In today’s TDA Monday Newsletter you can read more about the latest TAFE Centre of Excellence to be announced in NSW. What is so good about the TAFE Centres 
of Excellence is that they are about meeting industry requirements and exploring innovation. Vocational education and training has become very bland as the national training system requires all products to be the same. The TAFE Centres of Excellence are genuinely bold, big policy initiatives that are not bland.
In the latest Net Zero Manufacturing TAFE Centre of Excellence, one of the bold ingredients will be the establishment of a National Renewable Energy Microskills Marketplace. TDA has been aware of developments that TAFE NSW has been undertaking for some time to establish this marketplace. This Microskills Marketplace will be specifically focused on the renewable energy industry. It will be a place where all TAFEs will be able to load up their short courses and microskills and it will likely become a one-stop shop for industry to engage with TAFEs across the country for desired products.
This new Net Zero Manufacturing TAFE Centre of Excellence will also establish a higher apprenticeship model. We are yet to see how this will roll through, but if successful this is a first step in innovation. Innovation which demonstrates the applied learning of vocational education in areas such as welding, electrotechnology and fabrication with higher-level skills in emerging areas such as digital technologies. It is this practical coupling of vocational courses with higher level skills that is what industry demands.
This TAFE Centre of Excellence will explore what is possible in course design, both at the microskills level and with higher apprenticeships. What is commendable is that it will be bold. That is the strength of the new TAFE Centres of Excellence. They have the mandate to be bold.
It is timely that Australia starts to invest in more than the one-size-fits-all model of a market based vocational education and training system that has dominated for twenty years. Investment in TAFE Centres of Excellence moves Australia into practical exploration of innovation. What a refreshing approach to enhancing skills development for key Australian industries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed a Labor government to embedding fee-free TAFE as a permanent feature of the VET system.
Speaking at a party rally in South Australia yesterday, Mr Albanese said, if re-elected, Labor would ensure fee-free TAFE is “here to stay”.
“I am proud to announce that our government will lock in free TAFE and make it permanent, nationwide,” he said.
“We will legislate to guarantee 100,000 fee free take places each and every year – more tradies to build our homes, more apprentices getting a start, more carers to look after our loved ones, whether they be young or old, more opportunities for Australians to train and retrain in a changing and dynamic economy.
“TAFE gives our country and our people all of this, and as long as there is a Labor government free TAFE is here to stay,” he said.
TDA Chief Executive Jenny Dodd said all TAFEs have welcomed the focus of federal, state and territory governments on equity and access to VET through fee-free TAFE.
“Enshrining this policy in legislation, alongside continuing examples of innovation to meet industry skills needs, such as TAFE Centres of Excellence, shows the holistic thinking that is now in place.
“These policies are ensuring both industry and individuals are central to the importance of skills development that is needed for success,” Ms Dodd said.
Join TDA’s TAFETalks session on optimising existing systems to deliver the National Skills Passport.
Tertiary education providers already invest significantly in data systems to track student progress and record alumni qualifications. Building a completely new system introduces additional risks and costs.
In this session, experts from Victoria University and TechnologyOne will explore key factors in developing a National Skills Passport. They’ll discuss how leveraging innovative solutions can enhance workforce mobility, reduce institutional security burdens, and streamline assessment processes.
The second of three planned TAFE centres of Excellence in NSW has been announced – the Net Zero Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at TAFE NSW’s Tighes Hill campus in Newcastle.
The federal and NSW governments are jointly investing $28.1 million, with a further $5.27 million in federal funding to support the centre.
The facility will play a key role in the development of the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone and will entail partnerships between TAFE NSW, universities and local industry.
It will establish a National Renewable Energy Microskills Marketplace, which will enable TAFEs across Australia to share and access renewable industry-related digital non-accredited courses.
It will also implement a higher apprenticeship model that integrates VET and higher education in critical trade skills like electrotechnology, welding, and fabrication, with higher-level units in emerging areas such as digital technologies.
It follows the announcement in September of the Western Sydney Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence.
Prime Minister Antony Albanese jointly launched the facility with NSW Premier Chris Minns, federal Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles, and NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan.
“We are getting on with the job of delivering three TAFE Centres of Excellence in NSW, a key part of our commitment to provide fully subsidised training to an additional 1,000 apprenticeships a year in advanced manufacturing and related industries,” Mr Minns said.
Holmesglen Institute applied to TEQSA for Self Accrediting Status to accredit courses of study up to AQF 7 in the fields of Information Technology, Management and Commerce, Nursing, and Communication and Media Studies in June this year.
