TDA role on post-Budget consultation: Education Legislation and Financing Working Group
SA Government breaks with federal Labor to support sub-bachelor higher education reform – Australian Financial Review
Tertiary education leaders including TDA have been invited by the Department of Education to take part in detailed post-Budget consultations on government plans for deregulation of universities, and higher education funding.
Martin Riordan, Chief Executive of TDA, was nominated for the Working Group, which met in Melbourne late last week. Senior departmental briefings will follow this week with university, TAFE and private college providers.
TDA will be consulting with its TAFE higher education provider leaders on key issues arising from the proposed Budget legislation.
Meanwhile, today’s Australian Financial Review reports that the South Australian Labor government has split from federal Labor, to support the extension of Commonwealth supported place funding to sub-bachelor qualifications. State Higher Education Minister Gail Gago, said the reform would put TAFE SA on an even footing with universities.
Prime Minister inspects Industry technology college in US visit
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has inspected an industry technology pathways college, with a visit to P-Tech School in Brooklyn. The New York industry technology college delivers higher level pathways education, backed by industry support.
The IBM-backed Pathways in Technology Early College high school, offers education combined with technical education across grades 9 to 14, with the chance to gain a diploma or associate degree qualification.
“It is the kind of thing that we want to look at and consider. It is not entirely dissimilar from the Australian Technical College model which the Howard Government introduced in its last couple of years, but it seems there is a more hands on business role here than there was in the ATC model,” the Prime Minister said.
The colleges have strong links to industry and give students the chance of internships and career pathways.
See the Prime Minister’s transcript.
See an article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Employers the key to apprentice completions
The influence of the employer is arguably the most important factor in the high dropout rates among apprentices, according to new research from the National centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
Employers with the highest completion rates are generally larger, experienced employers with well-organised systems for managing and recruiting apprentices. Employers with lower completion rates tend to be smaller and have less experience, the report says.
These employer-related factors are the most commonly cited for not completing an apprenticeship. They include experiencing interpersonal difficulties with employers or colleagues, being made redundant, not liking the work and changing career.
By contrast, issues with the off-the-job training are the least frequently cited reasons for not completing an apprenticeship.
Apprentices generally leave their apprenticeship contract early, with 60% of those who leave doing so within the first year.
See the NCVER report, ‘Understanding the non-completion of apprentices’.
Meet the speakers at the TAFE Directors Australia 2014 National Conference
‘Vision 2020’, the TDA National Conference in Sydney, 1-2 September at the Sheraton on the Park will feature an extraordinary line up of speakers:
The Hon Adrian Piccoli MP, NSW Minister for Education
Mr Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre for Technical and Vocational Education
Dr Charles A Goldman, Senior Economist, RAND Corporation, USA
Fintan Donohue, CEO, Gazelle, United Kingdom
Professor Valerie Braithwaite, Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University
Morris Miselowski, Business Futurist
Denise Amyot, President and CEO, Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)
Dr Lawrence Chan, Deputy Executive Director, Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong
David Meates, CEO, Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards, New Zealand
Professor Peter van Onselen, Australian academic, author and political journalist
Ellen Fanning, Conference MC and award winning journalist
The TDA Conference is a ‘must attend’ for all vocational education and training chief executives and their senior managers, as well as many federal and state government officials and others involved in vocational education and training.
Click here to register or find out more.
WorldSkills Australia competitors announced
WorldSkills Australia has announced the names of the competitors from across Australia who will take part in the National Competition to be held in Perth in September.
The three-day event will showcase the skills of 500 of Australia’s best trainees, apprentices and students competing in 50 skill and trade areas from traditional trades such as plumbing carpentry and bricklaying to more contemporary areas such as fashion technology and web design.
The 2014 competitors cover every region of Australia and every trade including VET in Schools.
See the list of 2014 competitors.
See more on WorldSkills Australia.
EU 2014 TVET Congress delivers focus on higher level skilled qualifications, new links with industry
An EU TVET Congress has focused on higher level skilled qualifications, and new links with industry to drive economic recovery from the European economic downturn.
Australia’s role in industry-led training and the role of TAFE in driving higher level technical and tertiary qualifications was highlighted, with TDA chairing presentations to several technology polytechnic universities, and presentations by Holmesglen Institute, and TAFE Queensland on its launch as a new statutory authority.
The TVET Congress was hosted by THNIKA, a dedicated industry innovation agency operated by the Basque Country provincial government in northern Spain, over three days earlier this month, with 42 countries represented.
See more on THINKA.
Presentations delivered at the TVET Congress are available on the following Conference link.
Martin Riordan, CEO TDA, Mary Faraone, CEO Holmesglen Institute, Christina Hong, Head of Academic, TAFE Queensland.
Manfred Polzin, The Netherlands MBO RAAD, Jose Luis Fernandez Maure, Basque Country TKNIKA industry agency, Martin Doel, CEO, Association of Colleges UK
Why work harder when you can work smarter?
What if there were shortcuts and more effective ways of using technology in our everyday work roles that could save hours every week?
The Work Smarter program is an opportunity to pool the collective technological expertise of the facilitator and participants to sharpen each other’s daily practice.
By taking the time to learn new technology tips and tricks, problem solve and share knowledge about current work processes and systems (including mobile and office technologies), workplace roles can be refined, and you can feel more confident in your ability to effectively manage technology-based tasks.
The free program consists of six free interactive online webinar sessions, held during July and August.
Participants will be able to download weekly factsheets and contribute their knowledge to a community of practice by connecting in online spaces and through social media.
These sessions are open to staff of the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment, as well as managers, project teams, administrators and trainers from training organisations.
All webinars are scheduled for a 10.00am beginning, with session dates and topics below:
- 10 July – Webconferencing (virtual meetings, online training, team coordination and more)
- 17 July -Time and tasks (self-management systems and technology)
- 24 July – Mobile devices and apps (using your tablet and phone)
- 31 July – Social media (tips and strategies for managing social media)
- 7 August – Better offices (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Adobe PDFs)
- 14 August – Communication (streamline your processes)
Click here for more information.
Diary Dates
‘No Frills’ – 23rd National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference
DATE: 9-11 July 2014
LOCATION: Holmesglen, Moorabbin Campus, Melbourne, Victoria
DETAILS: Click here.
Work Smarter Webinar Series
Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment
DATE: 10 July-14 August 2014
LOCATION: Online
DETAILS: Click here for more information
Victorian TAFE Association
2014 State Conference
DATE: 17-18 July 2014
LOCATION: Holmesglen, Moorabbin Campus, Melbourne, Victoria
DETAILS: Click here.
Vision 2020 – TDA National Conference 2014
TAFE Directors Australia
DATE: 1-2 September 2014
LOCATION: Sheraton on the Park, Sydney, NSW
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
Teaching & Learning Conference 2014
VET Development Centre
DATE: 4-5 September 2014
LOCATION: RACV Club Torquay, Melbourne
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
VETnetwork Australia 2014
Biennial National Conference
DATE: 17-19 September 2014
LOCATION: Darwin Convention Centre
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
2014 WorldSkills Australia National Competition
DATE: 18, 19 & 20 September 2014
LOCATION: Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
Australian International Education Conference
Inventing the Future
DATE: 7-10 October 2014
LOCATION: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
Group Training Australia
2014 National Conference
DATE: 12-14 November 2014
LOCATION: Grand Chancellor Hotel, Hobart
DETAILS: Click here for more information.
