In a story in the Australian Financial Review last Wednesday, staff at a large company were “told to down tools and learn to love the joys of an AI workplace.” Which staff, you ask? Interestingly, it was staff at Canva. And as the article stated, Canva is not alone.
These large software companies are enabling staff to explore and gain skills in AI. In the article Jennie Rogerson, Canva’s head of people, says that ‘in five days we (staff) fit in over 25,000 hours of learning … in the company’s AI discovery week”.
This message about prioritising staff capability was also made in last week’s very successful TAFETalks. TDA hosted three excellent presenters in the one-hour webinar where they discussed effective and appropriate use of AI in assessment.
Dr Lenka Ucnik from TEQSA started the session with a fabulous presentation. She outlined that Australians are some of the lowest users of AI in training and education. Lenka stated that in Australia only 24% of workers report to have undertaken AI related training compared with 39% globally. She highlighted the importance of gaining AI capabilities, especially given the changing expectations of employers regarding entry level positions.
Lenka then went onto explore what is effective and appropriate use of AI in tertiary education. She highlighted that a risk in tertiary education is some students can effectively use AI but can also use it inappropriately. Lenka referred participants to the TEQSA AI toolkit released last year that covers process, people, practice (including ethical use of AI), and approaches to teaching, learning and assessment activities.
Colleagues at Melbourne Polytechnic, Dr Brendan Park and Dr Eloise Thomson gave a dynamic follow-up presentation showing their research with students on the use of AI as an assessment feedback tool. Eloise gave examples where students had failed when they used AI because they could not understand the task or did not understand what AI had generated for them. Both speakers agreed on the need to equip students, as well as staff, to use AI, and to understand their organisation’s policies concerning AI.
All three speakers agreed that as useful as it is, effective use of AI will still require students to have core competences in critical thinking and problem solving.
Use of AI continues to challenge all tertiary education providers. Listening to our speakers and reflecting on the article in the Australian Financial Review, the key messages are that all students should receive basic training in AI, all educators need to be experts in their field to distinguish whether the student understands what they have produced from using AI, all staff should be able to use AI, and all managers need to also develop capabilities to support this changing environment. Much to grapple with!
The federal government’s upcoming productivity summit should look at how the VET and higher education sectors can work together to improve labour market outcomes, according to senior figures at Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).
There are an increasing number of examples where the lack of connection between VET and higher education is causing problems in the labour market, the three JSA heads write in The Australian.
The call for for closer collaboration has been made in an article by Professor Peter Dawkins, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute and special adviser to JSA, Barney Glover, Commissioner of JSA, and Megan Lilly, Deputy Commissioner of JSA.
They say reforms to funding and regulatory frameworks in VET and HE would boost productivity growth.
“This would enable credit transfer between different qualifications to be more efficient and effective, and nested and hybrid qualifications between vocational and higher education to be co-created.
“This would raise the productivity of the tertiary sector itself by producing more skills, more quickly, at lower cost,” they say.
JSA research has found that many engineering and IT graduates are not being hired for jobs they are technically qualified for, because they lack the employability skills required.
“Blending a VET diploma and some work experience with their degrees is the obvious way to remedy this problem. But that is not readily available at present.
“Similarly, VET graduates wishing to broaden their knowledge and skills with some higher education find it difficult to gain the credit recognition their skills, knowledge and experience should justify, whether they be, say, enrolled nurses or childcare workers, electricians or plumbers.”
Thay argue that these issues should be canvassed at the government’s productivity roundtable in August.
“While some tertiary education providers, including some dual-sector providers, have been innovating with nested or hybrid programs and improved credit recognition, the regulatory challenges result in too few examples.”
TDA is excited to announce that the Call for Proposals for TDA Convention 2026 is now open. TDA Convention 2026, Power of TAFE, will take place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5-7 May 2026. We warmly invite you to join TDA, our host partner TAFE Queensland, and Diamond sponsor ReadyTech to celebrate the strength, innovation and impact of TAFE in Australia’s education and training landscape.
TDA welcomes proposals from all stakeholders. If you are not from a TDA member organisation, and your proposal is accepted, then you will be eligible for the TDA member rate to attend TDA Convention 2026 in May in Brisbane next year. We encourage proposals from partners and stakeholders.
If you are from a TDA member organisation and you want to know more, the best place to start is with your TDA Convention 2026 Advisory Committee member. Don’t forget to also let your organisation’s Group Manager know when you submit.
TDA thanks members of the TDA Convention 2026 Advisory Committee who are guiding the development of the program. Advisory members are:
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has cancelled the registration of Harbour City College and issued former students with notices as to why their qualifications should not be cancelled.
An ASQA compliance investigation found that Harbour City College did not meet the conditions of registration, including financial viability requirements. Also, it issued qualifications without adequate assessment.
