Abstract: Updates in industry news from around Australia, provided as short summary reports on NSW, Queensland, Western Australia,, Northern Territory, South Australia, ACT, Tasmania, and Victoria, are provided
Abstract: Forward, Pat The increasing employment of teachers on a part-time, casual or contract basis, the ageing workforce and the low percentage of TAFE teachers with VET-level teaching qualifications are discussed. It is observed that the situation can be remedied only with increased funding for the sector, and by involving the existing workforce in identifying and fulfilling the needs of the sector, students and teachers.
Abstract: Burke, Gerald An opinion is presented that government funding to the VET sector should be increased in order to achieve skills development of the workforce. It is believed the move would lead to increased productivity and economic growth in Australia, in addition to providing benefits to TAFE.
Abstract: Dawkins, John The need to strengthen the Australian Qualifications Framework (AFQ) in order to achieve objectives such as increased transparency of qualification pathways and greater connections between and alignment of qualifications is emphasised. It is hoped that the AQF would ensure good and uniform practice across VET providers in Australia in consultation with all stakeholders in tertiary education and training.
Abstract: Shreeve, Robin The need for Australia to develop its tertiary education sector in order to meet its workforce needs in various anticipated scenarios in the future is emphasised. The key issues to be considered in this regard such as increased funding and the need to replace the ageing workforce suitably in future are discussed.
Abstract: Smith, Erica The reasons behind the current situation wherein TAFE teachers are inadequately qualified for the job are presented. The key issues to be considered in addressing the situation are analysed, and it is emphasised that measures should be taken to enable TAFE teachers gain appropriate teaching qualifications.
Abstract: The first ever national survey of staff working in TAFE shows that teachers across the country are struggling to cope with higher workloads and reduced resources.
Abstract: The campaign launched by the AEU union to call for increased government funding for the VET/TAFE sector is discussed. The need for an increased investment in TAFE in order to maintain the high quality of vocational education and training across Australia is emphasised.
Abstract: Australian People for Health Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA) was established 25 years ago as the international aid agency of the ACTU. APHEDA now also uses another name - Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA.
Abstract: De Graaff, Peter Statistics are presented to highlight the inadequate fulfillment of the right to education of persons in detention in NSW. The various barriers to education of persons in detention are discussed, emphasising that the provision of education to them is an imperative of the government.
Abstract: Forward, Pat The proposed creation and development of a market in vocational education and training in Australia through the establishment of a demand-driven student entitlement model is criticised. It is believed that the market system would benefit only private providers and be detrimental to students and the government-funded TAFE system.
Abstract: Fielding, Hugh The provisions of the 'Tasmania Tomorrow' initiative by the Tasmanian Labor Government in order to reform and develop the Post Year 10 (PY 10) education system are discussed. The initiative would lead to the establishment of redesigned educational organisations, which would undermine the employment conditions assured by the AEU union for TAFE teachers, in the guise of educational reform.
Abstract: Devereaux, Jenni In June 2009 the Senate initiated an inquiry into the treatment of international students in Australia as a result of several months of media attention focussing on: acts of violence committed against international students; inadequacies in the provision of training and alleged rorting by private vocational education and training colleges; and questionable practices on the part of a number of education and migration agents overseas and in Australia. The AEU made a submission to the Inquiry and was subsequently called to provide evidence to a hearing on the quality of vocational education and training being delivered to international students. An abridged version of our submission follows.
Abstract: Forward, Pat The existing situation of inadequate teaching qualifications of TAFE teachers is discussed in the background of extensive casualisation, an ageing workforce and underfunding. It is suggested that the government should consult with TAFE teachers on the issue, and provide them with appropriate qualifications to enable the continued delivery of vocational training to the community.
Abstract: Robertson, Gillian The policy called 'Securing Jobs for Your Future' (also called the Skills Reform policy) launched by the Victorian Government, which would decrease government funding for public education and increase individual costs, is criticised. It is observed that the market-driven policy of the government would deny access to fully government funded education to several people who need it.