On 23 October Holmesglen was advised that its SAA application was successful. Holmesglen is the first TAFE to be awarded SAA, a great outcome for TAFE.
Congratulations to Holmesglen on this significant breakthrough!
The repayment threshold for student loans will be lifted from $54,000 to $67,000, there will be a sliding scale for repayments, and all student debt will be cut by 20 per cent, if Labor is re-elected.
The changes were announced over the weekend and will apply to all student debt, including HELP, VET Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and other student support loans.
In addition to raising the repayment threshold, the government will introduce a system where repayments are based on the portion of a person’s income above the new $67,000 threshold – similar to the way income tax is calculated.
The shift to a marginal repayment system was a recommendation of the Australian Universities Accord. The government says it was also informed by the architect of the HELP system, Emeritus Professor Bruce Chapman. For someone on an income of $70,000 this will mean they will pay around $1,300 less per year in repayments.
The 20 per cent cut in student debt will wipe about $16 billion off loans. For someone with the average HELP debt of $27,600, they will see around $5,520 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans next year.
The VET tip-off line established within the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to report poor behaviour by training providers has averaged almost eight complaints a day in its first nine months of operation.
The latest ASQA Annual Report reveals that 2119 complaints were received since the tip-off line went live at the start of October 2023, and the end of June.
The main complaints centred on non-compliance, falsification of student records and academic cheating.
ASQA says the tip-off line has produced a “steady stream of high-quality leads” and that more than 62% of information received has led to actionable intelligence.
ASQA says the enforcement and compliance activity of its Integrity Unit in 2023–24 has sent a clear message to the community that fraudulent and illegal behaviour will be taken seriously and acted upon.
ASQA made 83 decisions to cancel registration in full or to not renew registration. Of these, 52 decisions were related to CRICOS providers.
“As at 30 June 2024, more than 50% of our serious investigations were linked to multijurisdictional actions, such as the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and Operation Inglenook, which work to deter and disrupt criminal elements exploiting government programs and funding,” ASQA says.
ASQA also worked closely with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) on finalising revised Standards for RTOs, which come into effect in 2025.
Australia has lost one of its leading culinary figures, Patrick O’Brien, the longstanding head of North Metropolitan TAFE’s hospitality school.
Patrick, who was greatly admired across the industry as a teacher and mentor, sadly passed away in late October while overseas.
He served as Director of Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Events & Tourism at NMTAFE for the past 18 years.
Originally from Ireland, Patrick settled in Western Australia, firstly with Hospitality Group Training in 1995, before joining NMTAFE in 2006, where he headed the new Academy of Culinary Arts.
His passion for developing the next generation of talent was legendary. Under his guidance, NMTAFE’s cookery program, based at Joondalup campus, saw 87 staff delivering courses in hospitality, commercial cookery and patisserie.
In 2023, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King’s Birthday Honours for his service to the hospitality industry. He coached young chefs competing at the highest levels in major competitions and was the recipient of numerous awards.
TDA extends its condolences to Patrick’s family, his colleagues and all those who were guided by him.
The Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance (AUSMASA) is making available training resources for RII21222 – Certificate II in Autonomous Workplace Operations.
The resources have been developed to support the delivery of Autonomous Workplace Operations training in various industry areas.
Those interested in receiving the free training resources can register their interest at the AUSMASA website.
Box Hill Institute is hosting a webinar to discuss the new Graduate Certificate in Adult and Vocational Education (GCV01) – an AQF Level 8 course designed for TAFE educators who are looking to enhance their teaching practices and make a significant impact on their students’ learning.
Webinar Details
Date: 12 November 2024
Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM (AEDT)
Register Here
The Graduate Certificate in Adult and Vocational Education program is tailored for experienced VET educators. Box Hill Institute is the only TAFE offering this program.
For more information, contact Dr Karen O’Reilly-Briggs at k.oreilly-briggs@boxhill.edu.au
TEQSA 2024 Annual Conference
Navigating tomorrow: Anticipating challenges, embracing change
13 November 2024
More information
Seventeenth Annual OctoberVET
14 November 2024
Federation University SMB campus, Ballarat, Victoria
Register
TAFETalks: Delivering the National Skills Passport
Wednesday, 4 December 2024, 2.00pm – 3.00pm AEDT
Register here
Australian Training Awards
6 December 2024
National Convention Centre, Canberra
More information
Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG) 2024 Conference
9-10 December 2024
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
More information
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