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 ...
More »‘Does it take a village?’ Community influence on university aspirations
Equal access to post-school pathways has been a focus of the government, perennially concerned about developing a robust future workforce to carry the nation forward. A more subtle aspect of this idea of equal access is equal aspiration. How attractive ...
More »Education institutions ‘ill-prepared’ for cyber ‘beast’: report
A new report has warned that Australian education institutions are ill-prepared for the cyber-security threats of the digital age. Commissioned by cyber security group Cisco, the report provides clues as to why successful cyber attacks are happening more often and ...
More »It’s time to end the apprentice hunger games
A wall of inequality was built into our post-schooling system decades ago, and today its legacy has left us with an educational caste system of haves and have-nots. Despite countless reviews and attempts to break it down, this wall is ...
More »Tradie to nurse: the men who could help fill the nursing shortfall
With an ageing and growing population, the nursing industry has to try and keep up. The number of RNs needed is expected to hit 330,900 by 2023, up from 279,600 in 2018, leaving a shortfall of 51,300 jobs. There will also ...
More »Election 2019: What’s in it for VET?
While there is very little difference between what the Coalition and Labor are offering in school funding – save for Labor’s plan to provide universal early childhood care – their commitments to the VET sector differ sharply. In today’s Media ...
More »Budget roundup: universities say surplus a missed opportunity
The government is touting a $7.1 billion surplus in its latest Budget but universities aren’t celebrating. Universities Australia said the surplus was a missed opportunity to reverse cuts to university funding. Chief executive Catriona Jackson said: “It makes no sense ...
More »VET review: Professor urges schools to ditch VET/uni dichotomy
A Murdoch University professor has criticised schools for encouraging students to choose between a VET or university pathway. Barry Down, a VET and student engagement specialist, says this dichotomy has become unrealistic. "The reality is that society requires smart workers and citizens with ...
More »Diversity more than a multicoloured student body: US community college leader
The American TV show Community, which aired between 2009 and 2015, humourised the experiences of community college students. The usual stereotypes – a single mother, a former drug addict, a film student – featured, yet the show gave them a depth ...
More »Labor’s $10 billion-plus promise to prospective uni students
With a looming federal election tipped to go Labor's way, the party is releasing policy specifics. Having birthed the demand-driven system, Labor has explained how it will revive it: with $10 billion dollars, which it says will boost student numbers by ...
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