Abstract: Forward, Pat The merits of Australia's TAFE system which imparts vocational education and training to students are discussed in the background of the first National TAFE Day to be celebrated on 28 October, 2009. A campaign against the privatisation of the vocational education system is called for, as also an increase in government funding for TAFE Institutes.
Abstract: Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, established in 1984. The following article describes some of the AEU supported work the organisation does in Cambodia and Laos.
Abstract: Burke, Pat Six key strategies to increase training participation and skills development in Western Australia, as outlined in the Government's strategic plan titled 'Training WA: Planning for the Future 2009-2018' are discussed. They include objectives such as the creation of a skilled workforce through the provision of additional training places, apprenticeships and traineeships and also enabling increased individual participation in training.
Abstract: Richardson, Henry The market-driven government policy which focuses on establishing a human capital model of TAFE is criticised. It is suggested that the notion of using human endeavour to generate capital rather than to advance vocational education provision to people is an undesirable idea.
Abstract: Black, Stephen The changes in the role of head teachers in TAFE NSW Institutes over the years are analysed. It is observed that head teachers have to focus on increased routine administrative work and audit compliance rather than on teaching and leadership roles.
Abstract: The National Skills Policy Collaboration is a group of leading union and employer groups, including the AEU, which aims to work with the Rudd Government to achieve the increased quality of skilled workers Australia needs. This is an edited version of a statement the group released in April this year.
Abstract: Buchanan, John; Yu, Serena; Marginson, Simon; Wheelahan, Leesa The following paper is an abridged version of the report Education, Work and Economic Renewal commissioned by the Australian Education Union to broaden debate on the future of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the role of the public sector in shaping it in the future.
Abstract: Wishart, John The uncertain employment situation of TAFE casual teachers who are discarded and reinstated between terms is discussed. It is pointed out that TAFE casual teachers are in reality long-term part-time workers paid as per the class hours they teach, but are denied the benefits of a government job.
Abstract: Karmel, Tom Vocational education and training (VET) programs are undertaken by Welfare to Work recipients to increase the chances of getting jobs. Study conducted found that these VET programs helped the Welfare to Work group members in improving their employment prospects.
Abstract: Somssich, Eve; Wilson, Alan; Fitzgerald, Mike; Dale, Ross; Robertson, Gillian; De Graaff, Peter; Reardon, Paul; Hedger, Gary Updates in industry news from around Australia, provided as short summary reports on NSW, Queensland, Western Australia,, Northern Territory, South Australia, ACT, Tasmania, and Victoria, are provided
Abstract: Simon, Linda Two new challenges for vocational education and training have taken centre stage the world economic crisis (or downturn) and green skills. New funding and training opportunities have been highlighted by the Federal Government as part of the $42 billion stimulus package to support both industries and workers who lose their jobs. Yet if the downturn intensifies, this will certainly not be enough. Opportunities for workers to up-skill and multi-skill to remain employable should be of critical concern to governments, yet funding and programs are once again only piecemeal.
Abstract: Deissinger, Thomas In a 'system' perspective, VET can take different shapes. Besides the apprenticeship system, school-based forms of vocational learning, such as 'vocational grammar schools' in France, 'vocational colleges' in Germany or further education colleges in Britain, represent more or less traditional courses and qualifications which are normally institution-based, shaped by state influence and more or less clearly didactically steered pedagogical arrangements. There are, however, differences when it comes to formally linking up these traditional structures with general or higher education. It also seems that countries differ in terms of their VET systems and traditions, especially with respect to the relationship between full-time VET and company-based training, but also, when it comes to Europe, in terms of their adaptability to the overarching European VET policy ideas. One of these ideas is the conceptualisation of National Qualifications Frameworks, linked with notions of "Lifelong Learning". In its White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment (European Commission 1993), the European Commission pointed out that Lifelong Learning should become "the overall objective to which the national educational communities can make their own contributions". Two years later, in the White Paper on Teaching and Training Towards the Learning Society (European Commission 1995), the concept of Lifelong Learning became associated with the idea of a 'personal skills card' for every European citizen which would document the acquisition of new knowledge both in formal and informal learning environments. These new concepts imply that the borders between different sectors within the educational and/or training system, including higher and further education, should become permeable and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), emerging from the so-called "Lisbon-Brugge- Copenhagen Process", repeats the underlying principles of a policy which challenges each of the member countries in a specific way.
