Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, urging him to personally intervene and fix supposed shortfalls in the VET student loans program. Shorten said that Turnbull policy’s approved course list is overly simplistic and “would have extreme ...

The changes to VET FEE-HELP will not prevent a repeat of history unless they adequately address some of the systemic issues of the past and prepare the sector for the future. In early 2015, a private-equity firm rang to ask ...

As the dust settles on the government’s proposed changes to Australia’s vocational loan scheme, VET-FEE HELP, we should be reminded of the need for proper consultation prior to broad reforms. By Jon Lang VET-FEE HELP, Australia’s vocational loans scheme, has ...

We can look back fondly and see an apprenticeship system with a long and proud tradition. It has been highly valued and has enjoyed a strong commitment from employers, unions, the training system, parents and apprentices themselves. Yet, if we ...

Learning a trade could help you become many things, including a TV star. That’s the message from the federal government in a YouTube video featuring Scott Cam, host of Channel Nine’s The Block program. Amid shaky footage and low-angle shots, ...

Earlier this year, Claire Rasmussen, director of VET practice at Federation University TAFE, completed a fellowship through the International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI), which took her to Switzerland and the UK. Concerned by the lack of strategy within Australia’s national ...

Australian teenagers with poor reading skills are no worse off than those with medium reading proficiency when it comes to future employment, a new study from the University of Melbourne suggests. The research, from UniMelb economists, found poor readers at ...

At least half a million young Australians won’t get the chance to develop their skills and get a better job if the government pushes ahead with a planned vocational loans overhaul, the sector warns. It’s also cautioning there could be ...

Adam Brimo is the chief executive of OpenLearning, an online start-up in which students can enrol for free and pay only for certification. OpenLearning recently signed a partnership with TAFE NSW’s Hunter Institute to launch a new VET platform called ...

Efforts to rebuild a cherished TAFE system face unprecedented challenges from a raft of failed policies. There is a whimsical Irish tale of a stranger who asks for directions to Dublin, only to be told, “If I was going to ...