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Harmonisation in tertiary education – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Harmonisation between vocational education and higher education is a current major policy direction. However, practical components are needed if harmonisation is to be realised. For

Is the move to learn-and-earn models in some industries the right move? – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
What a horrible couple of weeks it has been in the Early Childhood Education and Care industry. It is hard to fathom how difficult it

A week of firsts – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Last week was the beginning of several policy directions. To begin with, the revised RTO Standards started, Commonwealth prac payments began for Diploma of Nursing

Songlines, stories of impact and access to tertiary education – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
NAIDOC week 2025 will be celebrated from Sunday. This year is the fiftieth NAIDOC week. NAIDOC week is about allowing us all to “recognise and

Trades and apprenticeships a focus in this next term of government – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
In the middle of May, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age had an in-depth piece in their Saturday Good Weekend magazines titled “Can we fix it?”

Skills needed now for the ten year horizon – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Last week I was honoured to be on a panel for the launch of the CIT 2025-2035 Strategic Plan. Other panellists included the Acting CEO of

A focus on improving productivity – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Dr Jim Chalmers was clear post the election that productivity was going to be a focus for the next term of the Albanese government. Discussions

Bridging Now To Next – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Today is Reconciliation Day and tomorrow will end the celebrations that have been occurring in TAFEs across Australia as part of National Reconciliation Week.

Thank you to a national influencer – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Today in the TDA Monday Newsletter I want to use my piece to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of Mary Faraone (pictured right), CEO of Holmesglen

The ‘missing middle’ – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
There is currently a lot of enthusiasm for the potential of vocational degrees. In their recent workshop presentations, AUSMASA has described vocational degrees as the

One year to go! – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
Join your TAFE colleagues, industry partners, government representatives, and other members of the skills and tertiary education environment in May next year at TDA Convention

Calls for industry to invest more in skills through on-the-job training – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
The campaign to form the next Australian Government has concluded and we have voted. What a privilege it is to be able to choose our

To achieve a harmonised tertiary education sector there must be flexibility – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
TDA has promulgated for many years that a one-size-fits-all approach through training packages and competency based assessment is not necessarily serving all learners or all industries

National TAFE Network passes the first hurdle – comment by CEO, Jenny Dodd
The National TAFE Network is a reality. The Multilateral Agreement has the first five signatories, being the Commonwealth of Australia, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and

Time for TAFE ‘research-in-action’ to be recognised – comment by TDA Director Policy and Governance, Dr Teressa Schmidt
This week I attended the AVETRA 2025 conference to participate in a panel discussion on the rise of applied research in TAFE.

TAFE’s role in tackling productivity improvement – comment by CEO Jenny Dodd
During the last week there has been much discussion about productivity. This is not an Australian phenomenon alone; every OECD country has had a decline

The pending election – comment by CEO Jenny Dodd
Tomorrow evening Dr Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer of Australia will deliver the final budget of this term of government. It will be interesting to see

The vexed issue of recognition of prior learning in apprenticeships – comment by CEO Jenny Dodd
In the recently released Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme – Skills for tomorrow: shaping the future of apprenticeships, recommendation 6.1 highlights the need