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TAFE funding diverted to small business tax break

While the TAFE sector was still applauding Kevin Rudd’s stirring, albeit vague, declaration to force the states to maintain their own TAFE funding, the ALP’s own costings revealed a financial sleight of hand that would see at least $111m notionally set aside in the  Education Investment Fund (EIF) to fund TAFE projects diverted to help fund an expansion in the small business asset write off program.   As a result, just three of 12 TAFEs will get capital grants approved by the EIF advisory board late last year. Over $80m was allocated in June and July in grants to the TAFE NSW North Coast Institute, the Sunshine Coast Institute and Charles Darwin University’s trade centre…..[ READ MORE ]…..

Spending on VET pays: TDA

A new economic model for Australia’s technical and vocational education sector shows the significant economic gains that arise from investing in additional technical and vocational education, focussing on the employability of VET students and productivity of employees with either full or partial VET qualifications. Skill sets have increasingly been an issue raised across several industries, deserving separate VET funding. The report for TAFE Directors Australia finds that additional government and private funding commitments of $2.7 billion over the period 2013-2017 will result in net benefits of $13.4 billion, which represents a 0.1% boost to GDP……[ READ MORE ]…..

Coalition targets “ridiculous” research

A Coalition proposal to cut “ridiculous” research projects in the humanities and redirect the money to medical research, has raised the ire of the research community.  On 5 September, the Coalition promised an audit of “increasingly ridiculous research grants” awarded by the ARC.   Coalition costings show a $103m cut from “reprioritising” ARC funds over four years with new spending on dementia, bowel cancer, diabetes and tropical health.  This appears to mean a 1.8% cut to the estimated $884m ARC budget for national competitive grants in 2013-14 with bigger cuts to come in following years, to the extent that the Coalition’s new priorities favour other institutions such as the National Health and Medical Research Council…..[ READ MORE ]…..

Labor proposes greater use of compacts…and other things

A re-elected Labor government will make greater use of direct agreements with universities, or compacts, with Innovation Minister Kim Carr flagging they would be used to allocate greater numbers of capped sub-degree and postgraduate places. Amid sector concerns that greater use of compacts could prove code for greater control, Carr said the aim would be to give universities more autonomy and that there would be no retreat from the demand-driven system of uncapped undergraduate places under which commonwealth-supported places have increased by 190,000 students or 35%……[ READ MORE ]…..

Ballarat becomes Fed Uni

The University of Ballarat’s rebranding as Federation University Australia is a step closer after the State Parliament on 5 September passed a bill paving the way for the name change.  A new logo for the university, maintaining the Eureka Flag used in the University of Ballarat logo, has also been released.   The new identity is part of the merger between University of Ballarat and Monash University’s Gippsland campus to take effect in January 2014…..[ READ MORE ]…..

Apprenticeship starts steady, traineeships crash

Structured on-the-job training has crashed in the wake of cuts to federal incentive programs, with new figures showing take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships have plunged by one-third.  The data, released by NCVER, shows that apprentice and trainee commencements in the first three months of the year were 33% down on the same period last year.  The decline coincides with cuts of close to $1.1 billion over the past year to commonwealth schemes which encourage take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships.  The figures show that non-trade traineeships have been the main casualties of the Commonwealth cuts. Non-trade commencements fell 13%, while trade commencements rose marginally by 0.3%……[ READ MORE ]…..

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ALP proposes bypassing states on TAFE funding

2 September 2013 | The ALP has made jobs and training the focus of its policy statement for the 2013 election.

Apprentices would get a boost to the Tools for Your Trade cash payment, from $5,500 to $6,000, as against the Coalition’s commitment to a $20,000 HECS-style loan scheme. The Coalition says that its loans scheme will be on top of the current grants scheme but that would seem unlikely – we’ll just have to wait for the Coalition’s costings statement.

Kevin Rudd has also pledged to change the law to ensure that any major projects, including mines, ports and roads worth more than $300 million, must adopt Australian Industry Participation Plans. He said this measure is “expected to generate up to $624 million in extra work for Australian industry and jobs every year.”

