It has since lost the great majority due to not <a href="https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/education-commercial-mindset-samuel-abrams-review">delivering on promises</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-want-for-profit-schools-in-australia-7015">Do we want for-profit schools in Australia?</a>
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<p>In the realm of early child education, Australia’s for-profit child-care operators funded by government subsidies have a similarly problematic record.
The similarities include using the types of lures pioneered by shonky operators in the VET sector – enticing parents (and their federal subsidies) with offers of “free” <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/education/early-years/childcare-centres-offer-giveaways-as-fees-soar/news-story/40c5b738b095cc1163e2db1665acf85a">iPads and gift cards</a>. </p>
<h2>The limits of market liberalism</h2>
<p>The failures of for-profit education reflect both the specific characteristics of education that make a market model inappropriate and more fundamental failings of market liberalism. </p>
<p>Students, by definition, don’t know enough to be informed consumers. Whether the course is good or bad, they are unlikely to be repeat customers. In these circumstances, relying on consumer choice and competition between providers is a recipe for superficial, low-quality courses and exploitation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-are-changing-and-fast-heres-what-the-vet-sector-and-employers-need-to-do-to-keep-up-118524">Jobs are changing, and fast. Here's what the VET sector (and employers) need to do to keep up</a>
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<p>As centuries of experience has shown, only the dedication and professional ethos of teachers can ensure high-quality education. Reliance on incentives and markets is inconsistent with that ethos.</p>
<p>The broader problem with the reform agenda is that for-profit businesses paid to provide public services are more tempted to make profits by exploiting loopholes in the funding system than by innovating or providing better services. </p>
<p>This point is apparently yet to sink in with agencies such as the Productivity Commission, which remains enthusiastic about applying “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/human-services/reforms/report">increased competition, contestability and informed user choice</a>” to human services “to improve outcomes for users, and the community as a whole”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article draws on work undertaken with funding from the National Council for Vocational Education and Research in 2012. The opinions presented do not reflect the views of NCVER.</span></em></p>Market forces don’t work well in education. For-profit businesses are more tempted to exploit loopholes than provide quality service.John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1218852019-08-27T20:04:18Z2019-08-27T20:04:18ZTrauma, racism and unrealistic expectations mean African refugees are less likely to get into Australian unis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289556/original/file-20190827-8874-17x3yq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C227%2C4476%2C2392&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting into an Australian university is hard enough for many African refugees, completing their degree is even harder.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Mangostar</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the past 30 years, Australia has settled thousands of African refugees. But many arrived here at a <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/multicultural-affairs/community-information-summaries/country-list-of-summaries">young age and with low educational</a> attainment. That presents challenges in trying to encourage more to participate in higher education.</p>
<p>High educational attainment is an important factor for employment and social <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/21/2/166/1621262" title="Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework">integration of refugee youth</a>.</p>
<p>Yet only about 10% of young people from the main countries of origin of African refugees go to university within five years of arrival. That trend has not changed much in the past 25 years.</p>
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<p>For those who do enter higher education, completion is a serious challenge. In the past 17 years, only one in five African refugee students completed their undergraduate course.</p>
<p><iframe id="sWXUn" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sWXUn/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/better-pay-and-more-challenge-heres-how-to-get-our-top-students-to-become-teachers-122271">Better pay and more challenge: here's how to get our top students to become teachers</a>
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<p>Nationally, just under half (46%) of domestic students who commenced undergraduate university courses in 2009 completed their degrees in four years. When the cohort length increases to nine years, the <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiM2MwMWQ2ZDMtNGViNy00Mjc5LThkOTgtNzJhMmM5ZDQwYWUxIiwidCI6ImRkMGNmZDE1LTQ1NTgtNGIxMi04YmFkLWVhMjY5ODRmYzQxNyJ9">completion rate is three quaters (74%)</a> of students.</p>
<h2>The challenge for young refugees</h2>
<p>So given only a small portion of young African refugees go to university here, and very few of those successfully completed their degrees, what are the factors underpinning this predicament?</p>
<p>Many African refugees arrived in Australia with interrupted educational experiences. They may have endured the trauma of war, violence and family separation. These <a href="http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE935.pdf" title="Hard Yards and High Hopes: The Educational Challenges of African Refugee University Students in Australia">negative effects of forced displacement</a> can inhibit them from taking full advantage of educational opportunities.</p>
<p>In the early stage of their settlement, young African refugees faced <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603116.2019.1588924" title="Educational aspirations and experiences of refugee-background African youth in Australia: a case study">informational barriers</a> in relation to available educational options and accessing financial support. In exploring pathways to university, they have a limited social network to rely on.</p>
<p>Most African refugees come from non-English speaking countries and limited English language proficiency is a stumbling block. Fragmented educational histories also mean they enter the Australian education system with limited academic skills.</p>
<p>Black African youth face <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2019.1588924" title="Educational aspirations and experiences of refugee-background African youth in Australia: a case study">explicit racism</a> in educational institutions and public spaces. Experiences of racism cause stress that can negatively affect academic engagement. Studies in <a href="https://spcl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Levy_etal2016.pdf">social psychology</a> show the stress of racial bias hinders learning.</p>
<p>As a result of the combined effects of the above issues, young refugees often get low school results, so many fail to meet entrance requirements of most universities. Institutions that attract low-ATAR students may not have sufficient resources to run effective enabling programs such as courses for academic skills development. </p>
<h2>High expectations</h2>
<p>Most African parents hold high expectations for their children’s academic achievement. </p>
<p>But career educators in selected secondary schools in Melbourne have told me there often exists a significant gap between what parents want and what students are able to achieve.</p>
<p>In other words, due to unrealistic parental expectations, African students miss viable higher education options. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-have-a-low-atar-you-could-earn-more-doing-a-vet-course-than-a-uni-degree-if-youre-a-man-121624">If you have a low ATAR, you could earn more doing a VET course than a uni degree – if you're a man</a>
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<p>For example, students who cannot meet entrance requirements of most universities, could find <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/risks-and-rewards-when-is-vocational-education-a-good-alternative-to-higher-education/">TAFE diplomas</a> more rewarding than university degrees. But career educators told me that often, due to parental pressure, students are less interested in non-university degrees.</p>
<h2>What can be done to improve things?</h2>
<p>Equity practitioners in schools and universities are aware that enabling programs that benefit refugee students are resource-intensive. For educational institutions to secure the necessary resources, the issue needs first to be recognised at a policy level by governments.</p>
<p>Early intervention is critical. Such intervention can be in the form of expanding tailored educational opportunities at the settlement stage. These may include intensive lessons on academic skills, information on alternative pathways to university, and supplementary academic support within schools. </p>
<p>We also need to avoid negative representations of African youth in the public conversation. Black African youth are often incorrectly labelled as inherently violent, dangerous and unsocial, as we’ve seen in recent “<a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/two-more-brutal-crimes-by-african-gangs/news-story/e7f4a655cd438ef522c177a0c3f14a2a">African gang</a>” media portrayals.</p>
<p>This sort of depiction distorts public perception of people of African origin. And it <a href="https://www.cmy.net.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/Don%27t%20Drag%20Me%20Into%20This%20-%20Research%20Report%20Oct%202018%20FINAL.pdf">reinforces racial bias</a> in the community. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13603116.2019.1588924?needAccess=true">Research</a> shows that experiences of racial discrimination results in academic disengagement. </p>
<h2>Why we need more African refugees in higher education</h2>
<p>There are economic and social reasons for governments to promote higher education participation of refugee-background Africans.</p>
<p>Widening their participation in higher education can boost human capital and productivity for the nation. A recent <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/investing-in-youth-australia_9789264257498-en">report</a> from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that in Australia the key driver of youth unemployment is low educational attainment.</p>
<p>In 2016, the unemployment rate of people from the main countries of origin of African refugees was as high as 22.4%. This is over three times higher than the national average (6.9%).</p>
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<p>The group also had low access to professional occupations (22%), compared with 49% for the general population.</p>
<p>A lack of knowledge and skills means not only poor employment prospects but also high youth disengagement. The youth incarceration rate is disproportionately high among African communities. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-do-more-to-support-refugee-students-97185">Universities need to do more to support refugee students</a>
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<p>In 2017, young people of African background accounted for 19% of the total population in youth justice in <a href="https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/embridge_cache/emshare/original/public/2018/09/11/83a0d7b4d/YPB_AnnualReport_2017_18.pdf">Victoria</a>. Yet in 2016, Africans accounted for only 1.5% of the <a href="https://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/images/2018/208-Victorian-African-Communities-Action-Plan-6--2-web-low-res.pdf">state’s population</a>.</p>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/projects/our-own-words-african-australians-review-human-rights-and">Australian Human Rights Commission</a> cautions, structural barriers may leave African communities on the margins of society. In a fair society such as Australia, lasting marginal existence of any group is detrimental. It undermines economic prosperity, democratic order, and social cohesion.</p>
<p>Improved higher education attainment does not just boost the employability and income of African refugee youth, it also equips them with the necessary skills and confidence to meaningfully engage in the political and cultural spheres of life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tebeje Molla receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Australia has settled thousands of African refugees over the years yet fewer than one in ten go on to study in higher education.Tebeje Molla, Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1132702019-03-17T18:52:20Z2019-03-17T18:52:20ZNew TAFE program for Aboriginal health-care students sees a near perfect completion rate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264053/original/file-20190315-28512-7f4o4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If we are to close the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal people, we need to develop and staff culturally competent health-care services.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A customised scholarship program developed for Aboriginal TAFE students has led to a 96% completion rate – more than 60% above the average completion rate for Aboriginal TAFE students in New South Wales. </p>
<p>Our research, published today in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AH18051">Australian Health Review</a>, shows how a seven-step approach – which includes supporting students by picking them up from the airport and ensuring Aboriginal staff are involved in each step – can dramatically improve vocational-education outcomes for Aboriginal students.</p>
<p>The completion rate for vocational education students across all cultures, locations and programs of study in NSW was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AH18051">37.3% in 2013</a>. For Aboriginal students, who make up 6.6% of all TAFE students, the completion rate was 29.6%. </p>
<h2>What the program looks like</h2>
<p>Previous research has shown a <a href="https://www.womenandbirth.org/article/S1871-5192(17)30009-4/abstract">model made of five components</a> (respect, communication, safety and quality, reflection and advocacy) could <a href="https://www.womenandbirth.org/article/S1871-5192(17)30009-4/abstrac">improve the completion rates</a> of Aboriginal nursing students.</p>
<p>We adapted this model for vocational education and enrolled 31 students in the first cohort. One group studied Certificate III or IV in Dental Assisting. A second group studied Certificate IV in Allied Health Assisting. </p>
<p>Of our cohort who followed the five steps, 96% of students completed their course. But interviews with the first cohort of students and their teaching and support staff revealed an opportunity to add two more steps. And so, the seven step approach was born.</p>
<iframe title="Chart: The seven-step scholarship program&nbsp;" aria-describedby="" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0Du27/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>The seven step model has been implemented under the leadership of Bundjalung Elder and Poche Director, <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/our-research/research-centres/the-poche-centre-for-indigenous-health.html">Boe Rambaldini</a>. Aboriginal support staff were involved in all aspects of the program, and all staff engaged in ongoing cultural competence awareness and skill development. </p>
<p>The vocational training and scholarships were designed and scheduled to take account of students’ family responsibilities, financial circumstances and academic support needs in the following ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the course was run in mixed-mode with intensive face-to-face blocks of 3-5 days, supplemented by work experience close to home and some assignments at home (to minimise time away from family and employment)</p></li>
<li><p>students received a computer as part of the scholarship as well as pre-paid internet access to download course materials, undertake research online and connect with students and staff</p></li>
<li><p>students were contacted regularly to check on their progress and provide advice/assistance where needed.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264057/original/file-20190315-28468-11zgycw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">By the end of last year, 380 qualifications had been awarded to Aboriginal students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/pochecentre/photos/?ref=page_internal">Poche Centre for Indigenous Health</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>By the end of last year, 380 qualifications had been awarded to Aboriginal students and the completion rate of 96% had been maintained. </p>
<p>One of the first graduates of the seven-step approach, Rachel Williams, has gone on to complete a Bachelor of Oral Health. She is now the registered oral health therapist at her local Aboriginal Health Service, <a href="https://www.armajun.org.au/">Armajun</a>, where she started as a trainee. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263796/original/file-20190314-123541-5lhj81.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rachel is just one of many Poche scholars (as they have become known) who have gone on to build a career in rural health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Rachel is just one of many Poche scholars (as they have become known) who have gone on to build a career in rural health. The program, funded by the NSW Ministry of Health, is now in its fifth year and has helped us meet a commitment to employ at least 50% Aboriginal staff in rural and remote health clinics associated with the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health.</p>
<p>Programs like this are important both because TAFE can be a pathway for Aboriginal people to secure local skilled work or study at university, and because they can help improve the cultural competence of health-care services.</p>
<h2>Why the steps matter</h2>
<p>Our program encourages scholars to make a strong commitment to completion, which builds a strong cohort. As one student told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Whenever I’ve fallen behind […] I’ve emailed or messaged them (other students) and we’ve helped each other in that way. We’ve been each other’s support system.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We also wanted to ensure the program could be continuously adapted and improved as needed. </p>
<p>And importantly, applicants did not require prior academic success. The critical factor was the motivation of the scholar and support from family, financial, administrative, cultural, employer and personal support. All qualifications are awarded through the usual TAFE process, and TAFE has adapted their approach for the Poche scholars. </p>
<p>The program costs more to deliver than a standard TAFE place, to cover higher staff to student ratios, laptops and prepaid data, travel and accommodation to attend intensive study blocks, uniforms, cultural and social support staff and customisation of some of the study materials. As one student told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wouldn’t be able to do it if they didn’t pay for the travel. I wouldn’t be able to do it if they didn’t pay for the accommodation. I would find it hard if they didn’t pay for the food, so all of that is amazing and I’m very thankful for all of that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The latter is particularly important. The curriculum is made relevant to the students by using, for example, case studies that reflect the students’ culture and context. </p>
<h2>Getting qualified is not enough</h2>
<p>It is not enough, however, to get qualified. Aboriginal people in rural and remote communities must also have real opportunities for secure employment. Economic <a href="https://www.asit.org.au/assets/Uploads/Vulnerable-Job-Seekers-and-the-Ripple-Effect-of-Systemic-Interactions2.pdf">analysis</a> by the Australian Social Investment Trust has been adapted for this program. It suggests a greater than A$27,000 return on investment for every person who secures a job. This is largely made up of reduced welfare payments and increased tax.</p>
