VET special reports

This week we feature a number of news stories and comment pieces that cover the main issues in the vocational educational training sector. Those issues include the ongoing debate about the value of the public versus the private sector. They also include the concern about the demand-driven system in Victoria and a skills shortage that is deepening while the main players continue to fight it out in public Gillard unveils skills reform plan - The Gillard government is putting an extra $1.75 billion on the table for the states in a bid to overcome skill shortages. A middle ground in the VET debate – Skills Queensland boss Rod Camm writes that there is room for public and private institutions in the sector, but to say no change is needed is wrong and risks us missing great opportunities. VET ‘a forgotten corner’ - Experts in the sector say the Gonski review has ignored an opportunity to advance vocational education in schools. Progress comes with some pain - With private providers in the firing line, ACPET chief executive Claire Field reflects on the council’s 20 years of leadership in the sector. TAFEs power regional economies - Government funded institutes play an important role in retraining workers and can’t be left to wither on the vine, says an experienced chairman writes John Mitchell TAFE union scaremongering, says Hall - Victoria’s Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall has accused a union of making misleading claims about job losses at TAFEs during a series of rallies at rural and regional institutions. Detail on reform needed, say TAFE chiefs - A ministerial speech on the Gillard government plan for major skills reform lacks the detail the VET sector is seeking, say TAFE Directors Australia (TDA). VET debate is ‘out of balance’ – Victorian skills minister Peter Hall writes that Victorian is being unfairly targeted by commentators including Campus Review. He puts out his side of the story.