Federation Training has announced that its Managing Director of 20 months, Jonathon Davis, will leave the institute on Thursday 15 February 2018, for family reasons. Davis’s wife became seriously ill last year and he took extended leave to care for her.
He said that his wife’s carehas become his priority:
The Managing Director’s role at Federation Training is a particularly demanding one, both physically in terms of the travel given its geographical coverage, and in context of our Victorian TAFE sector during a time of significant rebuilding.
After much reflection, I know the time is right to prioritise my wife’s recovery.
The chair of Federation Training’s board said that Davis has many achievements to his credit in his short time at the institute:
…the curriculum has been realigned to focus on job-ready outcomes, student enrolments are now growing and our management team and teaching staff are externally focused, collaborating with industry and our Gippsland community.
Grant Radford, currently acting CEO at Chisholm Institute, will take over as interm CEO on 19 March. Until then Virginia Simmons, formerly CEO of Kangan and Chisholm Institutes, among other roles, will fill the role.
An executive recruitment agency has been engaged to oversee the process of appointing a permanent Chief Executive Officer, “consistent with selecting the best possible candidate to lead us into the future”.
Federation Training was created through the amalgamation on 1 May 2014 of Advance TAFE and GippsTAFE.
This year’s top ten reads were heavily skewed towards the “VET crisis” and attempts by authorities (rather belatedly in our view) to stamp out the obvious rorting, particularly in VET FEE-HELP funding, which has been truly scandalous. In fact, the number one post this year on The Scan is also the number one post of all time and by quite a bit. If you enter “rorting” in the search box in the top right hand corner, the archive runs to 5 pages, VET FEE-HELP runs to another 5 pages (obviously with some overlap) and that’s only the start of it. Quite why NSW university offers rated so highly might be explained by the fact that NSW newspapers now provide precious little coverage of the event. The seemingly generous pay arrangements of vice-chancellors certainly attracted reader interest (and good on The Oz for pulling the story together) and academic gongs remains a perennial favourite. However, the weightiest issue of the year in higher education was the late Abbott government’s deregulation package which died ignominiously in the Senate and led to then minister Christopher Pyne’s manic performance as The Fixerin an interview with David Speers on Sky News.
3 March 2015 | One of Australia’s biggest private training providers is being accused of using salespeople who target disadvantaged areas and enrol poor students with fake entrance exams. Last financial year Careers Australia billed taxpayers for almost $110 million in VET FEE-HELP loans. Former sales broker Chris Chambers confirmed that sales brokers were taking the entrance exams for potential students, and claimed he saw it happen 40 to 50 times.
20 January 2015 | As in Victoria, the traditional January main round of university offers in NSW, through the University Admissions Centre (UAC), is decreasing in prominence in the calendar. Offers through the year and direct offers are becoming increasingly the norm. This year, universities have made 46,507 offers through UAC ‘s main round, down 4,307 (- 9%) on last year.
15 June 2015 | Australia’s highest paid vice-chancellor, Michael Spence (University of Sydney) saw his salary package increase by $120,000 last year to reach $1.3 million, an analysis of annual reports by The Australian shows. He was followed by Greg Craven from the Australian Catholic University ($1.2m); Glyn Davis, University of Melbourne ($1.08m); and Peter Coaldrake, Queensland University of Technology ($1.06m). In all, seven vice-chancellors had salary packages over $1m, including two who left or retired. At the other end of the spectrum, the analysis of 2014 annual reports showed Kerry Cox, the recently retired head of Edith Cowan University, to be the country’s lowest paid vice-chancellor on $540,000.
22 April 2015 | Private training provider Vocation has been forced to recall more than 1,000 of its qualifications, including hundreds in child care and aged care, after Victorian regulators found the courses were sub-standard. Almost 200 students who completed a Certificate III in Child Care, 250 students who completed a Certificate III in Aged Care, and 383 students with a double qualification of business studies will have to hand back their qualifications and inform their employers. A total of 832 students, who all studied with Vocation in Melbourne between January until June last year, are affected. This latest audit by the Victorian Registration and Qualification Authority (VRQA) follows an investigation last year which found about 6,000 students had studied sub-standard courses. More than 3,500 qualifications were recalled, and Vocation was forced to repay $19.6 million in state government funding.