<p>More work needs to be done, of course. If we are to close the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal people, we need to develop and staff culturally competent health-care services. Building a skilled, qualified, local Aboriginal health workforce is a critical step to achieving this.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/closing-the-gap-on-indigenous-education-must-start-with-commitment-and-respect-91630">Closing the gap on Indigenous education must start with commitment and respect</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kylie Gwynne receives funding from the NSW Ministry of Health, The Rotary Club of Sydney and private donors for delivery of the scholarships program.</span></em></p>The program we’ve developed led to a 96% completion rate for one group of Aboriginal TAFE students.Kylie Gwynne, Associate Professor and Research Director, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1078942018-12-05T18:54:50Z2018-12-05T18:54:50ZDon’t be too quick to dismiss ‘dying trades’, those skills are still in demand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248880/original/file-20181204-34142-90zjgp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Patternmaker Paul Kay is now used to the idea of working by himself.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jesse Stein</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the re-election of the Andrews government in Victoria, the <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/freetafe/free-tafe.html?Redirect=1">Free TAFE for Priority Courses</a> policy will be rolled out in 2019. This is a positive step towards <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-tafe-in-victoria-who-benefits-and-why-other-states-should-consider-it-96102">repairing the TAFE system</a>, which has been damaged by years of funding cuts and competition with an unregulated private training sector.</p>
<p>One question moving forward is whether or not free TAFE will support manufacturing. Although Australian manufacturing now carries a stigma of decline, since 2016 productivity and employment in manufacturing has actually <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/sites/defualt/files/Stanford%20Swann%202017%20Manufacturing%20A%20Moment%20of%20Opportunity.pdf">increased</a>. But if we want to continue this upward trend, we must avoid being held back by a <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/theausinstitute/pages/2829/attachments/original/1529900135/Advanced_Skills_for_Advanced_Manufacturing_Formatted.pdf?1529900135">lack of skilled workers</a> to supply this expansion. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tafe-helps-skills-shortage-more-than-private-providers-10906">TAFE helps skills shortage more than private providers</a>
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<p>It’s often assumed digital technologies have replaced traditional trades, and so we must focus our energies on STEM training. To some extent this is true, but right now Australia’s manufacturing skills shortage isn’t only about STEM. We also need skilled workers on the industrial craft side of the spectrum. That is, trades sometimes considered to be dying such as boilermaking, fitting and turning, moulding, toolmaking, and engineering patternmaking. </p>
<h2>The skills shortage in Australian foundries</h2>
<p>The skills shortage in the foundry sector is a clear example of this problem. Australian foundries make a wide variety of cast metal objects, including mining and agricultural equipment and railway parts. Secretary of the <a href="https://www.australianfoundryinstitute.com.au/">Australian Foundry Institute</a>, Joe Vecchio told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone keeps saying foundries are a dinosaur industry, they’re dying. But every foundry is busy right now, and they want new apprentices. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For many years, foundries have experienced difficulty finding qualified tradespeople and apprentices in engineering patternmaking and moulding. Many have resorted to using unskilled labour and providing in-house training. </p>
<p>These shortages haven’t been fully acknowledged on the <a href="https://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/sites/ausapps/files/publication-documents/nsnl.pdf">National Skills Needs List</a>. Although Victoria’s free TAFE program includes hints of manufacturing support, there are some notable gaps. </p>
<h2>What is engineering patternmaking and why does it matter?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/5F06748296B2BBAECA257B9500131029?opendocument">Engineering patternmakers</a> use technical drawings to construct a 3D pattern (like a model), which is used to produce a mould for metal casting or plastics production. Patternmakers make patterns for objects as large as the buckets on the end of diggers and bulldozers, and as small as the moulds for glucose jube lollies.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248886/original/file-20181204-34157-1chombc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pattern for bear-shaped jubes, made by W.G. Kay & Co.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jesse Adams Stein</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While traditionally trained as woodworkers, patternmakers today are trained to use a range of materials and technologies, including computer aided design (digital drafting software known as CAD) and CNC machines (computer-numerically-controlled machine tools that use digital data to direct a machine on multiple axes).</p>
<p>Two things make patternmakers valuable for a thriving manufacturing sector: versatility and precision. Patternmakers aren’t tied to a single industry, and they are sticklers for dimensional accuracy. Patternmakers’ materials and production knowledge means their advice to designers and manufacturers can result in a far more successful final product. </p>
<p>Right now, only seven apprentices are undertaking a patternmaking apprenticeship in Australia. To give you some idea of this disparity, Australia has approximately <a href="https://joboutlook.gov.au/Occupation.aspx?search=&code=3234">4,200 qualified patternmakers and toolmakers</a> currently working in a variety of industries associated with metals and plastics production. The situation is similar for moulders. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-fix-higher-education-funding-we-also-need-to-fix-vocational-education-102634">To fix higher education funding, we also need to fix vocational education</a>
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<p>The only remaining apprentice training location for patternmakers and moulders is <a href="https://international.tafeqld.edu.au/study-with-us/locations/skillstech">TAFE SkillsTech</a>, in Brisbane. One of the barriers for employers taking on new apprentices is sending them to Queensland for block training. If you run a foundry in Tasmania, for instance, it costs a lot to send an apprentice to Queensland if you factor in travel, accommodation and meals. Added to this is the challenge of sending 16-year-olds - almost exclusively boys - on their own. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248888/original/file-20181204-34122-1pppkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The patternmaking process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Wighton</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For foundry and patternmaking employers outside Brisbane, taking on new apprentices often isn’t worth the expense or the stress. </p>
<p>Patternmaking business owner <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/7765725?lookfor=author:%22kay%20paul%201954-%22%20AND%20title:%22paul%20kay%20interviewed%20by%20jesse%20adams%20stein%20in%20reshaping%20australian%20manufacturing%20oral%20history%20project%22&offset=1&max=1">Paul Kay</a>, after a failed attempt to send an apprentice to Queensland said he had just started getting used to the idea of working by himself. </p>
<p>Another patternmaking business owner, <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/7765727?lookfor=my_parent:%22(AuCNL)7540760%22&offset=5&max=9">Peter Phipps</a> said he might have to look overseas to employ someone, which he feels is too much hassle. </p>
<p>Presently some foundries are resorting to informally upskilling carpenters and cabinetmakers in patternmaking. But this approach carries risks. Other people from other trades may be very good at Computer Aided Design, but don’t necessarily understand patternmaking concepts like metal shrinkage and other intricacies of moulding and casting processes. </p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The decline of foundry trades isn’t a natural result of market economics or automation. The market demand is there. It was a political choice to ignore these skills, and it can be a political choice to revive them. It’s encouraging to see the free TAFE program supports a <a href="https://www.skills.vic.gov.au/victorianskillsgateway/students/pages/coursesearchdescription.aspx?type=course&keyword=certificate%20ii%20in%20engineering%20pathways&courseid=11204&14=1&utm_source=freetafe.vic.gov.au&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=freetafe2018&utm_term=certificate-ii-in-engineering-pathways&utm_content=construction-infrastructure-apprenticeship-pathway">Certificate II in Engineering Pathways</a>, for instance, but this is a baby step.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248889/original/file-20181204-34125-1p32jjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pattern and casting made using the pattern.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter White, Dolman Pattern & Model Makers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the immediate term, apprenticeships in the foundry sector must be made more attractive by providing adequate government funding for apprentices to attend training in Queensland. This would support their travel and safe housing on campus, and be customised to meet the unique educational and social needs of teenage apprentices. </p>
<p>Moving into the future, the survival of engineering patternmaking – among other trades – must be taken seriously, rather than written off as already redundant. If funded and prepared adequately, apprentice training could be revived at a state-based TAFE level, with an emphasis on merging digital fabrication skills with traditional craft knowledge.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-do-more-to-arrest-the-decline-in-apprenticeships-47942">Australia needs to do more to arrest the decline in apprenticeships</a>
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<p>If we let industrial craft disappear, the ramifications will abound in the products themselves. High quality manufacturing requires high quality workmanship – without those skills, production will be wasteful and full of rejects. Australian manufacturing will gain a reputation for unreliable production.</p>
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<p><em>To learn more about engineering patternmaking and the craft shadows of manufacturing, listen to the newly released <a href="https://historylab.net/">HistoryLab</a> podcast episode, <a href="https://historylab.net/s2ep2-invisible-hands/">Invisible Hands</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107894/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesse Adams Stein receives funding from the UTS Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and the National Library of Australia, Canberra. She was the collaborating historian for the History Lab podcast, Invisible Hands.</span></em></p>The skills shortage in the foundry sector shows there is a continuing demand for “traditional” trades.Jesse Adams Stein, Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1013842018-10-04T20:03:59Z2018-10-04T20:03:59ZTeachers and trainers are vital to the quality of the VET sector, and to the success of its learners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238821/original/file-20181002-195263-1em57ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teacher quality is key in getting a good education.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a series on the Future of VET exploring issues within the sector and how to improve the decline in enrolments and shortages of qualified people in vocational jobs. Read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Future+of+VET">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Vocational Education and Training (VET) is an important part of the education sector and trains people of all ages for occupations vital across all sectors of the economy. It also makes a major contribution to social inclusion. </p>
<p>Australia endlessly debates the ATAR level needed even to <em>enter</em> teacher-training programs for school teaching. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/viewpoints-should-universities-raise-the-atar-required-for-entrance-into-teaching-degrees-102841">Viewpoints: should universities raise the ATAR required for entrance into teaching degrees?</a>
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<p>But it doesn’t seem to care about the qualifications of those who teach our young people, workers and citizens in VET. For the last 20 years, VET teachers have only been required to have a Certificate IV level qualification in VET teaching, and the industry qualification at the level at which they are teaching people. </p>
<p>Teacher preparation has been identified as a key factor in the quality of education, so to improve the quality of the VET sector, we need to ensure teachers and trainers are getting the right training themselves. Other factors – such as funding – affect VET quality and student success. </p>
<p>But, in the school sector, it has been shown teachers make the most difference, so the same is likely to be true of VET. Teaching in any sector is a highly skilled activity and VET, especially, has such a range of learners that diverse teaching strategies are needed.</p>
<h2>Who are these teachers and trainers?</h2>
<p>VET teachers work in TAFE (the public provider) private registered training organisations (RTOs), community colleges or enterprise RTOs (providing qualifications to their workforces). They may teach full-time, have a portfolio of jobs across several providers, or may still work in their industry while they teach part-time. </p>
<p>They are “dual professionals”, needing to keep up with changes in industry, the economy and society, and developing their teaching skills to deal with increasingly complex learner groups and teaching environments. </p>
<p><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/306/Keynote_Address_-_Roger_Harris_-_What_do_we_learn_from_40_years_of_history.pdf?1538441019">Until 1997</a>, all full-time TAFE teachers nationally were helped to get degrees in VET teacher training after recruitment, or graduate diplomas if they already had a degree in another area. They studied part-time while teaching. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/expert-panel-what-makes-a-good-teacher-25696">Expert panel: what makes a good teacher</a>
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<p>In 1998, the minimum qualification – the Certificate IV level – was introduced for all VET teachers and trainers. States and territory TAFE systems gradually stopped requiring higher-level qualifications. The Certificate IV <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14480220.2017.1355301">floor became a ceiling</a>. </p>
<p>While some teachers undertake higher-level study, they are now the minority. Yet, those who undertake higher level qualifications can clearly point to their value. </p>
<h2>Where’s the evidence these qualifications benefit teachers?</h2>
<p>Our national <a href="http://federation.edu.au/research-vet-quality">study</a>, conducted from 2015 to 2017, looked at whether and how VET teachers’ qualifications made a difference. The project had seven phases of qualitative and quantitative research over three years, with 1,255 participants from the sector, from all types of training provider and industry areas. We had good numbers of teacher participants at all qualification levels.</p>
<p>In TAFE and RTO case studies for this project, we interviewed supervisors, managers, professional development staff and students as well as teachers. </p>
<p>Based on detailed survey responses and our case study results, we found:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>higher level qualifications, either in VET teaching practice or another discipline improve teaching approaches, confidence and ability</p></li>
<li><p>higher level qualifications in VET teaching specifically make a significant difference to VET teachers’ confidence in teaching a diversity of learners</p></li>
<li><p>the qualification level that makes the most difference is a degree.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>How many VET teacher are qualified at different levels?</h2>
<p>There is no national source of information on how many VET teachers are qualified at different levels. In our main survey, twice as many VET teachers had degrees in their industry area (37%) as had degrees in VET teaching (19%). Some 27% had qualifications only at Certificate III or Certificate IV in their industry area, and 64% had only a Certificate IV qualification in VET teaching.</p>
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<p>By far, the greatest proportion of teachers sat in the lowest qualification combination (sub-degree qualification in their industry area and Certificate IV in VET teaching). Only 11.9% had qualifications at degree level or above in both their industry area and in VET teaching.</p>
<p>But our study showed teachers with degree-level knowledge in teaching and their industry area were the most confident in passing on knowledge and skills to their students. Some teachers with lower qualification levels did show the characteristics of excellent teaching, but these were more common in highly-qualified teachers.</p>
<h2>What’s stopping VET teachers from qualifying themselves?</h2>
<p>Perhaps the existence of a mandated minimum VET teaching qualification may provide an excuse not to progress further than the minimum. Some people think professional development can act as a substitute for qualifications – but our study found people with lower level qualifications undertake less professional development. </p>
<p>In most jobs, professional development supplements rather than replaces initial qualifications. Perhaps resourcing is an issue. TAFE teachers <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/file/0016/3724/2311.pdf">may expect</a> their study to be supported by employer funding and a workload allowance, neither of which may be possible. </p>
<p>Some people imagine to get a university qualification in VET teaching, people must give up their jobs and go to university for three years. This could, of course, be difficult if it were true - <a href="https://www.acde.edu.au/networks-and-partnerships/acde-vocational-group/">but it isn’t</a>. </p>
<p>All <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13596748.2015.1081752">VET teacher-training courses</a> at universities are part-time and offered flexibly, as most students are working full-time in VET or in industry and may live at a distance. Universities work closely with individual TAFE and other providers in making their VET teacher-training courses relevant. </p>
<h2>What could help VET teachers become more qualified?</h2>
<p>Already, a higher level qualification in adult education (the Diploma of VET or university degree) is recognised by the VET regulator, the <a href="https://www.asqa.gov.au/">Australian Skills Quality Authority</a> (ASQA), as an alternative to the Certificate IV. VET teachers must now show continuous professional development in VET as well as in industry. Undertaking a VET teaching qualification can meet this requirement. </p>
<p>A more open attitude from some in the VET sector – allowing teachers to attain higher-level qualifications rather than the sector insisting only on educating its own – would help. Ambassadors, such as graduates of higher level courses, could spread the word about what they’ve gained from their studies, personally and in their careers. </p>
