Victim of “efficiency” and competition measures
TDA News | 5 April 2016
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A COAG-commissioned review of Australia’s landmark, five-year plan for skills has found that critical community and educational elements of TAFE have been eroded.………………………………………………………………………………………….……
The review of the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform (NPA) was undertaken by ACIL Allan Consulting last December and presented to the Council of Australian Governments on 1 April.
It reveals the extent to which so-called competition and efficiency reforms have been pursued at the expense of downgrading TAFE.
The review clearly states that the NPA was intended to pay regard to the position of TAFE in servicing the training needs of industry, regions and local communities.
“In other words, the NPA recognises that public providers are more than ‘just another provider’, though would benefit from greater guidance and specification in this regard,” the review says.
However, it clearly shows that this has not occurred in practice.
“Indeed, important community service and educational roles of the public provider were in some instances being eroded in pursuit of the efficiency and responsiveness measures within the NP,” the review finds.
“Transformation of the public provider role requires a steady, evolutionary process, otherwise there are strong risks of losing the value invested in the current capacity and capability of public provision,” it says.
TAFE Directors Australia (TDA)A Chief Executive Martin Riordan said the review confirms TDA’s long held concern that the NPA was never implemented in the way intended, with significant damage inflicted on TAFE in the process.