……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Table of Contents Outgoing chair Ian Young on the uncertainty of the funding future Incoming CEO Vicki Thompson on the importance of a robust and quality higher education sector to nation's future Samantha Maiden (National Political Editor, The Sunday Telegraph and a graduate of the University of Adelaide) asks whether reform has been consigned to the too hard basket Glyn Davis (V-C Melbourne) suggests that if majority Commonwealth funding is a defining characteristic of a public university, there is no “public” university in Australia … [Read more...]
TDA Newsletter 16 February 2015
16/02/2015 by
Apprentice numbers recover in December quarter There has been a turnaround in the number of apprentices commencing, suggesting an end to the recent decline, according to the latest figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The figures show that non-trade commencements increased by 5,300 to 31,700 in the December quarter, suggesting an end to the series of declines since June 2013. Trade commencements increased 1,600 to 21,500, ending the downturn since September 2013. The NCVER report, Apprentices and trainees 2014 – early trend estimates, December quarter, provides seasonally adjusted and smoothed data at the national level. Victoria … [Read more...]
ACPET slams AEU study
16/02/2015 by
ACPET NMU | 16 February 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ACPET CEO Rod Camm writes that the recent report by Workplace Research Centre at the University of Sydney – commissioned by the Australian Education Union – which claims that large private training college chains have been generating extraordinary profit margins on the back of their recent access to public subsidies is seriously flawed. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… I remember a former Prime Minister coining the phrase ‘Life wasn’t meant to be easy.’ I can only imagine he was thinking about VET. The importance of the sector can never be overstated. Skills shortages will again become the … [Read more...]
ACPET National Monday Update 16 February 2015
16/02/2015 by
In Focus One can only watch the comings and goings of the Senate and wonder One can only watch the comings and goings of the Senate and wonder. The Higher Education Reform agenda continues at a merry pace. We have spent a lot of time in the last week engaging in the debate. Our arguments for reform remain the need to address the inequity for students at non-university providers, but also the need to grow participation and quality programs. Our providers can play an enormous role in the future of higher education in Australia. Let’s hope we get that opportunity. To help please talk to your students. We need each and every one of them to understand that they will … [Read more...]
ANU’s Ian Young to step down
12/02/2015 by
ANU News | 12 February 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Vice-chancellor of the Australian National University and current chair of the Group of Eight universities, Professor Ian Young, will step down from the position when his current term expires next year and return to research and teaching. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… Professor Young was appointed vice-chancellor of the ANU in Canberra in 2011 and was previously vice-chancellor of Swinburne University. By February 2016, I will have served as a Vice-Chancellor for 13 years in two universities, and in senior executive roles in four institutions over more than 20 years. I have found my time at ANU … [Read more...]
Labor’s TAFE agenda in Queensland
12/02/2015 by
12 February 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… With the Labor Party poised to form a minority government in Queensland, its promise to rescue the TAFE sector will now come into sharper focus. Queensland VET student numbers fell 38,000 in 2013. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… During the election campaign, Labor leader and soon to be premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (who pronounces her surname as "Pallashay") made a number of commitments to address the vocational educational and training system, including: $34 million over three years to create up to 100 TAFE teaching and support positions, fund new training schemes in emerging industries, invest in student … [Read more...]
Sorry state of the market
12/02/2015 by
12 February 2015 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… With the recent Productivity Commission Report on Government Services showing VET enrolments declining in 2013 by more than 60,000 (3.9 %) - admittedly after some years of growth – a report by Workplace Research Centre at the University of Sydney – commissioned by the Australian Education Union - shows that large private training college chains have been generating extraordinary profit margins on the back of their recent access to public subsidies. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......…… The report says the profit margins leveraged from public subsidies at three listed training companies — Vocation, Australian Careers … [Read more...]