<p>Federal and state government could introduce policy provisions to improve teacher/trainer qualification levels, as they do with <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/start-your-career/registration/nationally-consistent-teacher-registration">school teaching</a> and have done with <a href="https://www.acecqa.gov.au/qualification-requirements">early childhood education</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teach-for-australia-a-small-part-of-the-solution-to-a-serious-problem-30152">Teach for Australia: a small part of the solution to a serious problem</a>
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<p>Finally, a “Teach VET for Australia” program, similar to <a href="https://www.teachforaustralia.org/">Teach for Australia</a> would be useful. The idea of taking adults with life experience and training them as teachers is what VET teacher-training has done for decades. A named and targeted program could demonstrate the benefits of higher-level qualifications.</p>
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<p><em>The author would like to thank Keiko Yasukawa, Roger Harris, Jackie Tuck, Patrick Korbel and Hugh Guthrie who were researchers on the ARC-funded project, and Steven Hodge who was involved in an earlier project.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erica Smith receives funding from the ARC. She is affiliated with the Australian Council of Deans of Education. </span></em></p>Teacher preparation has been identified as a key factor in the quality of education. To improve the quality of the VET sector, we need to ensure teachers and trainers are qualified to teach.Erica Smith, Professor of Vocational Education and Training, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1027702018-10-02T20:05:58Z2018-10-02T20:05:58ZThe vocational education sector needs a plan and action, not more talk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238008/original/file-20180926-149982-141jeno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There is already a substantial list of research reports, reviews and inquiries into issues in the vocational education sector which could be used to build an action plan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a series on the Future of VET exploring issues within the sector and how to improve the decline in enrolments and shortages of qualified people in vocational jobs. Read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Future+of+VET">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Some 20 years ago, the Australian vocational education system was regarded as world class. Sadly, this is <a href="https://www.tda.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Report-lhmi-Bridge-to-opportunity.pdf">no longer the case</a> when compared to systems in places such as Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and even China. </p>
<p>Australia’s vocational education system <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/vocationaled/Final_Report">has been bedevilled</a> by competing jurisdiction control, political ideology, chronic under-funding, piecemeal reforms, rampant rorting by a small number of corporate private providers, and a disappointing and surprisingly high level of policy confusion. </p>
<p>In February this year, Labor <a href="http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/speech_universities_australia_conference">announced</a> it would commit to a generational review of the VET sector in Australia if elected at the next election.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-victorias-tafe-mistakes-34646">Learning from Victoria's TAFE mistakes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is already a substantial list of research reports, reviews and inquiries into issues within the sector. A well-crafted plan can be distilled from this, which, combined with proactive leadership and action, is what the sector needs. Not yet another all-encompassing, long-winded review that will inevitably run aground due to the short-term federal political cycle. </p>
<h2>The workforce is changing fast</h2>
<p>Our society and economy rely on the vocational system to be highly effective and responsive. After all, <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/collection/students-and-courses-collection/total-vet-students-and-courses">just over 24%</a> of our population aged between 15 and 64 years is actively engaged with vocational education every year. This figure is even higher for young people – 46% of 15 to 19-year-olds are involved with vocational education. It’s a system geared to cater for mass and equitable participation. </p>
<p>This is a good thing. </p>
<p>The speed of change for those in the workforce is rapid. This will remain a constant for the foreseeable future. We only have to look to the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/the-skills-needed-to-survive-the-robot-invasion-of-the-workplace">World Economic Forum</a> and reports from the <a href="https://www.fya.org.au/our-research/">Foundation for Young Australians</a> for independent advice on the kind of skills our workforce and enterprises will need in coming months and years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238292/original/file-20180927-48647-rqotws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While Labor’s committment to a generational review of the VET sector is commendable, what we need is action, not more reviews.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These reports suggest a new focus on technical and enterprise skills as being of equal importance. This is neatly captured by the idea of the “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02691728.2016.1249435?src=recsys&journalCode=tsep20">T-shaped graduate</a>”. This is a term commonly used in Europe to capture the idea of a graduate having both specific technical skills and knowledge, and the enterprise skills of collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, complex problem solving and creativity. </p>
<p>Australia needs a workforce with a new set of skills and the flexibility and capacity to adapt to even more change. Vocational education can deliver this workforce, but for this to happen the sector needs to be given autonomy and political trust. Trying to change the system piece by piece will result in a camel instead of the thoroughbred Australia needs. </p>
<h2>What change is most urgently needed?</h2>
<p>First, <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/2564220/lhmi-vet-sector-diversity-briefing-web.pdf">identify</a> the mature, comprehensive, low-risk providers and give them a new status, independence from government control, and operational autonomy so they can <a href="http://www.vta.vic.edu.au/PRESENTATION_PDFS/Vic-TAFE-Strengths-Benefits-Rprt-web.pdf">lead the change</a> we need. </p>
<p>This new category could include many TAFEs or TAFE divisions of dual sector universities (which provide vocational and higher education, such as RMIT and Swinburne), a number of not-for-profit providers, and a smaller number of private registered training organisations (RTOs). This classification of provider should be highly prized, not awarded lightly, or in great numbers. </p>
<p>Victoria is fortunate to have a number of mature TAFEs ready to be recognised in this category. These include <a href="https://holmesglen.edu.au/">Holmesglen</a>, <a href="https://www.boxhill.edu.au/">Box Hill Institute</a> and <a href="https://www.chisholm.edu.au/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3KzdBRDWARIsAIJ8TMSbdYSJaPRCZTDZ_AQt3l5IJYvBgLkPc4IIVcYJdj7yFSNFHvMjwFUaAoVHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">Chisholm Institute</a>, to name a few. Arguably, a number of the whole-of-state TAFEs, such as TAFE QLD, should also be recognised in this category. These TAFEs already deliver across the gap between vocational education and higher education. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238246/original/file-20180927-48650-nkf643.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Box Hill Institute is an example of a TAFE that is mature, comprehensive, and low-risk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, the group of providers should be given long-term equitable funding, based on an agreed framework with clear and measurable performance outcomes, as well as self-accrediting status to respond quickly to the changes in skills required of new and existing employees.</p>
<p>Performance outcomes would include student participation, progression and completion targets, and be tailored to institutional missions. Those outcomes should also to include specific regional innovation and development targets, with a clear focus on small and medium sized enterprises. Australia is largely a small and medium enterprise nation. Small to medium enterprises are a natural fit with highly responsive higher vocational education institutions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-all-vocational-training-providers-are-stacking-up-32136">Not all vocational training providers are stacking up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s this group of providers that will change the system and provide the service that business, communities and students need. Creating this new status of provider will enable education that delivers educational services across an increasingly blurry and arguably artificial divide between vocational education and higher education, with a focus on applied and work-integrated learning, and problem solving. </p>
<p>While we applaud the federal Opposition for committing to <a href="http://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media_release_labor_announces_shake_up_of_tafe_and_unis_friday_23_february_2018">a generational review</a>, they’re not the government (at least not yet), and we already know where the issues lie. Reports from the <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-australia-2017/">Mitchell Institute</a> have provided compelling evidence of the need to restore funding for vocational education. Industry bodies such as the <a href="https://www.tda.edu.au/media-releases/tafe-welcomes-business-councils-bold-plan-for-tertiary-education/">Business Council</a> have called for a reinstatement of TAFE as a central part of the vocational system. </p>
<p>We don’t need more temperature-taking. We need to begin work on the actual implementation plan and action. This can begin now – not in three or four years’ time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Schubert is a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne, formerly in the role of Associate Professor at the LH Martin Institute, with previous research work funded by the Victorian Department of Education, as well as tertiary education associations</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leo Goedegebuure receives funding from Federal and State governments as well as professional bodies for tertiary education and innovation research. </span></em></p>We already have all the research reports, reviews and inquiries we need to make reform to the VET sector happen. What we need is proactive leadership and action.Ruth Schubert, Senior Fellow, LH Martin Institute, The University of MelbourneLeo Goedegebuure, Director, LH Martin Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1015162018-10-01T20:08:43Z2018-10-01T20:08:43ZA new national set of priorities for VET would make great social and economic sense<hr>
<p><em>This article is part of a series on the Future of VET exploring issues within the sector and how to improve the decline in enrolments and shortages of qualified people in vocational jobs. Read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Future+of+VET">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Attending a Vocational Education and Training (VET) graduation can be an uplifting experience. There’s the 45-year-old manufacturing worker who left school at 14 getting his first-ever qualification and a new job in construction, the Indigenous single parent who started a business based on what she learnt with her Certificate III in Hospitality, the female refrigeration apprentice who won a medal representing Australia at WorldSkills, and the Sudanese refugee who is now a university law student following his English Language and Tertiary Preparation Course. </p>
<p>These are not just inspiring stories about individuals. They show how the vocational system can increase workforce participation through developing skills in shortage areas, especially for disadvantaged groups. </p>
<p>Skills Australia once calculated if we raised workforce participation from 65% to the 69% they achieve in New Zealand, it would benefit the economy through increased tax and reduced social security income to improve government operating balances by as much as <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/wwf_strategy-2010.pdf">A$24 billion</a> a year. </p>
<p>The sector needs a new national set of priorities and operating principles fit for the future. To achieve this, a national review is necessary.</p>
<h2>The neglected middle child</h2>
<p>Why is VET so often characterised as the problem, neglected middle child of our post-school education and training system? A lot of it has to do with conflicts over basic questions of form and function – who should run the system, how it should operate, what its primary purpose is and what its relationship with other sectors should be. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/deregulating-tafe-is-a-big-risk-to-the-labour-market-54171">Deregulating TAFE is a big risk to the labour market</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The last time the VET system had a largely agreed upon position on its purpose and operating framework was in 1974 following the <a href="http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/17052">Kangan Review</a> of the sector. Some 44 years on, the sector desperately needs another review.</p>
<h2>Industry’s concerns on the decline of VET</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/vocational-education-industry-reforms-could-cripple-quality-providers-20161005-grvaye.html">Politicians</a> and <a href="http://www.bca.com.au/media/have-your-say-business-council-consulting-on-our-future-tertiary-system-">business leaders</a> are now showing concern about VET’s decline. </p>
<p>One argument is we now have too many people going to university. This is a waste of public money, it will result in critical skills shortages and is bad for some students who would be better off following the VET pathway. </p>
<p>Typically, the example is given of an apprenticeship that can bring higher initial pay and more certain full time employment. This is true for some traditionally male apprenticeships such as electrician, but less so for traditionally female pathways such as hairdressing or care. </p>
<p>You also see modern versions of the <a href="https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/study-information/types-of-institutions/tafe-institutes">argument</a> that some people prefer practical learning by doing, rather than academic learning, and that is a key feature of VET.</p>
<h2>Why?</h2>
<p>There are many aspects to this malaise. The sector is <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-Australia-2017.pdf">losing funding</a> and enrolments, it’s been battered by poorly thought out marketisation policies, and its students have been the victim of <a href="https://www.asqa.gov.au/news-publications/news/vet-fee-help-providers-under-microscope">loan scandals</a> by rogue providers. </p>
<p>VET operates in a <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/2845774/Burke-Changes-in-funding-in-Australian-vocational-education-and-their-effects_.pdf">confused mess</a> of federal and state funding, governance and policy prescriptions. Externally, the labour market is changing with lots of professions – such as nursing – now demanding university degrees as entry qualifications. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/changes-to-vet-might-be-good-for-business-but-not-for-students-31452">Changes to VET might be good for business, but not for students</a>
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<p>Universities have powerful alumni in business and politics. They prepare people for high-status professional careers, such as medicine or law. Critically, they have academic freedom. </p>
<p>In contrast the public VET provider, TAFE, is often treated like a government department. VET professionals are not free to comment publicly on government policy lest their views conflict with political positions or challenge direct ministerial control.</p>
<h2>VET’s own culture wars</h2>
<p>Various stakeholders have different views of VET priorities. Crudely put, VET is seen by different people as primarily:</p>
<ol>
<li> an industry trainer, similar to BHPs training department</li>
<li> an alternative to university in specialities such as fashion design and child care </li>
<li> a provider of foundation, “second chance” and initial vocational programs for disengaged adults and young people, similar to the <a href="https://www.bsl.org.au/">Brotherhood of St Laurence</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p>For the last 30 years, VET has been experiencing its own “culture war”. On the one hand there are some who work in the VET sector who like to look back to the “golden age” following the Kangan Report of 1974. The review emphasised life-long learning and educating the whole person, not just in technical skills. TAFE teachers needed graduate level qualifications in teaching to complement their industry qualifications and experience.</p>
<p>This vision lost out from 1990 onwards to a more instrumental one promoted by industry and trade unions which said VET’s purpose was to provide industry with workers who were skilled for specific jobs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233753/original/file-20180828-75990-b39wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vocational education and training sector has been losing funding and enrolments in recent years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NTEU Victoria/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The demonstration of specific industry-defined competencies became the key factor in gaining a credential, with less testing of understanding theory and knowledge. Graduate teacher qualifications were no longer necessary in this world of <a href="https://www.batchelor.edu.au/biite/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/CBT-Overview.pdf">Competency Based Training</a> – just a <a href="https://www.myskills.gov.au/courses/details?Code=TAE40116">VET Certificate IV</a> in Training and Assessment. </p>
<p>Besides advocating a competency approach, the new leaders of the system wanted “choice”. This led us through poor implementation and inadequate regulation to the <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/policy/education/private-colleges-vet-feehelp-loan-scandal-hit-160-million-and-counting-20160519-gozbmp">VET FEE-HELP scandals</a> we are now familiar with. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vet-fee-help-reforms-will-merely-paper-over-the-cracks-of-a-system-prone-to-abuse-64425">VET FEE-HELP reforms will merely paper over the cracks of a system prone to abuse</a>
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<p>This competency-based approach is now being <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2845775/Final-Anne-Jones-paper1.pdf">challenged</a>. In an age where we’re told many of tomorrow’s jobs don’t exist yet, it seems odd to prepare people solely with highly specific occupational skills. Especially because industry says it values generic skills such as communication, presentation, analysis and teamwork. Many VET graduates <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/file/0018/9261/linking-quals-and-labour-market.pdf">already never work</a> post-study, or work for a very short time in the exact occupation they gained their credentials in.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>VET needs a new national settlement with a set of priorities and operating principles that are fit for the future. Achieving this will not be easy as it involves resetting federal-state relationships and balancing the sometimes competing priorities of students and industry groups.</p>
