Australia’s Vocational Education & Training (VET) System  Nationally agreed  Strong industry leadership and engagement  Provides skills and knowledge for work  Client focussed

Over 5000 training providers & 1.7 million students  Technical & further education (TAFE) institutes  Private training providers  Dual sector institutes - universities delivering higher education & VET  Community training providers  Secondary schools  Business

Funding for VET in Australia  Shared between states & territories ($4 billion p.a.)  States & territories are responsible for training delivery including determining the training needs of industry  National leadership & contributions to overall funding ($1.3 billion p.a.)  Strong links & support by industry  Arrangements between federal & state governments now covered in National Skills and Workforce Development Agreement & National Partnership for the Productivity Places Program  Student loan scheme VET Fee Help introduced in 2009

The national governance and accountability framework Ministerial Council for Training, Education and Employment Client Advisory Alliance National Senior Officials Committee (NSOC) National Industry Skills Committee (NISC) National Quality Council (NQC) National Training Statistics Committee National Action Groups and Taskforces Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Australia Ltd Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)

Quality assurance operates through a standards approach

Organisation of training

Industry Skills Councils

Training Packages promote flexibility  Flexible delivery against standards  Teachers require industry experience and VET teaching qualification  Delivery tailored to meet local region, employer needs and learner circumstances

A unified approach to attainment Australian Qualifications Framework

AQTF : Three key components  Essential Standards for Registration  Standards for state and territory registering bodies  Excellence Criteria

Regulating the AQTF  Regulation of standards for training providers is the responsibility of states and territory governments.  There are:  Eight state and territory regulators  National Audit and Registration Agency  Underperforming providers are a key challenge for regulation  Balance between protection for students and due process for providers

Review of the AQTF  Pressures on the current quality assurance arrangements:  Weak initial registration requirements  Heavy emphasis on outcomes  Heavy continuous improvement focus

Regulating quality of training products  National recognition assured through standards and regulation  National Quality Council

National Regulation  National Regulation for VET will have two key elements:  National Regulator  National Standards Council

Future directions Council of Australian Governments’ targets  Lift Year 12 or equivalent attainment to 90% by 2015  Halve proportion of 20 to 64 year olds with below Certificate III qualifications by 2020  Double higher qualification completions (Diploma and Advanced Diploma) by 2020  40% of year olds attain a higher education qualification by 2025

Future directions Strengthening the apprentice system  Seamless access, re-entry & deferral  Incentives for commencements and retention of trade apprentices  Prep-apprenticeship scheme for school students  Apprenticeship incentive program

Future directions Sustainable & green education  Clean Sustainable Skills Package 50,000 green jobs and training opportunities A$94m  Skills for a low carbon economy — carbon challenge measure  National Green Skills Agreement — new trade apprentices to graduate with green skills, knowledge and training

Conclusion  Flexible system – responsive to change  Integrated with industry  Continuing process of improvement  Increasing skill levels of Australians