Menu
The TDA Convention 2024 begins tomorrow with a site visit to TAFE NSW at Meadowbank. The following two days are then packed with rich content and amazing presenters. Then at the end of the convention about 80 of our TAFE leaders from across the country will gather on Friday morning for a deep dive into what it means for TAFEs to collaborate and develop a national response to some of the directions coming through the National Skills Agreement, such as TAFE Centres of Excellence.
In this newsletter today the first of those TAFE Centres of Excellence is announced and will be led out of the Canberra Institute of Technology. TDA congratulates CIT and AUSMASA on being first off the block with this new exciting initiative. So read on.
However, in my piece I want to highlight some of the discussions we will have in the breakout sessions during the TDA Convention 2024. One of those is a Wednesday afternoon discussion that will be led by Gavin Lind from AUSMASA, Patrick Kidd from FSO and three of our TAFE leaders from TAFE NSW and CIT. They will examine the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in TAFE and Industry.
This discussion about AI and its impact on technological progress is essential. Technological progress is part of the defining landscape for all tertiary education. Education and skills are the essential ingredients that will allow technological progress to be used effectively. Without a commitment to tackle head on the technological changes that are in play, TAFEs can’t possibly serve their students and employer partners well.
Another breakout group will explore the technology needed to collaborate on product development. This Thursday session will be led by TAFE Queensland and TAFE NSW who have been forging the way in how to develop a shared model of curriculum and learning design using technology. In their model, learners in both very large TAFEs can have similar innovative learning experiences. And most importantly, TAFEs are sharing the expertise and resources to build these great outcomes.
These two breakout discussions will demonstrate that technology solutions can improve productivity and deliver innovation. These sessions will be complemented by diverse examples of how TAFEs across the country are already partnering with industry to provide great solutions. These industry partnerships are not new for TAFE. They have always defined how we work, but they are evolving. And they will continue to evolve more through the TAFE Centres of Excellence which will need innovation, technology underpinning solutions and relationships that can deliver for all partners.
Not to be missed as well at TDA Convention 2024 will be important discussions on how TAFEs are delivering for First Nations students, innovating in foundation skills, and ensuring all students reach their potential and success.
The biggest problem I’m going to have is choosing which breakout session to go to – they are all terrific! See you this week if you are joining us at TDA Convention 2024. If you can’t get there this time stay tuned for our TAFETalks webinar series which will continue throughout the year.
Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) has been named as the location for the first TAFE Centre of Excellence, and will be focused on delivering world class training in electric vehicle (EV) technology.
The federal and ACT governments announced today the establishment of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Centre of Excellence which will be funded by $9.7 million from each government.
The Centre of Excellence will provide innovative world class training for a future EV workforce and will develop new diploma and degree apprenticeship pathways to support a ‘Future Made in Australia’ for industries developing, operating and maintaining EVs and related technology.
It will further develop training for mechanics, technicians and developers of light and heavy vehicles and mobile plant technology, hydrogen vehicles and associated fields such as charging infrastructure installation and maintenance.
The facility is the first of up to 20 TAFE Centres of Excellence in areas of high skills needs that are planned across the country.
The new centre will network with experienced TAFEs in other states and leverage partnerships with universities, Jobs and Skills Councils and industry to grow the skills needed to support EV uptake and the transition to net zero.
Three industry partners – Tesla, Komatsu and the Australian Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance have committed to be involved with the centre.
TDA and its members are gearing up for an action packed program at the TDA Convention 2024 this week (8-9 May) at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel.
TDA Convention 2024 will explore the theme ‘TAFE at the Heart’ in recognition of TAFE’s role at the centre of tertiary education and skills development in Australia.
See all the speakers here.
See the program here.
We look forward to welcoming you this week to TAFE at the Heart!
The federal government will cut the student debt of more than three million Australians in next week’s Budget.
In response to the Australian Universities Accord, the government will cap the HELP indexation rate to be the lower of either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (WPI) with effect from 1 June 2023.
The government will backdate this relief to all HELP, VET Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and other student support loan accounts that existed on 1 June last year.
This will benefit those with a HELP debt by removing last year’s spike in the CPI indexation rate of 7.1% and preventing growth in debt from outpacing wages in the future.
The 2023 indexation rate based on WPI would only have been 3.2 per cent. An individual with an average HELP debt of $26,500 will see around $1,200 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans this year, pending the passage of legislation.
The action will wipe around $3 billion in student debt
The federal government will establish a Commonwealth Prac Payment to support students undertaking mandatory workplace placements required for university and VET qualifications.
Students studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social worker will be eligible for the payment of $319.50 per week during their clinical and professional placements.
About 68,000 higher education students and over 5,000 VET students are expected to benefit.
“Placement poverty is a real thing. I have met students who told me they can afford to go to uni, but they can’t afford to do the prac,” the Minister for Education Jason Clare said.
“Some students say prac means they have to give up their part-time job, and that they don’t have the money to pay the bills.”
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) says it has engaged with hundreds of training providers that have not delivered training for a 12-month period, whose registrations are likely to lapse within a matter of weeks.
Under the new National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act passed by parliament in March, ASQA has been handed additional powers to take action against non-genuine providers.
“The purpose of these provisions is to increase integrity in the VET sector by ensuring that non-genuine RTOs that may be using the VET sector as a veil of legitimacy for organised crime and exploitation are removed as registered entities,” ASQA CEO Saxon Rice says in her latest update.
