Offshore refuge?

International education is a great export, but Australia should focus on positioning itself as a leader in skills training, according to caretaker education minister Simon Crean. If Australian education can’t convince international students to come here, it should go to them, experts are suggesting. Commentators stress that by setting up offshore rather than waiting for students to come onshore, providers can work to neutralise one of the key factors currently working against them – the strong Australian dollar. The dollar’s strength is a positive for providers seeking to invest in overseas facilities or campuses, they stress. And the strong currency could let colleges deliver their products more cheaply overseas, allowing them to cut fees and make their courses more attractive to overseas-based students. Caretaker education minister Simon Crean told last month’s Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) conference, in Melbourne, that education had been a great export for Australia. Crean, who agreed to address the conference at short notice, said Australia also had exceptional skills in areas such as mining and water management. He said Australia should concentrate on positioning itself as a leader in training to develop skills. “Our focus must be on the quality of Australian education – that is our greatest asset, and it must be maintained,” he added. ACPET told Campus Review that in order to remain competitive, international education would have to embrace different forms and models. “By broadening its base of operations, its source markets and its modes of delivery, international education in Australia can be more confident of a sustainable, stable future,” said acting CEO Claire Field. “By expanding offshore delivery, the industry can grow its investment in skills development, literacy and education that underpins cooperation in our region.” Field said the long-term success of international education in Australia depended on stable, cooperative relationships across the Asia-Pacific “and a multilateral approach to skilling our region, which moves beyond individual partnerships between nations”. And she said regulation would also play a crucial role. The industry has reached a point where interventions can “either strengthen, diversify and broaden a maturing industry, or impose a restrictive burden of regulation and compliance,” she said. “Typically the challenges faced at this point of development include diversification of the market, the development of new products and services, strengthening capability and enhancing positioning and profiling.” Crean downplayed the problems facing the sector, although he acknowledged that enrolments would “show some decline over 2010 and 2011”. He pointed out that while overall commencement had declined by over 6 per cent, enrolments had shown continuing moderate growth over the first six months of the year. However, most commentators say the far more dramatic decline in student visa grants points to serious problems ahead for the industry.