<p>It will take a new national review similar to Kangan. The review may need to cover the entire post-secondary system. But if it does, we can’t forget VET is about educating people for the changing world of work, <em>especially</em> the disadvantaged. This not only makes good educational and social sense, but the pay off in increased workforce participation makes very good economic sense as well.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Shreeve is an independent consultant on workforce development and further education. He is an Adjunct Professor of Education at Federation and Western Sydney Universities and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the L H Martin Institute of the University of Melbourne. He is an independent Director of Western Sydney University Enterprises and President of the Australasian VET Research Association (AVETRA). Previously he has been the CEO of Skills Australia, three TAFE type Institutes in NSW and the UK and the Deputy Director-General of TAFE and Community Education at the NSW Department of Education and Training. </span></em></p>VET needs a new set of priorities and operating principles that are fit for the future.Robin Shreeve, Adjunct Professor, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996482018-07-31T20:14:30Z2018-07-31T20:14:30ZFewer teenagers plan on further study, with disadvantaged teens most at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229767/original/file-20180730-106508-8bhjft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5897%2C3907&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teenagers' plans for the future can affect their school work now.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/RmO3If0EYHM">Sammie Vasquez/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A smaller proportion of Australian teenagers are expecting to go to university or TAFE than they did 15 years ago, according to new research.</p>
<p>The survey, by the <a href="https://www.acer.org">Australian Council for Educational Research</a> (ACER), which manages the <a href="https://www.acer.org/ozpisa">Program for International Student Assessment</a> (PISA) in Australia, found in 2015 a total of 54% of 15-year-old students were aiming for a university degree. Around 3% were aiming for a TAFE diploma. This was down from 2003, when 63% planned to go to university, and 8% planned to do a TAFE diploma.</p>
<p>A decline in students’ expectations of a university degree may not be cause for alarm. Instead, it may reflect expanding opportunities in other qualification areas, such as apprenticeships and other forms of vocational education. The decline in those students expecting to do a TAFE diploma may reflect fewer offerings in the TAFE sector.</p>
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<p>What’s alarming is the disparity that remains between different groups of students. In particular, those related to disadvantage such as Indigeneity, low socioeconomic background and rurality.</p>
<h2>What else did the survey find?</h2>
<p>The 2015 PISA survey is a large-scale three-yearly study of more than half a million 15-year-olds in 72 countries, including 14,500 students in 750 Australian schools. It measures reading, science and maths literacy to determine how well prepared students are for the challenges of adult life. It’s managed internationally by the OECD and in Australia by ACER.</p>
<p>Educational pathways and prospects across OECD countries varied, despite some having similar cultures.</p>
<p>More than half (54%) of the Australian students surveyed in 2015 expected to go university. This is higher than the OECD average (44%), and students in Ireland (46%) and New Zealand (45%), but lower than those in Canada (64%) and the US (76%). </p>
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<p>Another 35% of Australian students expected to finish year 12 or a certificate four level qualification (generally associated with apprenticeships), compared to 23% internationally.</p>
<p>On average only a few Australian students (less than 3% nationally) expected to leave school before finishing Year 12.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/leaving-school-early-means-youre-likely-never-to-return-to-study-and-training-in-adult-life-79346">Leaving school early means you're likely never to return to study and training in adult life</a>
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<p>Across the states and territories, two-thirds (66%) of students in the ACT expected they would complete a university degree, compared to just 44% students in Tasmania. At the same time, around 8% of Tasmanian students – twice the national average – planned to leave school without completing year 12.</p>
<h2>Disadvantaged students’ expectations</h2>
<p>While it’s concerning that a smaller proportion of students are expecting to go to university than they did in 2003, the disparity between different groups of students is even more concerning.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-at-risk-young-people-are-turning-to-private-vet-providers-65315">More at-risk young people are turning to private VET providers</a>
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<p>Not only are there differences in their access to and <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Equity-Student-Briefing-Note_FINAL.pdf">opportunity for further study</a>, the survey highlights the range of their expectations, and what that might represent for their future.</p>
<p>Further comparison of the educational expectations of various groups of students revealed some worrying patterns related to disadvantage: </p>
<ul>
<li>only 28% of Indigenous students, compared to 55% of non-Indigenous students, expected to complete a university degree</li>
<li>almost 40% of students at remote schools, compared to almost 60% of those attending metropolitan schools, expected to complete a university degree</li>
<li>some 34% of students in the lowest socioeconomic quartile, compared to almost 77% in the highest quartile, expected to complete a university degree</li>
<li>even among high achievers, fewer students from the lowest socioeconomic quartile said they expected to go to university (74%) compared to students from the highest socioeconomic quartile (92%).<br></li>
</ul>
<p>Interestingly, higher proportions of students from an immigrant background (both first-generation Australians and second-generation), compared to students born in Australia to Australian-born parents, expected to go to university.</p>
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
<p>Having different expectations for future education <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.5153/sro.3508">can impact students’ current experiences</a> of education, influence their motivation, behaviour and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3171">achievement at school</a> now.</p>
<p>For example, students who know they won’t be able to afford to move out of home to go to their chosen university may decide, consciously or not, to not put so much effort into their schoolwork if they can get into a different course at a local TAFE that requires a lower ATAR.</p>
<p>For young people, expectations for further study can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those expecting to leave school early are <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/publications/all-publications/educational-outcomes-the-impact-of-aspirations-and-the-role-of-student-background-characteristics">more likely to do so</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-own-low-expectations-can-reinforce-their-disadvantage-23501">Students' own low expectations can reinforce their disadvantage</a>
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<p>Students who expect to attend university are more likely to do so, and so gain access to improved social and labour markets outcomes. These include increased health and life expectancy, higher incomes and greater levels of wellbeing – the “health, wealth and happiness” trifecta.</p>
<p>For policymakers, expectations may be of more practical interest. A society may wish to see the general education of its population increase, to provide more well-informed citizens, ensure a supply of adequately trained scientists, engineers or doctors, or raise basic standards of literacy and wellbeing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99648/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Thomson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although fewer Australian teens planned on going to university or TAFE than 15 years ago, figures were still higher than the OECD average.Sue Thomson, Deputy CEO (Research), Australian Council for Educational ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/967802018-05-17T05:06:16Z2018-05-17T05:06:16ZWhy are ‘feminine’ crafts like basket weaving disparaged by politicians?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219324/original/file-20180517-155616-1sty2ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Basket weaving is an important cultural and economic activity in many parts of the world, including Australia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/imsbildarkiv/11854892393/in/photolist-j4zqur-7vPiDZ-9qB8rx-bEqzBG-9r1uPX-crMaSY-7vSJGs-8ohFb8-D6fcN-D6eXr-D6get-s1cCzT-6JGM6x-2Ht6YR-CyAqX-hLB1BA-2Ht7vB-fiiSey-bX2Tsr-9Z4tjD-5hev7k-6yD5Yr-bAMcGX-f2rRXo-69r3AA-fLYjLk-aP5gdc-UeFxZf-7BfKqM-6vrSpu-q4b7wa-4aTfkr-j5qkAv-jNrjzi-pYWfxz-8Sbc57-jNrjKD-79HNgS-azxyPR-4HeEEd-7wn55R-5ko9vk-6Tw1Et-aAJNpA-gCNYsY-9dnLFK-dPcEuT-n9ULcR-bq5W4V-3fwEgQ">IM Swedish Development Partner/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Basket weaving. It doesn’t sound much of an insult does it? But Education Minister Simon Birmingham appeared to use the term in this way in an interview following opposition leader Bill Shorten’s budget reply speech. <a href="https://www.senatorbirmingham.com.au/doorstop-interview-adelaide-33/">Birmingham reacted disdainfully</a> to Shorten’s commitment to fund fees for TAFE students, sneering at Labor’s “disastrous VET FEE-HELP program that subsidised everything from energy healing to basket weaving.” </p>
<p>Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen described this comment as <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/federal-government-insulting-tafe-labor">an insult to TAFE teachers</a>. Bowen is right, of course. But more than that, this insult derives its power from denigrating and trivialising crafts traditionally practised by women. By extension, it denigrates women themselves.</p>
<p>It calls to mind a similar jibe <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/18/marriage-equality-peter-dutton-singles-out-alan-joyce-in-fresh-attack-on-ceos">delivered by home affairs minister Peter Dutton</a> during the gay marriage debate in March last year, when he told leading Australian company CEOs who urged government action on the issue to “stick to their knitting”. Three days later, Greens senator Janet Rice pulled out her knitting and worked on a rainbow-striped scarf during question time.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/craft-in-australia-lets-not-forget-the-real-value-of-the-handmade-42168">Craft in Australia: let's not forget the real value of the handmade</a>
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<p>Why is it that when dredging for an insult, male politicians turn to traditionally female crafts? It seems their gendered nature, pigeonholed as women’s hobbies - mundane and domestic, unpaid and undervalued - makes them suitable targets for ridicule. We don’t see such sneers at woodwork, metalcrafts or other “manly” pursuits.</p>
<p>Oppressive attitudes towards women have engendered such characterisations of their leisure pursuits. In 1986 feminist theory pioneer <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=27TrCuk4LRgC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=In+virtually+all+cultures,+whatever+is+thought+of+as+manly+is+more+highly+valued+than+what+is+thought+of+as+womanly&source=bl&ots=qDgsyp3HUV&sig=hnNI3zdTysuXyzGNfptI9ZmDFKs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwieuvjjr4vbAhVNO7wKHUVBCa0Q6AEILjAD#v=onepage&q=In%20virtually%20all%20cultures%2C%20whatever%20is%20thought%20of%20as%20manly%20is%20more%20highly%20valued%20than%20what%20is%20thought%20of%20as%20womanly&f=false">Sandra Harding wrote</a>: “In virtually all cultures, whatever is thought of as manly is more highly valued than what is thought of as womanly”. More than 30 years on, the insults from Birmingham and Dutton illustrate that this view is as pertinent today.</p>
<p>Birmingham’s comment also marginalises and undermines the merits of the highly skilled craft of basket weaving, which has a rich history, including in Aboriginal culture. Created with extraordinary dexterity and patience, items that once served utilitarian purposes, such as carrying food or even babies, are today preserved as museum pieces. </p>
<p>Such weaving “expresses cultural identity and traditions that date back tens of thousands of years”, the <a href="http://aiatsis.gov.au/news-and-events/events/weaving-culture-market-day">Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies</a> says. Baskets carried by figures and ancestor spirits have been depicted in Arnhem Land rock art dating back more than 40,000 years. </p>
<p>Home to some of Australia’s finest fibre works, the <a href="https://maningrida.com/artworks/weavings/about-weaving/">Maningrida region’s Arts and Culture website</a> notes: “There are also spiritual dimensions to weaving, which vary according to the materials used and the totemic significance of the object made.”</p>
<p>Curator Dr Kevin Murray, former artistic director of Craft Victoria, now an adjunct professor at RMIT University and editor of online craft publication Garland, reacted angrily to Birmingham’s insult. “Sure, basket weaving can thrive in Australia without TAFE support, but we need to address the way it is often demeaned as an art form by men in suits. What’s more meaningful: adding up figures in a spreadsheet or weaving objects for people to use that reflect a relation to the land and tradition?” he posted on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/craftinaustralia/">Craft in Australia Facebook page</a>. </p>
<p>Two days later on that page, the World Crafts Council – Australia posted a notice of the National Basketry Gathering 2019 in South Australia with the comment, “Basket-makers stand proud!”</p>
<p>The inference attending the Birmingham insult is that basket weaving is a waste of money, while Dutton’s message is essentially that the CEOs should mind their own business and concentrate on what they know. </p>
<p>Many women are very familiar with the message of “don’t bother your pretty little head with that”. Yet crafts are increasingly recognised as appropriate subjects for scholarship. Finnish design <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12130-007-9028-2">scholar Maarit Makela</a> has noted that “the making and the products of making are seen as an essential part of research”. They are “strongly connected with the source of knowledge. In this sense we are facing the idea of knowing through making.” </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/knit-one-purl-one-the-mysteries-of-yarn-bombing-unravelled-23461">Knit one, purl one: the mysteries of yarn bombing unravelled</a>
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<p>Also worth noting is that a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01612840.2016.1230160?journalCode=imhn20">significant body of research</a> has confirmed what crafters have long known – that their crafts have mental health benefits. Craft has been found to enhance wellbeing – indeed some psychologists prescribe knitting for their patients. </p>
<p>Crafts also promote social connections, a counter to the loneliness and social isolation of contemporary life. Even trauma can be eased by participating in them, researchers have found. “The analysis revealed that feelings of agony or pain could be pushed away and turned into bodily activity or symbolic imagery by hand work,” writes <a href="https://www.nrpa.org/globalassets/journals/jlr/2015/volume-47/jlr-volume-47-number-1-pp-58-78.pdf">Finnish researcher Professor Sinikka Pollanen</a>.</p>
<p>Increasingly, craft practitioners are using their skills for other purposes than the purely decorative or utilitarian. They are actively protesting aspects of society – the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/knag-power-knitting-nanas-on-the-march-against-fracking-polluters-20170831-gy824u.html">Knitting Nannas</a> who oppose coal seam gas exploration or <a href="https://theconversation.com/knit-one-purl-one-the-mysteries-of-yarn-bombing-unravelled-23461">yarn bombers</a> enhancing desolate urban landscapes, for example. While some men are using craft to buck the gender stereotypes, for activist women it’s a means of drawing attention to and rebelling against the restrictions placed on them because of their gender. The message: craft matters; we matter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Green is a member of Victoria’s Handknitters Guild and member of Craft (formerly Craft Victoria).</span></em></p>Basket weaving and knitting are used pejoratively to make a point but not ‘manly’ pursuits such as metalcrafts or woodwork.Sue Green, Deputy Director, Journalism Program, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/961022018-05-04T03:50:21Z2018-05-04T03:50:21ZFree TAFE in Victoria: who benefits and why other states should consider it<p>The Victorian government’s budget announcement on May 1 included a significant reinvestment in TAFE. Courses in <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/educationstate/Pages/freetafe.aspx">30 key skill priority areas</a> will be free from the beginning of 2019. </p>
<p>This bold move signals a shift away from the <a href="http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A67289">market approach</a> to technical and vocational education. This approach saw many people caught up in <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-serious-matter-tafe-freezes-enrolments-amid-concerns-of-rorting-20170919-gyk867.html">fees debacles</a> who received low quality training through the dodgy market practices of predatory education providers pursuing financial advantage and profit. This policy puts TAFE squarely back at the centre of a trusted technical and vocational education and training system. </p>
<h2>What’s changing?</h2>
<p>The market approach treated TAFEs as no different from private providers, putting them in direct competition with each other. Yet, TAFE institutions are not able to just target profitable courses and are required to offer the social support in ways private providers do not. </p>
<p>The Victorian government’s new <a href="https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/explore-our-priorities/right-skills-job">budget policy for TAFE</a> represents a measured shift away from an over focus on how easily bodies can move in and out of education markets. TAFE institutions across the state can now consolidate their role as key public education institutions. These institutions are part of the critical infrastructure that builds community and individual abilities to cope with and adjust to changing social and economic circumstances. </p>
<p>TAFE has occupied that middle institutional role of attending to local, community and industry and employment needs in ways that universities and school don’t and can’t. </p>
<p>State governments, as the owners of TAFE institutions, have a vital role in ensuring skills and education infrastructure is sustainable. This budget investment moves a significant way toward ensuring just that. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-vet-loan-scheme-to-exclude-shonky-providers-66507">New VET loan scheme to exclude shonky providers</a>
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<p>The TAFE teaching workforce in Victoria recently reached <a href="https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/new-tafe-agreement-puts-teachers-centre-rebuilding-tafe">a new enterprise agreement</a> that will also improve teaching conditions. This will ensure TAFE has a workforce that can ensure quality education. </p>
<h2>Who benefits?</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/educationstate/Pages/freetafe.aspx">free courses</a> being made available from 2019 will significantly contribute to skills mix required for the Australian state with the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0">fastest growing population</a>. Many of the pre-apprenticeship, Certificate II level courses will open options for senior school aged students not seeking a path to university, and provide them with the opportunities to learn skills for work. </p>
<p>Certificate III courses in agriculture, aged care, civil construction and concreting will ensure Victoria develops the right skills mix for the growing population. It will also ensure skilled workers can participate in the road and <a href="https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/explore-our-priorities/right-skills-job">rail infrastructure projects</a> that have already started. </p>