The qualifications impacted were issued between 30 May 2023 and 1 July 2025.
The qualifications extend across building and construction, IT, accounting and hospitality.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) is hosting a second webinar to explain the process for Diploma of Nursing students to apply for Commonwealth Prac Payments.
DEWR says that many students have submitted their initial applications and may be preparing to complete subsequent applications.
Diploma of Nursing students, RTOs and those supporting applicants are invited to register for the free webinar at 2pm (AEST) on Thursday 31 July.
This webinar will focus on subsequent claims. To learn more about how to complete an initial application for CPP, see the first webinar or see resources available on the Your Career website.
The TAFE Centre of Excellence Health Care and Support invites relevant stakeholders to attend a Nursing and Aged Care Industry Roundtable being held online and face-to-face in Cairns, Toowoomba, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney throughout August.
Current workforce pressures and skills shortages in the aged care sector are well documented, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas, with a predicted national shortfall of over 17,500 full-time equivalent nurses in the next decade.
To explore what can be done to tackle these skills shortages, the TAFE Centre of Excellence Health Care and Support welcomes input from industry, educators, researchers and communities to explore ‘earn while you learn’ training models for enrolled nurses transitioning to registered nurses, with an aged care focus.
Details of the face-to-face and online sessions are available on the website.
Join us for an engaging TAFETalks session exploring how TAFE Queensland is strategically transforming digital learning to drive educational innovation and learner success. Michelle Roberts from the Brisbane Educator Capability team will share how Adobe tools are being embedded across teaching and administrative functions, with a spotlight on their powerful impact in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), enhancing both engagement and accessibility.
Michelle will be joined by educator Sophie Nguyen to present a recent digital capability project focused on boosting learners’ digital literacy. Discover how creative and strategic approaches are being used to make learning more accessible, inclusive, and engaging across diverse student cohorts.
This session is ideal for TAFE leaders, educators, and decision-makers seeking practical insights and scalable strategies to embed digital capability and innovation across the education sector.
The Koori Writing Group, is one of TAFE NSW Taree’s innovative programs. It’s having a positive impact on the lives of Aboriginal people by empowering them to share their stories in their own words and communication styles.
Through the Koori Writing Group, participants have the opportunity to write and publish their stories, capturing their unique experiences as Aboriginal people. These stories are then compiled into books, which are distributed to families, friends, and local TAFE NSW libraries.
Image, left to right: Kate Fazio and Mirinda Avery – facilitators of the Koori Writing Group.
Penny McKay who previously served as Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman, has commenced as Deputy CEO of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).
Ms McKay held senior positions in the Commonwealth public service including acting First Assistant Secretary Integrity, Security and Assurance at the Department of Home Affairs, and General Counsel at the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
She has also worked as a Commonwealth, State and Territory prosecutor in the ACT, NT and Queensland, and an independent member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Audit and Risk Committee.
What happens when the power of generative AI meets the practical needs of TAFEs?
In this engaging webinar, Build the future of education with humans and generative AI, Professor Martin Bean unpacks how leading TAFE providers can harness this emerging technology to transform learning, streamline student services, and build a stronger sense of belonging across campuses.
Drawing on real-world insights and sector-wide shifts, Martin explores the opportunity for TAFEs to go beyond automation, leveraging AI to empower staff, personalise learning pathways, and drive measurable impact for learners and institutions alike.
Service and Creative Skills Australia (SaCSA) has its “Progress in Action” Workforce Plan Update, 2025 for the Arts, Personal Services, Retail, Tourism and Hospitality sectors.
TAFETalks: Evolving digital learning for strategic impact at TAFE Queensland
6 August 2025 14:00 Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Register here
Victorian TAFE Association TAFECreates25 Conference
7 August 2025
Melbourne Polytechnic Conference Centre, Melbourne
More information
VET National Teaching & Learning Conference
14-15 August 2025
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
More information
National Skills Week
‘Explore All the Options’
25-31 August 2025
More information
MyeQuals Connect
2 September 2025
Venue: Rydges Latimer Christchurch
Register here
25% discount code: TDAMyeQuals
Impact ATEM 2025
Association for Tertiary Education Management annual conference
7-10 September 2025
Australian National University, Canberra.
More information
TAFETalks: Build the future of education with humans and GenAI
29 October 2025 14:00 Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Register here
Velg Training National VET Conference
30-31 October 2025
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
More information
Association of Colleges Annual Conference
18-19 November 2025
Birmingham, England
More information (contact TDA memberservices@tda.edu.au)
TDA Convention 2026
5-7 May 2026
Brisbane
Call for proposals now open!
More information
48th WorldSkills International Competition Shanghai
22-27 September 2026
More information
2026 WFCP World Congress
23-28 November 2026
Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya
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