Australia’s peak body for independent providers in the higher education, vocational education, training and skills sector has put a number of measures to government amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Independent Education Council of Australia (ITECA) said it’s “facing a challenge” ...
More »Government’s stimulus package a shot in the arm for apprentices, trainees
The peak body for over 100 Group Training Organisations (GTOs) in Australia last week welcomed an injection of cash to help struggling small businesses retain apprenticeships and trainees – often on meagre salaries in their first years. Called the apprentice ...
More »AEU president, politicians call for funding restitution for beleaguered TAFE sector
Declining funding for TAFE was one of the key topics addressed during last weekend’s Australian Education Union’s (AEU) 2020 federal conference, held in Melbourne. Keynote speakers at the conference included AEU’s president Correna Haythorpe, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese and Shadow ...
More »Travel bans to China extended amid potential hit to international education
Australia could lose up a third of Chinese students to foreign universities as health concerns about the coronavirus – now called COVID-19 – continue to intensify in Australia. Australia’s latest move, which will extend the travel ban for another seven days, has ...
More »Reforms to the way ASQA operates don’t go far enough: ITECA
The peak body representing the independent higher education and vocational sectors believes proposed legislative reforms to the way the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) operates doesn’t go far enough. Parliament is currently considering the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator ...
More »Whistleblower calls for closer look at VET regulator’s practices
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) – Australia's VET regulator for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) – has been attacked for alleged over-spending, non-compliance measures and allowing unqualified auditors to undertake auditing activities. A whistleblower from Education Issues Australia contacted Campus ...
More »Eliminating rogue, ‘ghost’ and insolvent VET training providers
Heartbreaking stories of people signing up for courses to further their careers only to receive nothing and have an outstanding debt has been just one of the problems plaguing Australia’s VET sector after the VET FEE-HELP scheme was introduced. Bianca Hackett, ...
More »VET satisfaction high but trade commencements down
New data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows high student satisfaction with the overall quality of their VET training. The latest National Student Outcomes Survey revealed that of the 122,536 VET graduates who responded, 88.1 per ...
More »Upfront fee-paying TAFE and uni students may be unprotected after reforms
A statement released yesterday suggests that students and employers who pay the full cost of their vocational education and training (VET) will miss out on their fees being protected if a training provider folds. According to legislative reforms being debated before ...
More »Employers prefer VET over TAFE: survey
A new survey from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has found that employers prefer the independent VET sector over TAFE. Performed biannually, the 2019 data captured how employers view and use VET, measuring key metrics across independent ...
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