Last week I discussed some aspects of the VET Workforce Blueprint. Today let’s explore the topic a little further.
It is interesting that the first $12 million that is being spent to address the issues of the VET workforce is not going to the VET workforce at all. Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) have been tasked with doing more consultation with RTOs to profile the VET workforce. According to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) website, JSCs have been asked to “build a better understanding of the size, composition, characteristics and transitions of the current (VET) workforce”.
How will this benefit TAFEs? TAFEs already know, at a jurisdictional level and from the lens of their own enterprise agreements, their workforce size, composition, and characteristics. TAFEs also know the problems of attraction and retention. Will it help if JSCs spend time getting this data? Will it help a TAFE in one jurisdiction if the JSCs know about their TAFE enterprise agreement and compare it to other TAFE jurisdictions? What exactly will JSCs do with the data and information? How will JSCs acquiring this information make any positive difference to the employers of the VET workforce, in this case TAFEs?
For the last three years, TAFE CEOs have rated, for some of the priority industries where TAFEs are the main supplier of the future skilled workforce, attraction and retention of teachers as one of their sleepless night issues. However, they have not been sitting idly by waiting for others to solve these issues. They have been active, working with local employers and finding new solutions within enterprise agreements and the limits of the RTO Standards, to attract industry professionals.
JSCs, as the voice for their industries, must bring their employers to the table for problem solving sessions – that’s what TAFEs expect of them. The problem of training employers’ future workforces is not RTOs alone. It is a big ask for TAFEs to contribute limited resources to intensive consultation exercises which might just regurgitate the already known problems without finding new practical solutions.
Solutions will require funding for attracting new industry professionals into TAFEs, developing existing educators, and fostering TAFE leaders. As mentioned last week it is decades since there has been funding for the VET workforce. That’s the priority.
The latest completion rate for VET qualifications has remained largely unchanged, according to the latest figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
The completion rate after four years for those who commenced their VET study in 2019 was 47.3%, down 0.3 percentage points from those commencing in 2018.
The completion rate for training package qualifications was 48.2%, down 0.5 percentage points from those commencing in 2018.
For accredited qualifications, the completion rate was 37%, up 0.6 percentage points from those commencing in 2018.
However, when the different length of VET subjects are taken into account and weighted to produce the subject load pass rate, completions rose from 80.4% for those commencing in 2018 to 82.7% for those commencing in 2019.
The highest completion rates are in Diploma and higher qualifications (55.9%), followed by Certificate IV (52.4%), Certificate III (47%), Certificate II (41.7%), and Certificate I (35.6%).
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.
Queensland is set to have a new minister overseeing TAFE, skills and training, following the LNP win in Saturday’s state election.
The current Shadow Minister for Employment, Training, Small and Family Business, Brent Mickelberg (pictured) is likely to become the new minister.
Mr Mickelberg represents the Sunshine Coast electorate of Buderim. He spent 13 years in the Australian Army, serving in Afghanistan and East Timor, as well as taking part in border protection operations.
He has been a particularly outspoken advocate for issues around veterans’ welfare.
Tasmania’s elite sporting entities have come together with TasTAFE to launch a new sport and leadership education program for Tasmanians wanting to pursue a career in sports management, coaching and leadership.
Four of Tasmania’s leading sporting brands and TasTAFE have worked together to launch a unified education program that is embedded in industry, to create a nursery for home-grown sports administration and coaching talent, the Tasmania Academy of Leadership and Sport.
TasTAFE – in partnership with the Tasmania Football Club (the Devils), the Tasmania JackJumpers, the Hobart Hurricanes and Netball Tasmania in partnership – will be offering a 12-month education program in Tasmania from February 2025.
“This partnership recognises the importance and value of the sports sector to Tasmania, and we’re delighted to be the foundation education partner to help deliver those benefits,” said Grant Dreher, the CEO of TasTAFE.
“Today is the first step in harnessing the collective power of sport to create engaging, meaningful and place-based education pathways for our state’s future sports industry workforce,” said Jesse O’Hara, the Education Program Manager, Tasmania Academy of Leadership and Sport.
“Students will gain the hands-on skills, confidence and networks to become the team behind the team, creating a local nursery for off-field and off-court talent for the State. It’s wonderful that the University of Tasmania are supporting the program to provide graduates a pathway directly into university and gain up to a year of credit into select Bachelor degrees.”
The program will launch in Hobart in February 2025 and will expand to the north and north-west of Tasmania in 2026.
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
TAFE NSW is working with production companies to upskill their employees in graphics platform – Unreal Engine, a world-leading and highly regarded graphics platform used to build games, animation and virtual realities, including online game Fortnite and The Mandalorian series, from the Star Wars franchise.
Congratulations to Swinburne University of Technology for winning the Australian Education Partner of the Year Award as part of the MYOB Partner Awards 2024.
You can view all the MYOB Partners Awards 2024 winners here.
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has granted an extension period for products in the AHC Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package.
The transition period for training, assessment and certification issuance for the training products is extended until 31 January 2026 for continuing students only. It impacts the following training products:
TDA is delighted to welcome Dr Teressa Schmidt to the TDA team. Teressa starts tomorrow as Director Governance, Policy and Projects.
Teressa has more than 25 years experience in vocational and higher education, covering a broad span of educational, academic, consulting, and senior leadership positions. Most recently, she held the role of Deputy Dean VET at CQUniversity Australia, a TDA member.
Teressa has also been involved in research focused on learning and teaching and the VET teaching workforce, particularly the qualities and capabilities required by adult and vocational education teachers and how these are developed. Teressa is an active member of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA), including as co-editor for AVETRA’s International Journal of Training Research.
Teressa joins the small TDA team of Jenny Dodd, Palak Bhatia and Lucy Marchant and she can be contacted on memberservices@tda.edu.au.
2024 National VET Conference
31 October – 1 November 2024
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
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TEQSA 2024 Annual Conference
Navigating tomorrow: Anticipating challenges, embracing change
13 November 2024
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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
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Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG) 2024 Conference
9-10 December 2024
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
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