States and territories were also given a warning on Commonwealth funding for TAFEs, with Rudd threatening to bypass state governments and directly fund the vocational education system….[ READ MORE ]…..

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ACPET National Monday Update

A disappointing announcement

2 September 2013 |  On Sunday the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd launched the Labor Party’s campaign for re-election. Despite the initial hype that the speech was focussed on apprenticeships and skills – in fact there were very few positive announcements. One of the key announcements was a possible Federal takeover of TAFE.

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NTEU class sizes claim adds up: ABC

An advertisement by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) says there are almost twice as many university students per teacher now than a generation ago.

“In just one generation university class sizes have almost doubled due to chronic underfunding,” the union ad claims.

ABC’s Fact Check has analysed the claim and concluded:

There were 13 students for every teacher in 1990. The number rose to 19 in 2000 and 24 in 2012. The claim is therefore correct.

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Comment & analysis

New Colombo Plan could be a game changer for universities

Barring an act of God, sometime after 7pm on Saturday  (although Antony Green will probably call it at 6.30) 7 September Tony Abbott will be the Prime Minister-elect and next week a Coalition government will be in place.  Apart from targeting “ridiculous” research, a signature policy of a Coalition government will be its New Colombo Plan.  Here, Vicki Thomson examines why the Plan New Colombo Plan has the potential to be a game-changer for universities and our nation.

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Australia’s university sector finds itself in the glare of an unexpected spotlight which offers both challenge and opportunity following the Coalition announcement of the New Colombo Plan.

At its core, the plan is a foreign policy initiative – not an education policy. It is a soft-diplomacy initiative designed to ensure many thousands of Australian university students, over coming decades, have the opportunity to study in Asia and to be interns in an Asian-located company as part of their undergraduate degree.

The plan represents a sophisticated vision for Australia’s integration into 21st century Asia with the university sector front and centre.

What better way to educate our nation’s future leaders (our current students) about Asia and its people?

What better way to ensure our graduates understand the imperatives of industry and business and become far more “work-ready”?

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This was originally published in the first edition of The Scan this year, but retains, we think, contemporary relevance.

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The thing about fees….

The Review of Base Funding was charged with, among other things, determining an appropriate “balance of resources” to be contributed by Government, students and others, in a way that would to ensure that fees do not constitute a barrier to participation.  While the review found that the “average level of base funding per place should be increased”, a hard pressed Commonwealth government rejected this – and ruled out any increase in fees.

The government has also ruled out  fiddling with reintroducing enrolment caps, although from time to time former minister Chris Evans seemed to be mulling it over.  Ditto the opposition, which ruled out fiddling with both fees and caps.  We expect that this position on fees and caps will persist until some time in the afternoon of Sunday 15 September, when the Treasury briefs the incoming Prime Minister, particularly if the briefing is coming from the Blue Book  (David Cameron made soothing noises about fees, too- and promptly trebled them).

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GetUp’s TV ad that isn’t

The commercial TV networks have knocked back airing activist organisation GetUp’s TV ad that was to go to air Wednesday 4 September in selected cities. We can see that it’s a bit out there – but that’s GetUp – and at least it’s interesting and unmistakably clear.

And the observation of the campaign comes from the AFR’s Laura Tingle:

Rudd has spent much of the campaign looking more like Yosemite Sam than a prime minister: handguns blazing as he shot himself in the foot as much as he directed any fire at that dastardly Mr Rabbitt.

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The Election Page

News, views policies and links on the 2013 Federal election.

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Melbourne Masterclasses – Faculty of Arts Winter Series

The Mysteries of Thera: Pompeii of the Bronze Age Aegean 24 August

The University of Melbourne presents the 2013 Faculty of Arts Winter Series of masterclasses designed to expand horizons, enliven the mind and enrich the soul this Melbourne winter. The masterclasses are scheduled over a series of weekends in winter and into spring, featuring the university’s most celebrated teachers and public intellectuals.

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Is there something interesting near where you live and/or work? Got an interesting story? Got an event coming up? Tell us about it!

It’s free….no hidden costs… absolutely gratis

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