15 February 2015 | The new Victorian Labor government has announced a comprehensive, independent review of the funding of Victoria’s vocational education and training (VET) system, as presaged during the election campaign. Minister for training and skills Steve Herbert says the VET Funding Review will provide a more sustainable model for public TAFE Institutes and private training providers. Government contributions to public TAFEs fell from $733 million in 2011 to $468 million in 2014, leaving many TAFEs at risk of financial collapse.
12 February 2015 | Labor, the Greens and four independent senators (Senators Xenophon, Lambie, Muir, Rhiannon and Lazarus) have joined forces to establish another inquiry into higher education reform, to report by 17 March. The committee will consider alternatives to deregulation, likely future demand for places and implications on student loans, research infrastructure and regional provision. The inquiry will also look to investigate “the appropriateness and accuracy of government -advertising in support of higher education measures” and “other related matters”. University of Canberra vice-chancellor Stephen Parker, a strident opponent of the government package, says that the government’s failure to review any options to deregulation was both a “process failure” and “a democratic failure because it wasn’t flagged at the last election and it was even denied at the election.”
26 January 2015 | Six hundred and thirty five Australians have been recognised with Orders of Australia on Australia Day 2015, while a further 59 military and 130 meritorious awards were announced. Members of the tertiary education sector featured strongly in the honours list, with 81 awards, particularly in the upper categories. People associated with the tertiary sector received 4 out of the 5 Companion awards (80%), 16 out of 38 Officer awards were to people associated with the tertiary sector (42%), 46 of 156 Member awards (29.5%), for a 33% of the higher awards. In the most common category of Medal, only 15 of 434 awards were tertiary sector related people (3.4%). Women continue to be under represented with 33% of all awards, mainly in the Medal category. Only four of the tertiary sector awards were to people in the VET sector.
29 June 2015 | The Victorian Government is launching a major blitz to crackdown on “dodgy” training providers in order to lift standards in sector. A review by Deloitte has revealed widespread abuses, including qualifications being issued to students who have no demonstrable skills, inappropriate marketing practices, short course duration, providers claiming government funding for non-existent training delivery and poor oversight of third parties delivering training. Skills minister Steve Herbert said that since November 2014, the government has had to restore funding eligibility for more than 10,000 students who gained inadequate qualifications, and has found dubious practices in a range of qualification areas.
28 October 2015 | The Commonwealth government has released a synthesis report of the past seven reviews of higher education over the past 30 years rather than conducting a further separate review in the wake of its failed higher education reform package. Education minister Simon Birmingham told the Australian Financial Review’s Higher Education Summit said that the government is under intense time pressures to come up with a new and revitalised higher education reform package after its the package devised by former education minister Christopher Pyne was rejected by the Senate twice, largely due to intense community opposition over the plan to deregulate university fees.
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.
A century ago, in November 1915, physicist Albert Einstein unveiled a theory that would change the world — general relativity. ABC science reporter Bernie Hobbs explains this mind bending theory – the development of which was driven by experiments that took place mostly in Einstein’s brain (that is, so-called “thought experiments”) .
“The Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion research vehicle is offering a vision of autonomous driving in the future. The luxury saloon with total connectivity gives a preview of how the self-driving car of the future could become a platform for communication and interaction.”
“An emotionally-charged and often traumatic novel that is sure to shock you. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster, the likes of which I have never before experienced from a book. It’s my must-read title of 2015.”
“This was the year of the great unravelling, with international orders and borders challenged or broken, with thousands of deaths, vast flows of migrants and terrorist attacks on some of the most cherished symbols of civilization, both Western and Muslim.”
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A child standing near police controlling a rush of refugees into Macedonia.
“I’ve never seen a Cannes screening more hushed than it was during Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s story about a reluctant female assassin (ravishing Shu Qi) during the Tang Dynasty. Although the story is a bit puzzling and rarefied—Hou plunges us right into 9th-century China—the film is a triumph of pure cinema, staggeringly beautiful in its evocation of a distant time and sensibility. It has the mysterious radiance of a Vermeer.”
News Corp photographer Brad Hunter will join Tony Abbott’s media staff later this month, raising concerns that news photographers will gain less direct access to the prime minister.
The VET Store is a service by the VET Development Centre which provides access to a range of information to support VET practitioners in the work they do.
Chakara at 179 Acland St, St Kilda, and 387 Hampton St, Hampton has an extensive range of quality and unusual gift items. You can order online through Chakra’s Facebook page.