<p>Metropolitan and rural communities around Victoria will also benefit immensely. In some rural settings, where school <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/opinion/the-education-system-has-failed-students-in-rural-and-regional-areas/news-story/ebac4766ef978588f4754068aee0da14">completion rates are lower</a> than those in metropolitan areas, Certificate II, III and IV courses will provide a way for young people to stay connected to education and ensure transitions to employment. </p>
<p>The abolition of fees for diploma level courses in nursing, building and construction, community services and accounting is a game changer. It will ensure TAFEs in Victoria are full service education institutions. This means pre-tertiary and tertiary level education options will be freely available to people who will make their future through going to TAFE. Tertiary education in the form of diplomas has been a tradition for many individuals, families and communities. </p>
<h2>Private providers say the policy isn’t equitable</h2>
<p>The peak member organisation representing private providers, <a href="https://www.acpet.edu.au/">ACPET</a>, was quick to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/private-training-providers-fear-they-ll-be-penalised-under-tafe-boost-20180502-p4zcva.html?csp=d42371e611111c536bdbc91b68e4a696%200">express concern</a> about this budget initiative. This bold move by the Victorian government to fund publicly-owned TAFE institutions is being lambasted as not equitable. This notion of equity is curious, as it’s more concerned with equity as revenue and capital, rather than access and participation for those who are often left behind as a consequence of social changes. </p>
<p>Private providers will not be funded by the state government as part of this initiative, so they have argued students will be limited in their choice of providers. </p>
<h2>Re-centring TAFE as a key institution</h2>
<p>The Victorian government’s commitment to TAFE through the provision of free courses will re-instill trust in a technical and vocational education and training system. The sector badly let down the Australian public when the VET FEE HELP loans scandals got out of hand and did much to undermine TAFE and the wider VET system.</p>
<p>As Professor Leesa Wheeahan, from the University of Toronto, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-22/tafe-at-tipping-point/9071838">has eloquently argued</a> :</p>
<blockquote>
<p>we’ve got to move back from the disastrous policies of the last 10 years and start reinvesting in TAFE as the key anchor institutions of communities and regions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The opportunities that will be afforded through free TAFE will build the basis for a more equitable Victoria. Those who are sufficiently prepared will now be able to access education options that will have personal and economic benefits. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-victorias-tafe-mistakes-34646">Learning from Victoria's TAFE mistakes</a>
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<p>The policy misadventures that saw TAFE emaciated, and the community lose faith in the vocational education and training sector, caused considerable individual and social damage.</p>
<p>The Andrews labor government was elected on platform to <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/under-labor-tafe-has-a-future-and-students-have-a-choice/">rescue TAFE</a>. The progress has been slow, and it would be premature to say this has been fully achieved. But this reinvestment in TAFE in Victoria resets the course of TAFE as a key public education institution for the community, industry and individuals. This represents long awaited signs for cautious optimism about TAFE’s future in Victoria. </p>
<p>Other states and territories could follow suit and similarly reinvest in their TAFE systems through a comparable policy initiative.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Pardy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>30 skill priority areas will be free from the beginning of 2019 in Victoria. Students will feel the most benefit, while private providers say the policy is not equitable.John Pardy, Education Lecturer and Researcher, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/653152016-09-21T23:41:33Z2016-09-21T23:41:33ZMore at-risk young people are turning to private VET providers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138211/original/image-20160919-11123-exhkb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For young people leaving school without completing Year 12, a VET qualification is the main way they can continue their education.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New research shows that the most at-risk young people – including those who are homeless and have mental health issues – are increasingly being enrolled by private Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers to undertake their training.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/publications/all-publications/shedding-light-private-for-profit-training-providers-and-young-early-school-leavers">The report</a>, released by the <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/">National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)</a>, looked at the role being played by private VET providers for disadvantaged early school-leavers.</p>
<p>It finds that, following a series of government funding reforms since 2009, private VET providers have increasingly taken over a larger share of the <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/publications/all-publications/2871">training market</a>, once occupied by TAFE. One consequence has been an increasing number of high-needs students enrolling in providers that are ill-equipped to respond to their needs. </p>
<h2>Who are the young people affected?</h2>
<p>For young people leaving school without completing Year 12, a VET qualification is the main way they can continue their education. In 2015, across Australia, more than 140,000 early school-leavers were undertaking a VET qualification. </p>
<p>Early school-leavers constitute a growing cohort for private VET providers. The market share of private VET providers varies across the country, with Victoria, Queensland and South Australia experiencing the largest growth in enrolments.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138159/original/image-20160918-17018-1ggo7gw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Early School Leavers in VET, 15-19, by provider type, 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: 2015, National VET Provider Collection – Total VET Activity (NCVER)</span></span>
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<p>More than half (59%) of the private VET providers surveyed for the research said they had experienced an increase in enrolments of early school-leavers in the last five years. </p>
<p>Providers described a range of challenges facing early school-leaver learners. Most commonly mentioned were low literacy and numeracy skills, a lack of clarity around career goals and low employability skills. Providers also noted that some early school-leavers were coerced into VET programs by welfare payment requirements. </p>
<p>Private providers described employer feedback that early school-leavers often lacked the social skills needed in the workplace. Suitability for the workplace and likelihood of completing a VET program was described as particularly low for learners who had not completed Year 11. Providers also described disengagement and a lack of family support as contributing to non-completion of VET programs.</p>
<h2>The role of private VET providers</h2>
<p>So what were private VET providers doing in response to these needs of early school-leavers? </p>
<p>Remedial literacy and numeracy programs were available at many providers. However, the approach across the private VET providers consulted was inconsistent. Providers described the low level of literacy and numeracy skills of the early school-leaver learners as placing pressure on VET trainers.</p>
<p>Our research found private VET providers are ill-equipped to tackle complex personal and social barriers to learning. Support provided was often limited to study spaces, computers with internet access and some academic skills support. </p>
<p>Developing positive relationships with students was considered vital. Providers identified empathy, patience, humour and behaviour management, as well as a sound knowledge of the chosen trade, as crucial skill sets for trainers working with early school-leavers.</p>
<p>The private providers we spoke with considered their small-scale and relatively informal learning settings to be a distinct advantage. They described it as allowing them to engage disadvantaged learners in small groups or individually.</p>
<h2>How can private VET providers improve?</h2>
<p>Private VET providers expressed disappointment that efforts to support early school-leavers go largely unrecognised in the context of negative perceptions of private providers within the VET sector. </p>
<p>Given the current political focus on private VET provision, there are several policy implications that emerge from the research. </p>
<p>Governments, other educational providers and youth referral agencies should be encouraged to regard private VET providers as partners in efforts to re-engage young people whose education has been disrupted.</p>
<p>While the complex demands of early school-leavers are clear, changes are needed to tackle the limitations of providers in effectively responding to these needs. </p>
<p>Small and informal learning settings can work well for disadvantaged students. But there are limitations. Private providers, particularly smaller providers, often lack the infrastructure and economies of scale of large TAFE institutions. </p>
<p>Enrolment processes that gather a deeper understanding of the breadth of wellbeing, educational and employability needs of young people are needed to inform targeted assistance.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is based on research initiated by the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL), with funding from the NCVER. Its main report was co-authored by Dr George Myconos, senior researcher at the BSL Research and Policy Centre.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kira Clarke is a member of the team that received funding from the NCVER for the research on which this article is based. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kitty Te Riele is a member of the team that received funding from the NCVER for the research on which this article is based. </span></em></p>New research shows private VET providers are ill-equipped to tackle the learning needs of vulnerable young people, who are increasingly being enrolled onto these training courses.Kira Clarke, Lecturer, Education Policy, Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy, The University of MelbourneKitty Te Riele, CRN Principal Research Fellow, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/611462016-06-16T04:18:46Z2016-06-16T04:18:46ZIs Labor’s plan to create ten Institutes of Higher Education a good idea?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126868/original/image-20160616-19959-1n7r3aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Labor said they would establish Commonwealth Institutes of Higher Education at ten sites across Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Crossling/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.100positivepolicies.org.au/commonwealth_institutes_for_higher_education_fact_sheet">Senator Kim Carr has announced</a> that a Labor government would establish Commonwealth Institutes of Higher Education at ten sites across Australia, on a trial basis. </p>
<p>They would involve universities and TAFE Institutes working together to deliver associate degrees and advanced diplomas. </p>
<p>At a total cost of A$430 million, 10,000 Commonwealth Supported Places would be available. These “HECS” places would be funded at 70% of the normal rate.</p>
<p>This essentially creates a new layer of tertiary education. Students could study a two year sub-bachelor, higher education course at one of these institutions, then if they wish to complete a full degree they would receive credit for study to date. </p>
<p>At that stage they would go on to a normal HECS place at a university, which would be 100% funded during the final year. </p>
<p>The idea, it seems, is to have a network of such tertiary education institutions, bringing together the best of applied higher education and vocational skills training into institutions that are not funded to do research. </p>
<p>As with Colleges of Advanced Education which disappeared in the <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/gwilym-croucher/the-dawkins-revolution-25-years-on-9780522864151.aspx">Dawkins Reforms of 1989-90</a>, these Institutes would be “higher education”, but the conceptual difference between vocational and higher education is increasingly blurred. </p>
<p>The two are kept apart by peculiarly Australian circumstances relating to federal-state funding differences, separate regulatory bodies and the language of the Australian Qualifications Framework.</p>
<h2>How does it differ to TAFE?</h2>
<p>At face value, this proposal could put the cat amongst the pigeons. There are already “dual sector” universities with Vocational and Higher Education Divisions, mainly in Victoria, burned by severe cuts to TAFE funding. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, there are well-established articulation arrangements between universities and TAFE institutes. </p>
<p>Due to the uncapped nature of undergraduate places, some universities are now admitting students into bachelor degrees who would otherwise have enrolled in associate degrees. </p>
<p>Having become used to funding for such students at 100% of the normal rate for each year of study, and presumably using some of that funding to cross-subsidise research, it is not clear why they would want to collaborate with TAFE and accept 70%.</p>
<p>In principle, however, I think this proposal is well worth experimenting with. </p>
<p>I have long argued for the need to introduce “polytechnic” institutions which bridge vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. These bodies would provide highly practical, industry-connected courses taught by staff whose focus does not include research per se. </p>
<p>In fact, in 2010-11 the University of Canberra applied for a Structural Adjustment Fund grant to do just this and establish the University of Canberra Institute of Technology, jointly with the Canberra Institute of Technology. It was rejected by then Labor education minister Chris Evans.</p>
<h2>Benefits</h2>
<p>There are many students who would enjoy and benefit from highly practical, demanding courses. They may also be spared the unhappiness of dropping out of a bachelor degree because it is too long, or they cannot afford to live and study for that length of time, or because it is too theoretical or “academic” for them. </p>
<p>There are also many teachers who are presently distracted or distressed by the expectation of research, but who have much experience they could pass on to the future workforce.</p>
<p>Money, talent and enthusiasm could all be put to better use in a wider range of institutions funded for their particular mission.</p>
<p>Time, however, has moved on. </p>
<p>The uncapped undergraduate system is in full flood, as it were. The TAFE sector has been severely damaged as a result in my view, and some universities have become reliant on low-ATAR bachelor students to stay afloat. </p>
<p>Labor’s proposal emphasises that the location of the ten pilot sites will be chosen according to need and shortage. This is astute, but unless these institutes are set up where there is already a campus of some kind, the money would soon go in capital infrastructure. </p>
<h2>Planned sites</h2>
<p>It is very convenient that one of these sites will be at <a href="http://berwicknews.starcommunity.com.au/news/2016-06-14/labor-woos-voters-with-higher-education-offer/">Berwick in Victoria</a>, where Monash University wishes to exit and another university is willing to take it over. But it would be difficult to find ten Berwicks in parts of Australia where there is a sufficient population.</p>
<p>A further consideration is that these experiments are being dropped into a system where market forces have been embraced by both sides of politics as the organising element of higher education. </p>
<p>Markets will ultimately fail at university level. The uncapped, demand-driven system contained the seeds of its own destruction. We need to go back to that so “yesterday” idea of designing what we want. </p>
<p>In a submission to the Bradley Review in 2008, I argued we should look at the American idea of “system” universities, involving clearly differentiated institutions. These would be linked by agreement or governance, offering between them a comprehensive range of disciplines, qualifications and learning styles in a particular area. </p>
<p>I suspect, however, that the fetish of the market has not yet run its course. </p>
<p>In fact, the one big issue which all except one vice-chancellor seemed to agree on recently was, ironically, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s4140850.htm">deregulation</a>. </p>
<p>My prediction is that if Labor were returned, some of the ten Commonwealth Institutes of Higher Education would succeed and some would not. </p>
<p>If, on the other hand, leadership were to emerge which designed a tertiary system fit for Australia’s future needs, then many more such institutes could have an important and viable place.</p>
<p>I have learned not to hold my breath, except as part of a meditation cycle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Parker will become an employee of The Conversation from August 2016, after retiring as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra on 1 July. The views expressed here are his own, and are consistent with his writing over the last eight years.</span></em></p>Labor’s policy essentially creates a new layer of tertiary education that would involve universities and TAFE Institutes working together to deliver associate degrees and advanced diplomas.Stephen Parker, Vice-Chancellor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/541782016-02-08T06:44:28Z2016-02-08T06:44:28ZVET funding can’t be fixed by sidelining TAFE<p>A leaked draft paper prepared by the federal government for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) proposes that the Commonwealth assume responsibility for funding Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) system.</p>
<p>VET is currently funded under a shared funding agreement between the Commonwealth and the states. The states contribute A$4 billion and the Commonwealth $3 billion. The states fund VET providers including TAFE, while the Commonwealth operates VET FEE-HELP, under which VET students in diplomas and advanced diplomas can access an income-contingent loan to meet the costs of course fees.</p>
<p>Taking into account outlays through VET FEE-HELP, the Commonwealth contribution now exceeds state contributions in any one year. </p>
<p>The draft paper proposes that the federal government assume full funding for “mainstream” VET qualifications by bringing together subsidies and income-contingent loans in areas of national skills priorities. Funding would be fully competitive, with the Commonwealth funding TAFE at the same rate as other providers. Student fees would be deregulated. </p>
<p>The states would retain responsibility for ownership and management of their TAFE systems. The states could fund TAFE but only to the extent required to ensure “competitive neutrality” with other providers.</p>
<p>The proposal has drawn an adverse reaction from two state VET ministers. In the light of experience with the abuse of the Commonwealth’s VET FEE HELP scheme, they have expressed doubt that the Commonwealth can run a national VET funding system effectively. </p>
<p>Other critics <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-end-of-tafe-as-we-know-it-leaked-paper-details-federal-vocational-takeover-20160203-gmknwc.html">focused</a> on the proposed market funding model and its implications for TAFE.</p>
<p>In considering the Commonwealth’s proposal, it is important to separate which level of government should fund VET from how VET should be funded – including the important role of TAFE as the public VET provider.</p>
<p>At the outset it must be recognised that the VET funding system is failing.
