“Funding for the Australian Skills Centres of Excellence, the My Skills website and the Australian Skills Quality Authority will help ensure more Australians have access to a high quality, innovative training system which is responsive to the needs of our modern economy,” Minister for Skills, Senator Chris Evans, said.

“Major reform of our VET system is a priority so Australia can build a new economy in which businesses and individuals have the skills and knowledge to share in the country’s wealth and prosperity.”

The demand for high level skills is growing sharply, at 2.5 times the rate of unskilled jobs, and all governments agree that Australia’s training system needs to grow. From 1 July 2012, the Gillard Government will invest $1.75 billion over five years under a new National Partnership Agreement with the states and territories. This is in addition to the $1.4 billion already provided each year.

“These far reaching reforms will provide a training place for all eligible Australians—a guaranteed entitlement for anyone who wants to gain skills up to their first Certificate III qualification—as well as HECS style loans for diploma and advanced diplomas students,” Senator Evans said.

The Government will continue its strong track record of supporting jobs and investing in skills, which has seen the creation of more than 750,000 jobs since 2007. “In this year’s Budget, as part of that significant investment, we have targeted funding to ensure quality underpins our VET system as it expands to meet the skills demands of the future,” Senator Evans said.

National Partnership Agreement

Critical reforms to improve the quality of training in the VET sector have been agreed under the National Partnership Agreement. These include measures to ensure appropriate state-based criteria are in place before registered training organisations can access public funding as well as the establishment of external validation of assessment pilots to inform the development of a national framework for such processes.

Australian Skills Centres of Excellence

The Government will invest $18.1 million over four years to establish three Australian Skills Centres of Excellence in partnership with industry and training organisations.

The new centres will provide added depth and establish benchmarks of teaching practice and performance in selected fields of vocational education. Commonwealth funding will be supplemented by co-investment from industry or state and territory governments.

“We know that many of the jobs of tomorrow will be different to the jobs of today—some of them we can’t even begin to imagine,” Senator Evans said.

“This initiative will deliver high quality training for jobs of the future and directly supports the Government’s vision to build a new economy based on high skills, high technology, fast broadband and clean energy.”

My Skills website

More than $6 million in funding will ensure the continuing development and expansion of the My Skills website.

The website will deliver much-needed information on training courses and providers to help individuals and employers make informed choices about their skills and training needs.

This funding will support the maintenance and development of the website. Over time My Skills will provide information on student fees, the outcomes of satisfaction surveys and greater information at the individual campus or training location level.

Australian Skills Quality Authority

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) will receive $50.3 million over four years to undertake high-quality oversight and regulation of the VET sector—$4.2 million will come from direct Budget funding and the remainder through cost recovery.

“The Government has entrusted ASQA with the important task of strengthening the application of quality standards across the VET sector, as well as improving consistency in regulation and reducing regulation duplication across states and territories,” Senator Evans said.

“Increased funding will ensure ASQA can respond effectively to public concerns about the quality of training in specific industry sectors.

“Our VET system has served Australians well and these reforms will ensure it is able to continue to deliver the high quality training needed to meet the skills demands of industry for decades to come.”

 

http://minister.innovation.gov.au/chrisevans/MediaReleases/Pages/InvestingInAQualityTrainingSystemToSecureAustraliasFuture.aspx

 

Western Australia agreed to the new reforms, which include HECS-style loans for diploma students and a guaranteed ‘entitlement’ to government-subsidised training, despite threatening to scuttle the deal over a $75m funding shortfall.

Unknown quantity Queensland, whose new government is yet to reveal its skills policies, also approved the reforms.

A spokeswoman for Education and Training Minister John-Paul Langbroek said Queensland supported measures to reduce upfront cost to students as a means of increasing participation in training.

“But [Queensland] needs to be assured that the commonwealth’s proposals are affordable, will address skills shortages in Queensland and do not represent a financial risk to the state,” she added.

The reforms also include a pilot of “independent validation of training provider assessments” – essentially, third-party checks that training graduates have the skills their colleges claim to have taught them.

COAG also agreed to implement strategies enabling TAFEs “to operate effectively in an environment of greater competition”, as well as improving information about the vocational training system.

A communiqué issued after the meeting said the reforms would help an extra 375,000 students gain qualifications over the next five years.

This included “improving training enrolments and completions in high-level skills and among key groups of disadvantaged students, including indigenous Australians”.

“These reforms will support Australian businesses and drive improvements in productivity by growing the pool of skilled workers, encouraging existing workers to up skill and supporting higher levels of workforce participation.”

TAFE Directors Australia said the “historic COAG agreement” made public providers the key drivers of the reform agenda.

But CEO Martin Riordan said the extension of income contingent loans should be “accompanied by transparent and sustained investment by government, as a co-contribution to training”.

“We will be seeking input into the negotiations between commonwealth and the states on the detail of the final national partnership agreement,” Mr Riordan said.

The Australian Industry Group said COAG had reached “an important agreement that ramps up the effort in tackling endemic skill shortages and forges overdue reforms to our national training system”.

Chief executive designate Innes Willox congratulated the commonwealth, states and territories for putting aside their differences “to achieve essential reforms that will underpin the development of Australia’s current and future skilled workforce”.

“Industry will need to be involved with all levels of government to advance and shape these reforms, ensuring the required quality improvement measures deliver the outcomes sought by both industry and individuals,” Mr Willox said.

Read more at : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/skills-reforms-coast-through/story-e6frgcjx-1226326127410

• JOHN ROSS 
• From:The Australian 
• April 16, 2012 12:00AM