Mr Coulson has extensive experience working in industry and was the CEO of the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) from 2000 to 2007. He has also held a number of other senior roles in industry including Chief of Australian Manufacturer Jacyo Corporation from 2007 to 2012 and was a member of the Victorian Learning and Employment Skills Commission between 2001 and 2004.
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The Commissioner’s role is to work with industry to ensure that Victorian students get skills that will lead to real jobs and real productivity for industry and employers.
In announcing the appointment, skills minister Steve Herbert said Mr Coulson will draw on his knowledge to advise government on how the training system can better support the economy and jobs by addressing skills shortages.
He will also advise Government on how it can meet workforce training needs and boost productivity for employers as well as analysing the training needs of existing and emerging industries.
The appointment gives effect to an election commitment at a cost of $8 million over four years.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Internationally experienced university leader and academic, Professor Eeva Leinonen has been selected as Murdoch University’s next vice-chancellor, which has been shaken for more than a year by power struggles and a probe by the West Australian Corruption and Crime Commission..
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Professor Leinonen is currently a deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Wollongong, a role she has held since 2012. Prior to this she was Vice Principal (Education) at King’s College London.
She has an academic background in linguistics and psychology and has extensive experience in higher education in the United Kingdom, Europe and internationally, including 19 years at the University of Hertfordshire, where she served as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Dean of Health and Human Sciences.
Announcing the appointment, Murdoch University Chancellor David Flanagan said he was proud to appoint someone of Professor Leinonen’s calibre to Murdoch University’s top job. She will succeed Professor Andrew Taggart, who has been acting in the role for the past 14 months.
“Professor Leinonen is extremely well placed to deliver on our vision to be an internationally recognised research-led institution with high quality learning and teaching,” Mr Flanagan said.
“She is a distinguished researcher with international collaborations and outputs focusing on pragmatic language disorders in children. Professor Leinonen understands the importance of maintaining Murdoch’s research-led strategy.
David Flanagan thanked the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Taggart for his continued achievements in core priority areas of research, learning and teaching, and international engagement.
Professor Leinonen said she saw Murdoch as a university with a solid foundation, a strong research focus and an impressive vision to attract and retain students through quality teaching and learning.
“I am passionate about education and supporting students to reach their potential. I look forward to working with everyone at Murdoch to ensure we exceed student expectations and prepare them to succeed in their lives after graduation,” she said.
“I am excited at being given the opportunity to lead Murdoch University and I am very much looking forward to joining the team and engaging with Murdoch’s supporters and stakeholders.”
When she takes up the role in 2016, Professor Leinonen will be Murdoch University’s first female vice-chancellor.
Dr Michael Spence is the 25th Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney and takes over as Group of Eight (Go8) Chair for two years from 1 January 2016, succeeding ANU’s Ian Young.
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Australian born, the son of a high school headmaster (and presumably Mrs Spence), Dr Spence graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in English, Italian and law (working “five or six part time jobs” along the way). He then lectured in law at the University and worked for the Australian Copyright Council before moving to the UK to undertake doctoral studies.
Dr Spence is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of intellectual property and books on both intellectual property law and the law of obligations, with a critical focus on suggested ethical and economic justifications of the existing regimes. At Oxford he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology. He became a Fellow of St Catherine’s College where, during his 20 years there, he headed the law faculty and social sciences division – one of four divisions which make up the University of Oxford.
He returned to Australia to take up the position of University of Sydney Vice Chancellor in 2008.
Dr Spence is also an ordained Anglican Priest. He speaks a number of languages including Mandarin.
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It is a privilege as part of the Go8 to speak for Australia’s tradition of excellence, of innovation and creativity, in education and research. These institutions are crucial to Australia’s future.
Engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr Alan Finkel, is to be Australia’s new Chief Scientist. He will take over the role once the sitting Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, finishes his five-year stint in the job on December 31 this year..
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Finkel was most recently Chancellor of Monash University, a post he has held since 2008. He is also the President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).
Finkel is an outspoken advocate for science awareness and popularisation. He is a patron of the Australian Science Media Centre and has helped launch popular science magazine, Cosmos.
He is also an advocate for nuclear power, arguing that “nuclear electricity should be considered as a zero-emissions contributor to the energy mix” in Australia.