Funding for VET by all states and territories <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/restricted/media/!ut/p/a1/tZJLU8IwFIX_Ci5YZnKb1JAuQR5tHR4jotANE9IgcdoAbafqvzelOOqiwsZsMic5Z3Lz3YsjvMSREaV-EYXeG5FUOmLrwCF3vu9CyEe9PgST6STw7okDj8waVtYw80eM9CqDPwZrmD8Mx4M5Bd455YH0Xd_jEMJsyCEYskGHeIRMnsiFPLBL-Wcc4Uia4lDs8MrIUmVruTeFMkUbTtJu6i1vCRO3VGmP8zakKtailalEiVx9aXTWaKuNMFKLBGmz3WfpCUX1ykHqGK8IxAxEzBCjYoNc6TEkhCSIbCV1gXGAmJ5_BQ2rC5eormy-0_DtAKaA5z8KchjhHrlF4DgxcomkSDjCRRtbEGEd7gBVOLyiD_r1eIy6lmbF773AyxpnvhOZitsg90miZAXDIitVcQal0PcFIraGuiUXhuJPQ9X1ut5mgDWhJoSU_SJ0TcvCKya9gdC_DNwhXSxSTj-Q2PAPCnqWputx3r35BBuleG0!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/">has declined since 2013</a>. </p>
<p>Subsidies for many courses have been reduced or removed altogether.
Thousands of VET students are facing higher upfront fees but cannot access income-contingent loans; other students are accruing high debts under VET FEE HELP. Publicly funded VET enrolments are in decline.</p>
<p>There is also a <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-australia-update-and-analysis/">serious and growing imbalance</a> in funding between higher education and VET. </p>
<p>The fundamental problem with the system is that no single level of government is fully responsible for VET funding. Under the current agreement, the states can reduce funding for VET while continuing to receive the same (or even) additional Commonwealth funding. </p>
<p>The Mitchell Institute has argued for a national tertiary education funding model across VET and higher education. <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/presentations/a-model-for-tertiary-education-funding-in-australia/">Under this model</a>, government would establish and fund all providers through an effective price required to deliver quality outcomes. All tertiary students would be able to access income-contingent loans. </p>
<p>The institute has modelled <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/feasibility-and-design-of-a-tertiary-education-entitlement-in-australia/">the settings required</a> to extend income-contingent loans to VET Certificate III courses.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth proposal is broadly consistent with this approach and requires serious consideration. The Commonwealth has emphasised that the paper is a draft.</p>
<p>How VET is funded under a national system then becomes an important policy and design issue. It is therefore disappointing that the Commonwealth paper defaults to a simplistic, market-driven VET funding model based primarily on lowering costs and increasing efficiency, including competition through fee deregulation. </p>
<p>There is now ample evidence of the damage simplistic VET market funding models have done to the quality and reputation of the VET system – and to individuals’ lives.</p>
<p>Experience has shown that, given the opportunity, unethical and opportunistic providers driven by the chance to access public subsidies at minimal cost will do so – most recently in relation to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/this-is-a-blatant-ripoff-of-the-taxpayer-training-colleges-facing-audit-of-predatory-pricing/news-story/b82f5b31b12ccc58755939fbfdb6d66d">VET FEE HELP</a>.</p>
<p>High-quality and reputable public and private providers cannot operate effectively when unethical providers offer quickie qualifications at minimal or no cost to individuals. </p>
<p>The publicly funded VET market is an entirely publicly funded government construct. There are 1800 providers accessing public funding in Australia. A sophisticated funding and contractual model is required through which governments can fully assure students and employers that all providers they have contracted to deliver VET will do so at a fair and reasonable price and with rigorous and consistent assessment of learning outcomes. </p>
<p>It is also clear that state governments and the community will not allow their substantial, accessible and broadly based TAFE systems to be run into the ground by not funding the direct and indirect costs of TAFE as the public VET provider.
There are huge financial and political risks for the states in handing over VET funding to the Commonwealth and then having to manage community and industry expectations. </p>
<p>A contemporary national vision of the role of TAFE, how it should be funded and how it should operate is required as part of any new national VET funding system.
This system should form part of an overall tertiary education funding framework to ensure balanced investment between VET and higher education, facilitate co-operation between the sectors and provide better pathways for students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Noonan is a Professorial Fellow in the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University. The University is a public VET provider. </span></em></p>A leaked paper suggests that the federal government should take over funding VET courses. But it’s a path we should tread with great caution.Peter Noonan, Mitchell Professorial Fellow, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/541712016-02-05T01:11:15Z2016-02-05T01:11:15ZDeregulating TAFE is a big risk to the labour market<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110384/original/image-20160204-2993-6jbgh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Deregulating TAFE would have serious impacts for the labour market.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/297710445/TAFE-document">leaked paper</a> outlining the government’s plans to deregulate TAFE would have a serious impact on large sections of the labour market.</p>
<p>The proposed policy not only highlights an ideological commitment to fee deregulation, prioritising industry consultation and austerity, but also fails some of the basic requirements of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-wages-insecure-jobs-struggling-youth-rising-inequality-shrinking-unions-join-the-dots-50981">active labour market policy</a> (ALMP). </p>
<p>High quality vocational training allows us to quickly retrain and find work in industries with skills shortages. When combined with adequate income subsidies and employment services, Vocational Education and Training (VET) can create an effective and efficient labour market. </p>
<p>When the formula is correct, ALMP can help to address structural unemployment. This is created when there is a mismatch in the skill demands of business and the availability of skilled workers. Effective reform also supports workers back into the labour market and allows firms to remain flexible. </p>
<p>However, this approach requires effective regulation and strong institutional protections. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/restricted/publicationContent/!ut/p/a0/hY_JCsIwFAC_xUOP5b1uaXoUQdJeBKvQ5FKyqdHS3ap_L3oXjwMDw4CACkQrF3eWs-ta2XxYkDoPwg1jMRY7xgjm6fawL9kxwoAABy7SnwJLoAQBotfOANeJDY1MYv9ELfqxCamfZVT5VGEWGQy01AjFv2IF3F2HQaxB6K6d7XOGqtWLHevpIkdrPOzvqnH6uzB5GFIk0N-koq_H6g2HsqY4/">shows</a> that countries with strong regulatory frameworks and heavy costs for non-compliance typically have higher quality VET sectors.</p>
<p>This new policy proposal signals a step in the opposite direction. Chief areas for concern are the extension of funding arrangements to private providers, a lack of consultation outside of industry groups, and a renewed push to deregulate fees. This could in effect dilute regulatory control, increase cost to both consumer and taxpayer, and allow for predatory market practices in the VET sector.</p>
<h2>Value for money?</h2>
<p>There are approximately <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/FBC2FEEBF38C6DD6CA25773700169C92?opendocument">5,000 registered training providers</a> in Australia. While most students are recipients of government subsidies, almost 3,700 providers are private enterprises. </p>
<p>TAFE market share has <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorian-tafes-record-estimated-50-million-loss-20150416-1mm68v.html">fallen to a mere 25%</a> as a result of <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/tafe-forced-into-higher-ed-markets/news-story/48209bb1fd6e06c6be51ec8df1837c0e">deregulation and funding cuts</a>. By allowing private providers to flood the market with a low-cost, high-volume approach to course construction, the quality of training has become diluted.</p>
<p>The money used by private enterprises has often been used to <a href="http://www.nteu.org.au/defendourunis/article/Deregulation-of-Victorian-vocational-education%3A-A-case-study-in-policy-and-market-failure-16469">undercut the pay and conditions</a> of the public providers, which can have real impact on the quality of education. </p>
<p><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=961144">Research shows</a> that wage increases had a direct effect on teacher quality. For every 1% increase in starting salary, there was an associated increase 0.6% in the aptitude of students entering teaching degrees. In other words, if you pay teachers more, you get better students wanting to become teachers.</p>
<p>Deregulation often reduces these regulatory mechanisms and strips away compliance costs for private providers, but as this <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/how-australia-can-become-a-renewable-energy-superpower-35215">does not</a> always result in a reduction of cost to the consumer. Energy companies, despite experiencing a greatly deregulated market, have failed to substantially reduce consumer cost.</p>
<p>The energy deregulation story offers us another concerning and often unacknowledged risk. </p>
<p>Just last year, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) identified the east coast gas market as containing all the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/east-coast-gas-market-has-all-the-hallmarks-of-a-cartel-20151011-gk6b4i.html">hallmarks of a cartel</a>.</p>
<h2>Competition, compliance and cartels</h2>
<p>Usually when we hear the word “cartel” it conjures up images of drug trafficking, racketeering and other illicit practices. We think of real world kingpin Pablo Escobar, or his fictional equivalents like Scarface’s Tony Montana or Breaking Bad’s Walter White. While less likely to inspire award-winning television series, economic cartels are a serious concern.</p>
<p>At their core, cartels are an agreement made between competing firms with significant market power. This agreement can take a number of forms, but in essence, cartels agree to set prices between themselves and let competition be damned.</p>
<p>Under the Competition and Consumer Act cartels are <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/caca2010265/s44zzrf.html">explicitly illegal</a>. However in the past ten years, the ACCC has <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/anti-competitive-behaviour/cartels/cartels-case-studies-legal-cases">investigated and prosecuted a number of cartels</a> in Australia. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, their capacity to investigate has been limited in recent years, as funding was frozen in 2014 and the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/business/accc-bemoans-funding-levels-20141029-11e1jc.html">ACCC workforce has been cut by almost 13%</a>.</p>
<p>The ensuing legal proceedings take years and cost millions of tax dollars. While there is a legal deterrent to cartel formation in the VET sector, it is by no means a guarantee. </p>
<p>This may be an extreme scenario, but there are inherent risks wherever reform is proposed. However the risks posed by deregulation have immediate and serious impacts for large sections of the labour market, and the everyday lives of Australians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirley Jackson is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party and the Victorian Trades Hall Council. He works for the Young Workers Centre.</span></em></p>The risks posed by deregulating the vocational education and training sector have serious impacts for large sections of the labour market.Shirley Jackson, PhD Candidate in Political Economy, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/515692015-12-15T19:32:51Z2015-12-15T19:32:51ZMy ATAR is too low, what do I do now?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105721/original/image-20151214-1645-m1zhix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waiting for the bleep ... how did your results go?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You hear the alert of the text message. Your heart races as you realise that the number in the message could change the direction of your life. </p>
<p>With sweaty hands, you swipe into the message, your eyes blurring momentarily, as the number hits your vision. It dawns on you: <em>Too low, too low</em> … what now? Anticipation is replaced by the cold hand of dread, disappointment, even fear.</p>
<h2>What to do if your ATAR is too low</h2>
<p>Does this scenario sound familiar?</p>
<p>First off, don’t panic – you still have many options available to you. Your ATAR <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/news-events/news/atars-a-weak-predictor-of-student-performance">does not determine</a> your future grades beyond school.</p>
<p>Each state in Australia usually has a central processing unit for the handling and management of student scores. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.vtac.edu.au/">Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre</a> in Victoria</li>
<li><a href="http://www.uac.edu.au/">University Admissions Centre</a> in New South Wales </li>
<li><a href="http://www.qtac.edu.au/">Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre</a> in Queensland</li>
<li><a href="http://www.satac.edu.au/">South Australia Tertiary Admissions Centre</a> in South Australia and Northern Territory</li>
<li><a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/apply">University of Tasmania</a> in Tasmania</li>
<li><a href="https://www.tisc.edu.au/static/home.tisc">Tertiary Institutions Admissions Centre</a> in Western Australia.</li>
</ul>
<p>These centres process the scores of students wanting to go on to further education. They also work with universities and Technical and Further Education institutions (TAFEs). </p>
<p>Each centre will have links on its website that may help guide students in the right direction – it’s worth taking a look at these sites for information.</p>
<h2>Go back to the admissions booklet</h2>
<p>The first step is to return to the admissions booklet provided by your state’s admissions centre. </p>
<p>The booklet (whether online or in hard copy) provides you with a list of courses and the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) required for entrance into that course. </p>
<p>A search on the web may bring up other courses on offer in the same area, but at a different university that requires lower ATARs.</p>
<p>Courses run at smaller institutions or in regional centres often have lower ATARs. </p>
<p>Some students may dismiss regional centres or smaller universities on account of these not having the same rigorous standards as larger universities. However, this is not necessarily the case. Smaller universities may offer a more personable experience overall. </p>
<p>Once you begin on your career path, it may not matter that you did not acquire your entry qualifications through a particular institution. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/top-10-things-employers-look-for-in-university-graduates-20150112-12mb73.html">Reports reveal</a> that employers are not really interested in the institution you went to. Instead, they want to know about other aspects such as working within a team, possessing diverse abilities, work readiness and overall grades. </p>
<h2>Look at other education providers</h2>
<p>University isn’t always the best option. Sometimes you can study the course you want to at a TAFE or private college. </p>
<p>These institutions will offer varying entry grades and tend not to place all the emphasis on an ATAR. </p>
<p>Entrance into some TAFE courses is managed through the tertiary admissions centres. However, many courses are managed by individual institutions. Cut-off dates usually do not apply until January of the following year. </p>
<p>Find out who is the careers advisor at the place you want to study and speak to them about your options. This will help you understand if the course you’ve chosen matches your preferred career path.</p>
<h2>Consider bridging or pathway programs</h2>
<p>Many universities offer bridging or pathways programs. This is where you study for a year, often enrolling for units that will create a path into your desired degree. </p>
<p>Numbers for these pathways programs are sometimes small, as universities offer a more personalised experience to students requiring support with post-school study. Important skills such as researching and academic writing are built into these courses. </p>
<p>Pathways programs may also be navigated through alternative study. You may opt for a similar study program at another university, requiring a lower ATAR, then apply in your second year to the institution of your choice. You just need to maintain a good academic average. </p>
<h2>See if you’re eligible for Special Entry Access Scheme</h2>
<p>If you qualify for it, the Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) may add vital points to your ATAR, which may get you closer to your desired course of study. </p>
<p>Difficult circumstances, disadvantaged financial backgrounds, Indigenous heritage or a medical condition all act as moderating factors that may allow students to gain additional points for their ATAR scores. </p>
<p>The added extra for some students qualifying for SEAS may open up other options, such as applications for scholarships. If you are applying for SEAS, it may be wise to check first whether the institution you are applying to recognises SEAS. </p>
<h2>Check if a university course has uncapped places</h2>
<p>Many universities now have uncapped places for certain courses. This means universities are <a href="https://theconversation.com/year-12-results-day-does-the-atar-actually-matter-that-much-48890">placing a lower importance on the ATAR</a> and are considering other factors too, such as work folios for arts degrees, scores obtained on external tests, and student interviews. </p>
<p>Scoring below the required ATAR may not necessarily push you out of the running.</p>
<p>The route you take may involve a deviation or a side-step, but you are still going to reach your destination – so don’t panic!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pearl Subban is affiliated with Monash University.</span></em></p>Don’t panic if you didn’t get the school results you wanted – here’s what to do.Pearl Subban, Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/492172015-10-20T00:26:28Z2015-10-20T00:26:28ZCareers education must be for all, not just those going to university<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98930/original/image-20151019-23267-de8e1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University isn't the best option for everyone. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Year 12 exams are in full swing and we are getting almost daily reminders from the media that young people need to think and plan beyond their final days in the classroom. </p>
<p>Even the premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, has chimed in with <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/10/12/mike-baird-offers-advice-hsc-exams-start-nsw">his advice</a> to students.</p>
<p>But a focus on exams, ATARs and university offers provides a skewed image of what it means to finish high school. </p>
