Victorian aged care facilities have reduced the number of registered nurses employed in the sector following revised legislation which has allowed enrolled nurses to administer medication. Russell Freemantle, a PhD research student at Victoria University is conducting the first-ever research into ...
More »Deliver quality, or don’t take the money
A leading private provider talks about his concern about funds flowing to inappropriate providers In recent months Skills Victoria’s experimentation with market-based VET funding has been questioned in this column by tertiary education minister, Chris Evans, the National Party Minister ...
More »Work and study, it’s all academic
The raising of standards for vocational studies seems a good idea to some but may make them less accessible. I have no understanding why it is so. Perhaps it is because we have two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ...
More »COAG must act over VET changes
With alarm bells ringing in Victoria, there must be an inquiry into the shift away from public to private providers, writes Pat Forward. As government bureaucrats and politicians prepare for the first COAG meeting for ...
More »One campus with different goals
As unis, TAFEs and private providers move into each other’s territory some interesting challenges arise, writes Nick Fredman. It is not news that broad economic and social change, and government policy, are eroding the barriers between vocational and higher education. ...
More »Spin, slogans, scandals and statistics
John Mitchell talks to a senior TAFE leader who says avoid the Victorian model at all costs. Skills Victoria’s experimentation with market-based VET funding is causing increasing disquiet, even among the usual supporters of such policies. Recent reports by the Productivity ...
More »Private providers at the big table
Private educators still hanker for the same respect as those in the public system, but they have arguably gained a lot of ground since 1992. That’s the year governments recognised the value of a market-based approach to vocational education and ...
More »Cautious welcome by VET for wider HECS
A proposal by the federal government to extend HECS-style loans to some VET students has been welcomed by the sector, which has been lobbying for such a scheme for some time. Negotiations are still underway with the states and territories ...
More »COAG needs to rethink VET reforms
The Victorian government experimentation with VET funding is starting to unravel, with the latest revelation that one of its training providers increased its recognition of prior learning enrolments from 1 to 134 in one year. “Blind Freddy could have seen such ...
More »International interest up as gates open wider
Has international education in Australia found its way back from the wilderness? The Knight review of the Student Visa Program, released in March last year, made sweeping recommendations for changes to how Australia dealt with international students, starting with entry ...
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