In the 1980s, he established Axon Instruments, a company which supplies tools for cellular neuroscience and drug discovery which was later bought by a US firm and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
In stark contrast to the climate-denialist image that plagued the Abbott government, Dr Finkel has publicly advocated for nuclear power and electric cars to help reduce Australia’s carbon emissions in the fight against global warming.
In an essay this year in Cosmos, Dr Finkel revealed that the electricity in his home was “100 per cent … green”.
Electric cars were the “transport technology of the future”, the engineer and entrepreneur wrote.
“One day, everyone’s driving could be close to emissions-free, like mine is. The more of us who buy electric cars and power them with green electricity the faster that day will come.”
His successor as Chancellor of Monash University, Simon McKeon said that one notable failure among Dr Finkel’s CV of successes, his time as chief technology officer at Better Place, would one day be viewed more favourably.
“Better Place will just be shown as a company that was ahead of its time. Science is all about risk,” he said.
Better Place, which aimed to supply battery-switching services for electric vehicles, filed for bankruptcy in Israel in 2013 after burning through $US850 million (then worth about $885 million) in private funds.
The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) President, Professor Andrew Holmes, has welcomed the expected appointment of Alan Finkel to the Chief Scientist’s role.
“The Academy is looking forward to the government’s announcement, but Professor Finkel would be an excellent choice for this position. I’m confident he would speak strongly and passionately on behalf of Australian science, particularly in his advice to government,” he said.
“The AAS and ATSE have never been closer; we have worked together well on important issues facing Australia’s research community, including our recent partnership on the Science in Australia Gender Equity initiative.”
Professor Holmes also thanked outgoing Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, for his strong leadership for science in Australia, including establishing ACOLA as a trusted source of expert, interdisciplinary advice to the Commonwealth Science Council.
“Since his appointment, Professor Chubb has been a tireless advocate of the fundamental importance of science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills as the key to the country’s future prosperity, and a driving force behind the identification of strategic research priorities for the nation,” Holmes said.
A leading education policy and research leader, Dr Sara Glover, has been appointed as Director of the Mitchell Institute.
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A leading education policy and research leader, Dr Sara Glover, has been appointed as Director of the Mitchell Institute.
Dr Glover has extensive experience working in government, higher education and research sectors across the fields of education, adolescent health, and education systems data and evaluation.
She brings an international network of education leaders to Mitchell, and an understanding of how Australian education systems can change and adapt to meet the needs of young people in a globalised society and economy.
On announcing her appointment, the Chair of the Mitchell Institute Board, The Hon. Lindsay Tanner described Dr Glover’s suitability to the role.
This is an excellent appointment for the Mitchell Institute. Sara brings a wealth of experience from both a policy and practice perspective and her passion and commitment to education and improving outcomes for all young Australians is outstanding. Sara has a refreshed vision for the Institute that is focused on the critical changes in education this country needs.
Under Dr Glover’s leadership, the Mitchell Institute will have a strong focus on addressing gaps in educational opportunity in Australia with particular emphasis on how our education and training systems need to change to equip all young people to live healthy and productive lives.
Australia needs deliberate policies and strategies that are bold and focused on the future, not the past. We need an education system that supports all young people to be creative, resilient and capable.
Old models need to change: governments, communities, business and institutions have to work together to create a different environment that gives all young people the chance to thrive – in a diverse number of ways – while meeting the needs of a modern labour market.
Dr Glover joined the Mitchell Institute in 2013 to lead its education policy program. She began her career in education as a teacher, before moving into curriculum development. She has held a number of executive roles within the Victorian Department of Education and Training and was the Director of Education and Training and a principal researcher at the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne for eight years.
After becoming embroiled in controversy over some of its marketing practices, Evocca College has restructured its Executive Leadership Team with the appointment of Craig White as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective as of 1 July 2015, following the decision of former Managing Director Robert Gordon to step down from this role and focus on his Board position.
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The position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), which is currently held by Mr White will be filled by KPMG Director David Schweitzer, effective as of 3 August 2015.
An experienced and respected finance industry figure, Mr White has been in the role of CFO at Evocca since his appointment in November 2014. He has extensive experience in financial leadership and management, having previously held the position of CFO at a variety of public companies, including the South Pacific and Korea Division of The Coca-Cola Company, Billabong International Limited, and most recently the Australian Agricultural Company Limited.
He holds a Bachelor of Science, Economics and Accounting (Southampton University, UK), a Master of Business Administration (Deakin University), is a Chartered Accountant and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Australia), a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, is on the Board of the Financial Executives Institute of Australia, and has undertaken the Coca-Cola Executive Development Program.