<p>Less than half of young people finishing school go on to university in Australia. Yet the focus of many of our <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-features/vce-results-2014-anxious-wait-over-as-atar-scores-released/story-fni3wj64-1227156165490">media</a> and public conversations tends to reinforce university as the gold standard that all young people should strive for.</p>
<p>This is further reinforced by <a href="http://www.acpet.edu.au/uploads/files/Reports_Submissions/2010/Access_Economics-Increasing_Austr_productivity_through_effective_delivery_of_Govt_higher_ed_policy_Apr_2010.pdf">government targets</a> to increase the number of 25 to 34-year-olds completing a bachelor degree or higher to 40% by 2025. </p>
<p>But university isn’t the only option. Neither is it the best option for everyone. </p>
<p>This year alone more than 290,000 young Australians aged 15 to 24 were unemployed. So what can be done to support them? </p>
<p>We need to <a href="http://cica.org.au/wp-content/uploads/GOVERNMENT-RECOGNISES-THE-IMPORTANCE-OF-SCHOOL-CAREER-ADVISERS1.pdf">focus on improving careers advice for young people</a> in schools to help them make informed decisions about their future careers. </p>
<h2>Careers education in schools</h2>
<p>In a labour market context that is increasingly unforgiving to low-skilled young people, the role of career advisers and supportive teachers in schools is crucial. </p>
<p>Career advisers work with young people with diverse backgrounds, varying dreams and ambitions and are often <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596306.2013.770251">under pressure from systems and school leadership who prioritise certain types of career education activities</a>. </p>
<p>Career advisers are increasingly under-resourced, with <a href="https://cica.org.au/lack-of-funding-deprives-young-australians-of-necessary-career-support/">research from the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA)</a> showing that one in three career practitioners is provided with less than $1,000 annually to undertake career development activities across their entire school. </p>
<p>This equates to half of schools with a population of over 1,000 students having less than $3 per student to spend on career education. </p>
<p>As CICA has highlighted: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Preparing young Australians for an ever-changing workforce is a growing challenge, particularly when career practitioners are under-resourced and under-funded.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://cica.org.au/wp-content/uploads/CICA-Infographic-A-Snapshot-of-Career-Practitioners-in-Australia-2.pdf">The research shows</a> that career advisers in schools are largely female (80%), over 45 years of age (77%), and more than half (52%) work part-time. The age and working profile of these practitioners can have implications for sustainability and continuity of quality provision in schools. </p>
<h2>Current approaches to careers education not perceived as useful</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/research/pages/ontrack.aspx">Government data shows</a> there is a decline in the perceived usefulness of current approaches to careers advice in school. </p>
<p>Less than a third of Victorian school completers surveyed in 2014 indicated that their career advice was very useful. This was down from 44.4% in 2010. </p>
<p>There has been a steady increase in the number of school completers attending university information sessions and attending presentations by employers, but a decline in students attending taster sessions and presentations by TAFE.</p>
<p>This is consistent with <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwjKqJGB7sDIAhUi26YKHd4RAVw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillsboard.nsw.gov.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FFinal%20Report%20-%20Expectations%20and%20destinations%20of%20NSW%20senior%20secondary%20students.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFtVy-jzqCIyjj3J8i39tFkgk8jNg&sig2=fdh45rARqBmRgacDJiYdJw">research in NSW</a> which shows there is stronger focus on university courses compared with vocational courses and jobs. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/restricted/publicationContent/!ut/p/a1/lVHLTsMwEPyaHiNv7MRJjuFRnEAfJEVtfKliO6WGxk1bU0G_HheJC1IJ7G2k0czsDOJogbipj_q5tnpr6s0Zc7rMfHzNWAD5hDEKWTScFSV7IuBTNEcccWlsZ9eoMvLY7JeHdb1v1AC6N7HR8kvpMABMo_jM7aRWqAqoFEnSEC_wk9ALQAlPRAo7GDZyRaiqhXTmlTOHC5fCn7I5ypTdUXzlKDEbAWTjshiObksCE_qTAMnjjdPA45w9TH24D3sU4Fvhl5CV-yK6GJOFqPxnLXnf3643_bLb8dQtszW2ebdo0TtN17Yx-fBeC3aardp5-gmdrI76/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/">Research from teachers working in VET in Schools programs</a> also indicates a preferential focus in schools on university pathways rather than vocational pathways.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C571%2C4507%2C4054&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98806/original/image-20151019-7748-18aymel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Planning your future: are you heading in the right direction?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What could we be doing better?</h2>
<p>So what can schools do in response to this dynamic and changing landscape to support young people moving from school?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/%7E/media/Files/Research%20and%20Advocacy%20PDFs/Research%20and%20Evaluation%20page%20PDFs/Young-People-Transition-to-Work-Report.ashx">Research from The Smith Family</a> – a charity helping disadvantaged Australian children get the most out of their education – highlights three main ways that recent changes to the Australian economy have been problematic for young people:</p>
<ul>
<li>A growth in employment in new industries which do not have well-developed career structures means there are not clear pathways to secure employment.</li>
<li>A decline in traditional entry-level jobs for young people has generated greater need for post-school education and training.</li>
<li>Changing recruitment practices among large organisations have led to a focus on a broad set of employability skills that young people may have difficulty developing through school. </li>
</ul>
<p>As industries and occupations rapidly change and evolve, students and their families need explicit information about the education and training pathways that maximise post-school options and mobility. <a href="https://cica.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Parental-Engagement-Report-March-2012-FINAL.pdf">Engaging with parents and building their capacity to support the career pathways</a> of their children is a particularly challenging task for schools.</p>
<p>Careers education needs to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/career-studies-and-advice-start-early-or-dont-start-at-all-40563">established early</a> in all schools to introduce students to technical and vocational education pathways as an equal option alongside higher education. </p>
<p>Despite the evident collapse of the youth labour market, there is often confusion or a lack of awareness of the severity of this decline among some families. </p>
<p>There have also been some <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/documents/preparing-secondary-students-work">problematic mixed messages</a> from government regarding the role of school in paving a direct pathway to work. </p>
<p>Many young people may be developing a set of important employability skills through part-time work while at school. But they may not be aware of the value of these skills to future employers and may not know how to sell their skills set when applying for work. </p>
<p>For example, students may have skills (e.g. IT skills, presentation skills, accounting skills) – gained both within and beyond school, which they may not reflexively frame and describe as skills. </p>
<p>Schools need to see the value careers education has in supporting students in developing the skills to navigate the youth labour market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kira Clarke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Less than half of young people in Australia go to university, so why do we make this the gold standard that all should strive for?Kira Clarke, Lecturer, Education Policy, Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/431752015-06-17T02:39:38Z2015-06-17T02:39:38ZGranting TAFE a monopoly isn’t good for it in the long term<p>The South Australian government has decided to largely limit funding for government-subsidised vocational courses to TAFE South Australia, the sole public training provider. The decision has resulted in a <a href="http://www.afr.com/news/policy/education/sa-government-move-to-boost-tafe-will-cost-jobs-says-acpet-20150531-ghda7q">significant backlash</a> from non-government providers and from peak business and social welfare bodies in the state.</p>
<p>The federal government has also intervened. It is threatening to withhold A$65 million in vocational education and training (VET) funding to the state, arguing that it is in breach of the VET National Partnership Agreement. This <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/jobs-at-risk-from-tafe-reforms-coalition-warns-weatherill/story-e6frgcjx-1227383579646">agreement</a> commits the states to contestable VET funding.</p>
<p>Under this contestable funding agreement, TAFE has lost a large amount of the market share in Victoria and South Australia. These are the states that most strongly embraced contestable VET funding. Government cuts to TAFE in Victoria emerged as a significant issue in the 2014 state election and the Andrews Labor government is undertaking a major review of VET funding in Victoria.</p>
<h2>It’s a market design issue</h2>
<p>The South Australian government’s decision and the reaction to it, and the review of VET funding in Victoria, are emblematic of the problems of market design and implementation of contestable funding models in VET.</p>
<p>Ensuring that students and employers are able to choose a training provider that meets their needs is a long-established principle in VET policy. The concept of a training market has been embraced to give effect to that choice.</p>
<p>However, the publicly funded training market as it has emerged in VET is anything but a properly functioning market.</p>
<p>Governments regulate both provider quality and course content. In most states hundreds of providers have been approved to operate in this publicly funded and highly regulated system. Many of these providers are highly reliant on income from government funding. </p>
<p>Many of the non-government providers have signalled they may not be sustainable if the South Australian government goes ahead with awarding the bulk of funding to TAFE. </p>
<p>Some providers have also been approved by the Commonwealth government as VET FEE HELP providers. Under VET FEE HELP, student fees are paid upfront by the Commonwealth, with students taking out a loan they don’t have to repay until they have reached an income threshold. This means the Commonwealth bears the risk of non-repayment of debts.</p>
<p>In these areas the training market is a government construct rather than a truly functioning market operating largely independently of government.</p>
<h2>Not enough information on providers</h2>
<p>The problem is compounded by the fact that students and employers have little access to information about the quality and capability of individual providers. Given the nature of education providers, it is difficult to assess their “product” before “purchasing” it. FEE HELP students pay nothing up front, meaning they can be quite insensitive to exorbitant fees.</p>
<p>Some providers have abused both the public subsidy system and the VET FEE HELP system. The government has been slow – or lacked the capacity – to quickly respond to growing evidence of poor quality, aggressive marketing and inappropriate enrolments.</p>
<p>VET public funding has now begun to decline. This has resulted in reductions in public subsidies and increases in student fees, which <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-australia/">places further pressure on many providers</a>. </p>
<p>The concept of a training market in Australia needs a major rethink while the objective of ensuring choice and diversity in the VET system is maintained.</p>
<p>Where governments are the major funder, it is perfectly reasonable for government to undertake a comprehensive market assessment to test potential supply against projected demand. It can then enter into long-term and stable funding agreements with a range of providers from whom students and employers can choose. </p>
<p>This approach contrasts with the current simplistic model for VET, which has favoured low requirements for market entry and provider numbers over quality. Government agencies have to then retrospectively deal with poor quality and excessive demand in ways that negatively impact the good, as well as the poor-quality, providers.</p>
<p>Students and employers need more information on the quality and offerings of the providers available to them. Mechanisms for dealing with student complaints must also be upgraded. The role of TAFE as the public provider and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-victorias-tafe-mistakes-34646">costs associated with that role</a> should be recognised. </p>
<p>The solution is not a knee-jerk return to a TAFE monopoly. That approach will not serve students’ or employers’ interests, nor in the long term TAFE’s own interests, which are best served by being a provider of choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Noonan is Professorial Fellow in the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University. The University receives VET funding from the Victorian Government and is a VET FEE HELP provider. Peter Noonan has advised governments and education and training organisations on issues related to the design of VET markets. </span></em></p>The South Australian government has decided to largely limit funding for government-subsidised vocational courses to TAFE South Australia, the sole public training provider.Peter Noonan, Mitchell Professorial Fellow, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/388482015-03-17T23:57:03Z2015-03-17T23:57:03ZWiradjuri words show the power of learning Australia’s first languages<p>Acknowledging Australia’s traditional owners of country and paying respect to Indigenous elders past and present has become a normal part of ceremonies held across the nation. But in the current New South Wales election, one non-Indigenous political leader has just raised the bar higher for other politicians.</p>
<p>NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant launched the Nationals’ state election campaign in Dubbo by speaking <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-state-election-2015/nationals-leader-troy-grant-launches-nsw-campaign-in-local-aboriginal-dialect-20150315-144jbl.html">Wiradjuri</a>, the region’s traditional language. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Goolburra Norrambang-ga, Yoowindoo Troy Grant leader of the Nationals, Nardoo Barney go gulburra Wiradjuri mayin Gulung, Norrambang-ga Neenah girra Doorinya gay-Ida.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indigenous politicians have been using their languages in public for a long time, particularly Northern Territory politicians such as Alison Anderson (Luritja), Marion Scrymgour (Tiwi) and Malarntirri McCarthy (Yanyuwa).</p>
<p>Yet it is still rare to hear a non-Indigenous politician publicly speak an Australian Indigenous language. When they do, it tends to be as part of special events, such as Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate’s call for residents to say g'day in Yugambeh during last year’s NAIDOC Week, rather than in day-to-day politics.</p>
<p>At a time when so many Indigenous <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-12/indigenous-communities-closures-will-have-severe-consequences/5886840">communities</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/while-old-indigenous-languages-disappear-new-ones-evolve-32559">languages</a> are under threat across Australia, there is a small but important story of hope to be told about the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/far-from-extinct-indigenous-languages-thriving-in-public-schools-in-dubbo-20150228-13pvmk.html">growing embrace</a> of Indigenous languages in NSW politics, schools, universities and TAFEs.</p>
<h2>More than just symbolism</h2>
<p>Grant’s use of Wiradjuri is anything but empty symbolism. A <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/members.nsf/0/C9BB854186B9641FCA257869000FC0E4">22-year veteran</a> with NSW Police, Grant <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-state-election-2015/nationals-leader-troy-grant-launches-nsw-campaign-in-local-aboriginal-dialect-20150315-144jbl.html">learnt Wiradjuri</a> as a young constable working in the Dubbo region. He saw learning Wiradjuri as a way of showing respect for the local community and building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.</p>
<p>The weekend campaign launch was not the first time the Dubbo MP has spoken Wiradjuri in his role as a state political leader.</p>
<p>Last year, after seeking approval from the community’s Indigenous elders and the only Indigenous member of NSW’s parliament, Labor’s Linda Burnie, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/dubbo-mp-troy-grant-welcomes-nsw-language-nests-in-wiradjuri/story-fn9hm1pm-1226866428188">Grant spoke</a> partly in Wiradjuri about his government’s work to preserve Indigenous culture. Tellingly, it was the first time an Aboriginal language had been spoken in the NSW Parliament’s 190-year history. As Grant said of the electorate he represents:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This has been the home of the Wiradjuri nation for more than 40,000 years. In any culture, language forms the foundation of a community. It is how we communicate and how our history is shaped, with stories told and customs and knowledge passed from generation to generation. Language is the way in which our communities evolve.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Grant is not the only non-Indigenous politician who has recognised the importance of languages in meeting Indigenous Australians on their own linguistic turf.</p>
<p>Dr Sharman Stone is the Liberal Member for Murray, an electorate with a large Indigenous constituency, and was deputy chair of a 2012 parliamentary inquiry into <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=atsia/languages/index.htm">language learning in Indigenous communities</a>. Last year, Stone launched the <a href="https://www.cdu.edu.au/laal/">Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages</a>, an important repository of education resources produced by the bilingual programs in Northern Territory schools. </p>
<p>It is significant that Indigenous languages are finding champions among some conservative politicians, rather than only on the left of politics.</p>
<p>Like Grant, Stone has a great deal of experience working with Indigenous people in regional areas. Before entering parliament, she worked as a sociologist with Indigenous people in prisons and education units. Grant, Stone and many others who have extensive experience with Indigenous people, understand the value of languages both to their speakers and custodians. </p>
<p>For non-Indigenous Australians, making the effort to learn the traditional language spoken in their local area shows respect and a willingness to understand another point of view.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75027/original/image-20150317-9198-1m4gjxy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can find out how to say g'day in one of Queensland’s many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, thanks to a 2014 collaboration between the State Library of Queensland, Yugambeh Museum, Language and Heritage Research Centre, Indigenous Language Centres and other community groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/files/2014/06/Say-Gday-Wordle.png">State Library of Queensland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A long history of sharing languages</h2>