Abstract: Robertson, Gillian An economic recession is the wrong time to introduce policies that will limit students' access to TAFE. Gillian Robertson on why the AEU is opposing the Victorian Government's skills reforms.
Abstract: McKeegan, Gerry Professor Helen Garnet in her final newsletter to staff as Vice Chancellor of Charles Darwin University (CDU) stated: "The creation of the new Charles Darwin University in 2003 marked a watershed in the Northern Territory when the Northern Territory University, Centralian College, NT Rural College, and the Menzies School of Health Research all came together to form the new institution. Together as a single institution we are able to envision a clearer and bigger future." In reality this watershed marked the end of TAFE in the Northern Territory. The incumbent government of the time saw an opportunity to absolve itself of the responsibility for direct management of Tertiary and Further Education and merely maintain a minimal role of funding a market driven VET sector.
Abstract: Moodie, Gavin For once an Australian Government has introduced a policy increasing competition in tertiary education which apparently actually favours TAFE Institutes. In her speech to the Universities Australia conference on 4 March 2009 Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said: "All Australian universities will be funded on the basis of student demand from 2012. This means that we will fund a Commonwealth supported place for all domestic students accepted into an eligible, accredited higher education course at a recognised public higher education provider. Universities will not receive funding for places they do not deliver." There are currently 10 TAFE Institutes which are already recognised public higher education providers with accredited higher education programs. This decision is important to TAFE Institutes for three reasons; it gives them access to publicly funded higher education places, it gives TAFE Institutes a significant competitive advantage over private non-university tertiary education providers, and it is likely to encourage the extension of demand-driven funding to at least the upper levels of vocational education and training.
Abstract: Purdy, Michelle The world has changed in Tasmania. TAFE has disappeared and in 2009 there are now three new organisations; the Tasmanian Academy, the Tasmanian Polytechnic and the Tasmanian Skills Institute. These replace Colleges for Year 11 and 12 students and TAFE. Half of the eight Tasmanian Colleges have come on board in 2009, with the remainder doing so over the next two years.
Abstract: Kaye, John Australia as never before needs a well funded, vibrant, public provider of Vocational Education and Training. Yet proposed market-based changes to the funding and regulation of the sector will inevitably undermine the nation's TAFE systems and with it the ability of working people to adapt, innovate and participate in the nations' political, cultural and economic life. It is a matter of urgent national priority that the marketisation agenda be reversed and that the nation's politicians and population be reminded that the 'E' in both TAFE and VET stands for Education. The delivery of quality education as an integral component of vocational training will not survive the competitive funding structures being designed and implemented around Australia, yet it is essential to addressing the key challenges of climate change and global economic collapse.
Abstract: WorldSkills is Australia's largest and most prestigious trade and skills competition, encouraging young people to rise to the challenge of stimulating competition. Now more than ever, as a nation we need to continue our efforts to achieve world-class standards and to promote the status of vocational education and training across the country.
Abstract: Anderson, Damon As the catastrophe of the Global Financial Crisis unfolds, the economic orthodoxy of the free market has come under intense criticism. Anyone who has been involved in VET over the past two decades will recognise the profound influence that market ideology has had on the sector. Since the early 1990s, VET has been progressively redesigned within a market framework and driven by competition and contestability policies. Yet paradoxically, at precisely the same time the free market was imploding and declared dead by governments and economists in the wake of the GFC, the market has been reinstated as master in the new VET reform agenda.