David Schweitzer is currently Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at KPMG where he has worked for 15 years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (University of Queensland) and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance (Finsia). He has been advising Evocca College for 18 months on strategic initiatives and was seconded to Evocca as interim CFO until Craig was appointed to this role.
Evocca says these appointments reflect a long term strategy and succession plan that Evocca has had in place for some time, reflecting the growth and development of the organisation into being the leading private provider in the VET sector in Australia, along with the organisation’s plans for further expansion.
Mr White observed that:
As the leading private provider in the VET FEE HELP sector in Australia, I feel that we have a responsibility to lead by example in maintaining our high standards and to continue to work closely with government and key stakeholders for further improvement throughout the industry.
Canberra Institute of Technology’s former chief executive Adrian Marron died on 4 July after a long battle with leukaemia.
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ACT Education Minister Joy Burch described Mr Marron as a fierce advocate for CIT and “a true servant of the public good”.
Adrian understood the power for education to change lives for the better. He understood well that to provide a person an education would make a difference.
She said his legacy will continue through the many students’ lives he influenced and through the institution, CIT, that he made so strong.
Mr Marron began work with CIT in May 2010, after serving as the managing director of TAFE SA’s Adelaide North institute.
Before establishing a career in the tertiary sector, Mr Marron worked as a music manager and promoter and on an oil rig in the North Sea for three years. He also worked at a brewery in PNG for four years before settling in Australia.
CIT chief executive Leanne Cover said he would be remembered for his passion for life and quirky sense of humour.
He worked tirelessly to improve the quality of vocational education and training in Canberra and Australia. During his five years leading CIT, Adrian ably guided CIT through significant changes in the vocational education and training environment, while making sure he was always personally available to CIT staff and students who wanted to discuss an idea or issue.
Mr Marron was a fellow of the Australian College of Educators, a board member of the TAFE Directors Association, and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.
Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz AM has been appointed as the new Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Board.
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ACARA CEO, Robert Randall, welcomed Professor Schwartz’s appointment , saying that:
Professor Schwartz brings extensive experience in the education sector to his new position as ACARA Board Chair. He has served as a vice-chancellor and president of three universities (Macquarie and Murdoch Universities in Australia, and Brunel University in England). A prize-winning researcher, teacher and author of 13 books, he is also the executive director of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Science and a director of Teach for Australia – an organisation that aims to give all children the best chance in life through an excellent education.
Professor Schwartz told The Australian that a crowded schools agenda is at risk of being “constipated” and teaching standards have fallen to the point where “the best and brightest” are snubbing the profession.
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… a crowded schools agenda is at risk of being “constipated”.
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He also expressed concern there was too much emphasis on teaching just to achieve high scores in National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests.
Professor Schwartz his mission is to advocate the “cause of education” while allowing more creativity and flexibility in schools.
But he said lifting teacher standards is crucial.
Teacher quality is a big issue for Australia; I think it is one of the most important ingredients in school learning. For too long teaching has been seen as not the profession for the brightest students, and it has a reputation that is reinforced by low entry standards. But it should be for the brightest (and) we need to do more to raise the value of the profession in the eyes of the public.
Professor Schwartz said he expects ACARA to continue pursuing a rebalancing of the national curriculum in line with recommendations made to the government by education researcher Kevin Donnelly and business academic Ken Wiltshire.
This should focus on streamlining subjects and prioritising the basics, such as literacy and numeracy in the early years of schooling.
We don’t want to have such a constipated curriculum that there is no room for schools to put their own touches on what students are learning. We don’t want to fill it up to the point where there is no room for anything else.
Four new ACARA Board members have also been appointed to replace outgoing members: Dr David Howes from Victoria; Ms Jayne Johnston from South Australia; Mr Paul Hewitt from NSW; and Dr Tim McDonald from the National Catholic Education Commission.
for family reasons. Davis’s wife became seriously ill last year and he took extended leave to care for her.
Mrs Spence), Dr Spence graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in English, Italian and law (working “five or six part time jobs” along the way). He then lectured in law at the University and worked for the Australian Copyright Council before moving to the UK to undertake doctoral studies.
It is a privilege as part of the Go8 to speak for Australia’s tradition of excellence, of innovation and creativity, in education and research. These institutions are crucial to Australia’s future.
