Most VET leaders are risk averse, but Larry Smith argues the skills that are encouraged in them are not the appropriate ones for the complex and challenging world they now inhabit. In an environment characterised by devolved business responsibility, increased ...

Will TAFE institutes become subservient in a tertiary system, asks John Mitchell. In recent weeks, several vice-chancellors have spoken out about the future of TAFE institutions and seem to have expressed two points of view. The first, articulated by David ...

While officials rail against an education-migration ‘nexus’, they’re unfairly connecting the two in the processing of student visas, according to the peak TAFE body. Political parties should keep migration issues out of the regulation of student visas, according to TAFE ...

Joseph Gora’s son is a first-year undergraduate and he’s already disenchanted with uni life. You know the song ‘Glory Days’ by The Boss - Bruce Springsteen. It’s a rousing anthem about how people reminisce about a fictitious past all aglow ...

Performance-based funding is appealing to governments, but Peter Ewell argues there are three reasons why it’s not an effective mechanism There is something quite beguiling about performance funding. It is relentlessly capitalistic and is largely in accord with the way ...

Which story exactly? The one about the increase in the number of university graduates that the western world lusts after, writes Stuart Middleton. Increasingly, we are becoming very specific about the skills and knowledge students need if they are to ...

The new expert panel on apprenticeships will grapple with some thorny issues, including accelerated training, employer bonuses – and just how important are apprenticeships anyway? The federal government is seeking expert advice on apprenticeship reform, amidst mixed signals on where ...

Skill shortages don’t matter if you can simply outbid other industries. Skill shortages are unlikely to hamper the resources sector over the next decade, according to a new report from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The report, ...

26 Jul 10 | Print this story | Send this story to a friend Will regional TAFE institutes survive the Victorian VET market reforms, asks John Mitchell. The national TAFE community is listening intently for any stories about the ramifications ...

Where do polytechnics fit within the emerging tertiary sector, asks John Mitchell. TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) recently released a discussion paper, ‘Blueprint for Australia’s tertiary education’, advocating a role for TAFE institutes in offering degrees supported by Commonwealth funding. One ...