Ms Rice says that hundreds of training providers that have not delivered training for a 12-month period will see their registration lapse by July 1, unless a transitional extension is granted. This extension can only be granted in limited circumstances.
ASQA also warns about the strengthened Fit and Proper Person Requirements that extends beyond CEOs and managerial agents to a broader range of staff, including trainers and assessors.
“We will consider this, and other key requirements, in all interactions with providers, as it is these key personnel within the sector that will either be an important safeguard for quality and integrity or a critical vulnerability,” Ms Rice said.
The federal government is expanding the scope of its New Energy Apprenticeships Program to include a broader range of industry sectors.
From June 1, sectors such as housing construction, automotive and advanced manufacturing will become eligible.
The government will also remove a requirement that an apprentice’s work be solely dedicated to clean energy, although it will still have a clean energy skilling purpose.
“Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, when they build five-star efficiency homes, they are actually also reducing our carbon emissions and they’ve been excluded by this apprenticeship program,” the Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor said.
“So, we’re expanding the eligibility, that will, I think, increase the likelihood of people enrolling in these apprenticeship schemes.”
He said that with electric vehicles now a rapidly increasing part of the automotive market, apprentice mechanics working on EVs can also access the program.
The program gives apprentices up to $10,000 in support over the duration of their apprenticeship. It was designed to support 10,000 apprentices, but approximately 2210 have so far signed-up since the launch last year.
Dr Mary Russell has been appointed as the CEO of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), after acting in the role since last June.
The Minister for Education Jason Clare announced the appointment which will be for a period of five years.
Also, the Chief Commissioner of TEQSA, Emeritus Professor Peter Coaldrake has advised that he will be stepping down from his role this week.
Professor Coaldrake was Vice-Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology between 2003 and 2017 and Chair of Universities Australia.
“The Government thanks Professor Coaldrake for his significant contribution to Australia’s higher education sector and wishes him well for the future,” Mr Clare said.
TDA congratulates Dr Russell and extends best wishes and sincere thanks to Professor Coaldrake.
TDA’s Corporate Affiliate, Learning Vault supports TAFEs with both skill development through micro-credential pathways, and skills recognition through verifiable, mobile, digital credentials.
Learning Vault can help your organisation to engage with students long-term, by equipping them with a future-proof currency in the talent marketplace, endorsing students in the most relevant format to succeed in the workforce.
To know more, please visit their exhibition stand at the TDA Convention 2024 on 8 and 9 May.
The NSW government has opened applications for the 2024 Bert Evans Apprentice Scholarships which provide financial support for apprentices facing hardship.
One hundred and fifty apprentices will receive a $5,000 scholarship annually for three years, totalling $15,000.
Since 2014 the scholarship program has provided support to more than 900 apprentices across NSW.
The scholarship is named after Bert Evans AO, who was former CEO of the Metal Trades Industry Association, Chair of the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training and NSW Apprenticeships Ambassador.
Applications close May 31.
TAFE SA is to gain access to a range of mobile vehicles that will enable it to reach a growing number of students undertaking in-demand courses in regional and remote areas.
The federal government has announced $2.2 million for TAFE SA to lease four light commercial vehicles and purpose-built trailers to train regional students in cyber security, dentistry, hospitality, and automotive skills.
The self-contained vehicles will be equipped with the technology, learning resources, power, water and waste facilities to deliver training in regional locations, and will be based at TAFE South Australia’s Gilles Plains, Regency and Adelaide campuses.
The funding is part of the $50 million TAFE Technology Fund which is upgrading TAFE infrastructure.
The purpose-built units will travel to TAFE campuses, schools and worksites across the state to deliver local training in regional and remote communities.
My eQuals Connect
A discussion about the future of digital credentialing (free event)
7 May 2024
Sybil Centre, University of Sydney
More information
TDA Convention 2024, ‘TAFE at the Heart’ – FULL
8-9 May 2024
Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney
Fully booked
TAFETalks
What does it mean for TAFEs? ASQA’s new regulatory model
Tuesday 28 May 2pm AEST
Save the date
Apprentice Employment Network NSW & ACT
2024 Skills Conference: Empowerment & Connection
12 June 2024
Dockside Darling Harbour, Sydney
More information
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Symposium 2024
Cultivating Creativity, Connections & Confidence in the Australian Tertiary Education Sector
12 June 2024
RMIT, Melbourne and online
More information
33rd National VET Research Conference ‘No Frills’
‘VET partnerships powering a dynamic workforce’
10-12 July 2024
North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth
More information
National Apprentice Employment Network
National Conference ‘Skills for Life’
23-25 July 2024
Hilton Adelaide
Save the date
VET National Teaching & Learning Conference 2024
‘From Competence to Excellence – Strive to Inspire’
15-16 August 2024
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Register here
National Skills Week 2024
‘It’s a Game Changer’
19-25 August 2024
www.nationalskillsweek.com.au
47th WorldSkills Competition
10-15 September 2024
Lyon, France
More information
WFCP World Congress 2024
22-27 September 2024
St James, Jamaica, West Indies
More Information
AVETRA 2024 Conference
3-4 October 2024
University of Technology, Sydney
Save the date
Go to individual JSC websites for event details.
Powering Skills Organisation
Energy Pathway Roadshow: Collaborating for a Sustainable Tomorrow – events in Darwin, Alice Springs, Perth, Bunbury, Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne, Geelong and Brisbane.
poweringskills.com.au
HumanAbility
State and Territory Roadshow 2024
www.humanability.com.au
© 2020 TAFE Directors Australia – Website Developed by G.I. Computer Innovations