Abstract: Forward, Pat Productivity Places Program (PPP) is a national partnership that was endorsed for the VET sector at COAG meeting, 2008. The flagship of the Federal Government's election commitments in VET, the Productivity Places Program (PPP) continues to be used by the government to leverage greater competition over price across the VET sector, for the PPP must be delivered contestably.
Abstract: Karmel, Tom A question is raised whether Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system is vocational and work-skills based. The instances of several VET graduates being employed in sectors unrelated to their training highlights the need to design VET courses suited to a broad range of employment possibilities.
Abstract: Costello, Wayne The main events at the upcoming triennial World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education (WIPC:E) to be held at Melbourne are discussed. Details of the key note speeches, conferences, international and Australian Indigenous speakers, and programs and trips to interact with Aboriginal communities are presented.
Abstract: Wilson, Alan; Reardon, Paul; Hedger, Gary; Paice, Jon; De Graaff, Peter; Hamilton, James; Somssich, Eve; Robertson, Gillian News regarding TAFE in Australia is presented. The Australian Education Union's (AEU) members had attended a march and a rally over the issue, and talks are on with politicians over the need to maintain the key position of TAFE in skills training. The industry call for improvement in training skills is prompting the government to bring in reforms, which could come to be at the expense of the trainees. Details of a revised agreement for a pay rise subject to a package of teaching hours and flexible leave conditions offered to TAFE teachers are discussed. The questions raised by TAFE teachers over the future of TAFE in terms of salary, standards and staffing policies are presented. The ongoing conflict between the Australian Education Union (AEU) and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) over CIT's restructure is discussed.
Abstract: Simon, Linda The Federal President of the TAFE Division of the AEU (Australian Education Union) criticises the steps taken by the Rudd government, which are detrimental to public education, including TAFE. She outlines the merits of the public TAFE system, which addresses the problems of skills shortage and social exclusion, and insists that it is necessary to keep lobbying Federal politicians about the need to provide sufficient funding for it.
Abstract: De Maeyer, Marc The three major challenges faced by educators in providing education in prison, namely reduction in recidivism, educational needs other than vocational training and the increasing privatization in prison education, are discussed. Some methods to transform prisons into effective learning places are presented.
Abstract: Moraitis, Peter The salient features of the Victorian contestability agenda for Vocational and Further education are analyzed. It is suggested that the market-based approach will reduce quality as providers compete for funding, even as teaching conditions and their collaboration would be undermined.
Abstract: Durbridge, Rob The manner in which the Labor government is adopting an anti-union stance with regard to reforms in industrial relations (IR) laws is discussed. Its support for the corporate sector in the globalization era is causing the government to rely on the Corporations Power in order to directly control the working standards and conditions of employees.
Abstract: Seddon, Terri The manner in which expertise in teaching adults, the core principle pf Vocational Education and Training (VET) and a resource for innovation, is being undermined in Australia due to the policy of price competition is discussed. It is suggested that teaching expertise should not be hampered by a practice of restricted professional, but should be utilised to encourage innovation and inclusion.
Abstract: Woodland, Bec Three of the reforms to the training system adopted by the Victorian Ministry for Skills and Workforce Participation, as announced in "Skills for Victoria: Securing Jobs for Your Future" in August 2008, are analyzed. The potential undesirable consequences of the implementation of a Victorian Training Guarantee (VGT), the availability of a revised model for loans for students and policy of contestability for government funding are discussed.
Abstract: Roe, Julius The consequences of market-based approaches to training, which result in public funds being utilized to provide the easiest course of training to those who are easiest to train, are discussed. It is suggested that training should be provided considering the broader workplace skills that may be needed by employees in future, as also the needs of the industry and community.
Abstract: Forward, Pat The marketing of the public TAFE system by the Rudd government, as also its policy of contestability for funding is condemned. The need for TAFE institutions to compete with private providers for reduced government funding and to reduce costs is bound to affect the quality of skills training provided.
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