<p>William Dawes, immortalised by Kate Grenville in her book, <a href="http://kategrenville.com/The_Lieutenant">The Lieutenant</a>, was the first known non-Indigenous person to learn an Australian language. He was an astronomer with the First Fleet, sent to Australia to document a comet expected to arrive in the Southern Hemisphere in 1788. </p>
<p>A young woman called <a href="http://www.williamdawes.org/patyegarang.html">Patyegarang</a> taught Dawes the Sydney language. He dutifully recorded this in <a href="http://www.williamdawes.org/index.html">notebooks</a> that amazingly still survive. For example, Patyegarang taught Dawes <a href="http://www.williamdawes.org/patyegarang.html"><em>putuwá</em></a>, meaning “To warm one’s hand by the fire & then to squeeze gently the fingers of another person”.</p>
<p>Learning the Sydney language made a difference to how Dawes viewed the colonial project. He is the first European recorded as defending Indigenous rights when he refused to join a punitive expedition against Aborigines ordered by Governor Arthur Phillip in December 1790.</p>
<p>Wiradjuri country, where Grant delivered his speech, is the site of another example of the power of learning Australian languages, as told in the landmark SBS series, <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11721283804/first-australians-ep1-they-have-come-to-stay?od=suggested&term=first%20australians">First Australians</a>.</p>
<p>William Suttor established a station called Brucedale in the early 1800s on Wiradjuri country west of the Blue Mountains. Unusually, he also learnt Wiradjuri. </p>
<p>In the land grab of the time, other white settlers in the area killed many Wiradjuri people, including the family of Windradayne, a prominent Wiradjuri leader called “Saturday” by the early settlers. Enraged, a band of Wiradjuri men led by Windradayne went from station to station, killing white settlers. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75009/original/image-20150316-9184-16zwuqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration depicting a Wiradjuri warrior, thought to be resistance fighter Windradyne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windradyne#/media/File:Windradyne,_Aust._Aboriginal_warrior_from_the_Wiradjuri.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet at Brucedale, Suttor spoke to Windradayne <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11721283804/first-australians-ep1-they-have-come-to-stay?od=suggested&term=first%20australians">in his own language</a>, distancing himself from the actions of the other farmers. As a result, the lives of Suttor and his family were spared. </p>
<p>Sadly, the example set by Dawes and Suttor did not become the standard for relating to Indigenous peoples in Australia. Instead Indigenous people were expected to learn English and often forced not to speak their own languages.</p>
<p>In the early Sydney colony, local Aboriginal people such as <a href="http://www.programs.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/content/#/search/">Bennelong</a> were captured and isolated with the purpose of teaching them English. </p>
<p>We can only imagine how different Australia might be today had Dawes and Suttor not been the exception but the rule. Arguably we would have seen far less denigration of Indigenous ways of life and belief systems if a greater effort had gone into communicating with Indigenous people in their own languages, rather than insisting on English monolingualism. We carry over this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISpQasr4He0">monolingual mindset</a> to the present day.</p>
<h2>Indigenous languages under threat</h2>
<p>Across Australia, just <a href="https://theconversation.com/while-old-indigenous-languages-disappear-new-ones-evolve-32559">40 of the original 250 Indigenous languages</a> once spoken remain. Of those, only 18 are still learnt by children.</p>
<p>Many of those surviving languages and cultures are under threat, often affected by short-sighted cost-cutting policy.</p>
<p>The Western Australian government, backed by the prime minister, is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-12/indigenous-communities-closures-will-have-severe-consequences/5886840">proposing to close</a> up to 150 remote Indigenous communities. That would do untold damage to the ability of Indigenous people to maintain their languages and cultures.</p>
<p>We already know that regional towns and super-sized Indigenous communities, which consist of multiple language groups, are the worst contexts for keeping languages and cultures strong. Traditional languages typically stop being spoken as more people shift to speaking <a href="https://theconversation.com/while-old-indigenous-languages-disappear-new-ones-evolve-32559">Kriol</a> and English. </p>
<p>Decisions to close Indigenous communities in WA follow even more direct assaults on Indigenous languages and cultures, particularly in 2008 when the Northern Territory government <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090914/language/">closed bilingual or “two-way” programs</a> in schools in remote communities. This severed one of the remaining funded policy lifelines for languages. Last year’s federal budget <a href="https://theconversation.com/muting-indigenous-language-support-only-widens-the-gap-27105">cut funding</a> for the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-13/budget-2014-534-cut-to-indigenous-programs-and-health/5451144">Indigenous Languages Support programme</a>.</p>
<p>Bilingual programs provided an important context for the use of Australian languages. They helped Indigenous children transition from speaking their mother tongue into English. When implemented well, the bilingual programs provided the best outcomes for students in both their first languages and English.</p>
<h2>Language revival in NSW</h2>
<p>Fortunately, not every government is going down that path of undermining Indigenous languages. In fact, the NSW Nationals leader’s efforts to speak Wiradjuri reflect a growing trend in NSW, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/dubbo-mp-troy-grant-welcomes-nsw-language-nests-in-wiradjuri/story-fn9hm1pm-1226866428188">backed by the state government</a> as well as leading universities and TAFEs. </p>
<p>From primary school to university, it is now possible to learn a NSW Aboriginal language. And that is a small step in the right direction, especially when <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-australias-rapid-rise-is-shifting-money-and-votes-26524">NSW is home to more Indigenous Australians</a> than any other state or territory.</p>
<p><a href="http://sydney.edu.au/courses/uos/KOCR2605/speaking-gamilaraay-1">Gamilaraay is taught</a> as a subject at Sydney University. Certificate-level courses in <a href="http://www.muurrbay.org.au/muurrbay-resources/courses/">Gumbaynggirr, Yaygirr and Gathang</a> are offered through TAFE on the NSW Central Coast.</p>
<p>Indigenous and non-Indigenous primary <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/far-from-extinct-indigenous-languages-thriving-in-public-schools-in-dubbo-20150228-13pvmk.html">school students</a> in many NSW towns are also learning some of these languages as a part of their curriculum. </p>
<p>It can only be hoped that the increased interest in learning traditional Australian languages, with NSW currently leading the way, will result in a greater representation of Indigenous perspectives not just in Australian politics, but in day-to-day Australian life.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>* You can learn to <a href="http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/atsi/languages/word-lists/say-gday-in-an-indigenous-language">say g'day</a> in an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language, view an interactive map of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/default.htm">Indigenous Australian languages</a>, read about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-vital-signs-for-aboriginal-languages-25148">Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages</a>, and learn more at <a href="http://www.ourlanguages.net.au/">Our Languages</a>. You can also read more coverage of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/nsw-election-2015">2015 NSW election</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felicity Meakins receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Aboriginal Benefits Account.</span></em></p>NSW Nationals’ leader Troy Grant has broken new ground by speaking Wiradjuri in parliament and at his party’s election launch – and it reflects a growing Indigenous language revival in NSW.Felicity Meakins, ARC Future Fellow in Linguistics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/377882015-02-23T19:31:12Z2015-02-23T19:31:12ZPrivatisation of vocational education isn’t working<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72591/original/image-20150220-29157-1t2p0ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Private training organisations have been mired in controversy over sub-standard courses and unscrupulous methods to attract students. Here's how they're failing the system. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent weeks have produced various horror stories of the workings of dodgy private providers of vocational education and training, including the latest: a <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/certificate-recall-exposes-training/story-fn59nlz9-1227224698663">recall of certificates</a> due to sub-par standards in these institutions.</p>
<p>Vocational training is crucial for both young Australians and the future of our economy, yet in recent years private providers who face little oversight or scrutiny have turned the sector upside down.</p>
<h2>The problems with private providers</h2>
<p>Private providers are amassing <a href="http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/2015/WRCAEU2015.pdf">huge profits at taxpayers’ expense</a>, the quality of the system is declining and students may face large debts for courses they either didn’t complete or were not of a high standard.</p>
<p>Unscrupulous practices by some private providers include: </p>
<ul>
<li>aggressive marketing with a common “buy now, pay later, plus free iPad” hook</li>
<li>subcontracting out course content, teaching and assessment to other providers, including unregistered providers</li>
<li>up-selling students into courses they hadn’t intended to enrol in</li>
<li>delivering courses in fewer hours and online</li>
<li>significant merger and acquisition activity, with large enterprises owning portfolios of registered and unregistered training brands, which are out of the regulator’s line of sight.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72563/original/image-20150220-28184-1ha4q9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online marketing material from an unregistered student recruitment site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Direct online marketing email</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These practices were brought sharply to light by a <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20131127/pdf/42l5yssz7qd6m0.pdf">government review of Vocation</a>, a large provider which had over 24,000 new course enrolments in 2013. At the time of the review, Vocation’s government funding was forecast to grow to <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20140821/pdf/42rm9txlf9snnd.pdf">A$1.2 billion by 2017</a>.</p>
<p>The review resulted in the forfeiture of A$19.6 million after identifying unscrupulous practices. These included an over-reliance on third-party student referrals, enrolling students in courses inappropriate to their needs and delivering a <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20141027/pdf/42t6xy4z448zr2.pdf">low-quality training experience</a>. After <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20140918/pdf/42s99hspcg0sdg.pdf">initially declaring to investors</a> that the review would be immaterial to earnings, the company has been forced into multiple trading halts on its free-falling shares to ensure adequate transparency over its operations. </p>
<p><a href="http://archive.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2012-04-13/docs/NPA_Skills_Reform.pdf">Privatisation was supposed to</a> improve the range and quality of training offerings, make the sector more responsive to the needs of industry, and to provide greater transparency. None of these promises has been met. The lack of transparency seen with Vocation is far worse for unlisted providers and for unregistered providers party to subcontracting arrangements.</p>
<p>All of this has contributed to a loss of public trust in the vocational training system and huge damage to the long-term sustainability of TAFEs. </p>
<p>The annual report of the <a href="http://www.industry.gov.au/skills/RegulationofVET/Documents/ASQAProcessReview-FinalReport.pdf">Australian Skills Quality Authority</a> last year found that 75% of Registered Training Organisations failed to meet minimum standards on a first inspection.</p>
<h2>Private providers are strangling TAFE</h2>
<p>TAFEs have historically been the main provider of training, especially in regional Australia. They offer a range of career-focused courses for students not going to university.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72594/original/image-20150220-29178-1tbiv5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">TAFE enrolments are suffering from the influx of private providers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-181407926/stock-photo-empty-classroom.html?src=lb-33231931&ws=0">Empty classroom image from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent years the states, headed by Victoria, <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-victorias-tafe-mistakes-34646">opened up government funding</a> to all training providers, public and private, who vie for it. This has meant public TAFEs have had to compete for the funding previously allocated to them.</p>
<p>This has led to a proliferation of private providers – now over 3000 – hoping to get a share of this lucrative taxpayer-funded training.</p>
<p>Unlike universities, there are no caps on what private providers can charge students for courses through the VET FEE-HELP scheme, under which students incur a debt similar to the HECS debt for a university course.</p>
<p>We have seen huge profits accruing to private providers, which are far in excess of what a company in a genuinely competitive market could reasonably expect. <a href="http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/2015/WRCAEU2015.pdf">For example, Australian Careers Network</a>, another large private provider, recorded a 51% profit margin in 2014, while several other providers recorded profit margins of over 30%.</p>
<p>In Victoria, TAFEs now have just 27% of enrolments. Other states are also seeing TAFE’s share of funding drop. TAFEs still provide the majority of training to disadvantaged students and those in regional areas, as well as many courses in traditional skill shortage areas, which do not deliver as big a profit margin to private providers.</p>
<h2>So how can we fix this?</h2>
<p>The standard answer is better regulation, but there are huge doubts as to whether this could work. This is not just because of the huge number of private providers, whose business models are so complex that regulators will always struggle to keep up.</p>
<p>Education is what economists call an “experience good” – meaning it’s impossible to judge the value of a course of study until you’ve completed it and tried to use it to get a job or undertake further study. That’s why, in a fast-changing marketplace fuelled by taxpayer subsidies, trying to regulate by giving more information to students will not work.</p>
<p>The VET FEE-HELP scheme means that courses are “buy now, pay later”, which makes it easier for unscrupulous operators to sell students courses that are low-value or useless. For young students who are eager to find work, it is easy to take at face value the promises made by private training organisations and realise too late that they have made a mistake.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72593/original/image-20150220-29157-quzr02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students have been left with large debts for incomplete or low-quality courses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-213329812/stock-photo-female-student-in-carpentry-class-using-circular-saw.html?src=lb-33231931&ws=0">Vocational training image from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In order to reverse this trend there must be a minimum hours requirement to stop year-long courses being completed in just a few weeks, providers should not be allowed to sub-contract training to unregistered third parties, who are effectively out of reach of regulators, and more scrutiny is needed of how for-profit training organisations are marketing themselves to potential students.</p>
<p>We also need to recognise that the public sector, through TAFE, should remain at the heart of vocational training and that it needs support to remain a sustainable provider of high-quality, trusted vocational qualifications. Where private providers have lagged, <a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/c10b759f-e467-4cdb-b310-087f6aca827b/Early-impacts-of-the-VTG-2724.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=c10b759f-e467-4cdb-b310-087f6aca827b">TAFEs continue to service the needs</a> of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (including those in regional areas), and are more likely to offer higher-cost courses in skills-shortage areas. </p>
<p>TAFEs just can’t fairly compete with private providers who can choose to offer only profitable training courses and to educate only students of their choice - usually those who can pay high fees and from relative advantage. Some recognition of this public role of TAFEs needs to be built into the funding system.</p>
<p>A cap on the funding available to private operators would give TAFEs some certainty about their operations and ensure they remain the custodians of high-quality vocational training.</p>
<p>If a more sustainable funding model for TAFE is not found, then it is very likely that public confidence in the entire system of vocational qualifications will be fatally eroded, robbing future generations of a chance to improve their skills and find quality jobs.</p>
<p>We need to recognise that the rhetoric of privatisation has not matched reality, and work out how to shift to a system that reliably delivers what students expect – a high-quality course at a fair price.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Serena Yu has consulted to a range of government and non-government organisations. She has received funding from the Australian Education Union.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Oliver has conducted commissioned research for a range of government and non-government bodies. He received funding from the Australian Education Union to conduct this research.
He is a member of the National Tertiary Education Union and the Australian Labor Party.</span></em></p>Recent weeks have seen various horror stories of the workings of dodgy private providers of vocational education and training, including the latest: a recall of certificates due to concerns of sub-par standards in these institutions.Serena Yu, Senior Research Analyst, University of SydneyDamian Oliver, Leading Research Analyst, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.