On the third day of the recent riots in England I was sitting in the community college in Dubbo NSW, 500 km west of Sydney, examining educational programs designed to give second chances to previously disengaged people, particularly Aboriginal people. ...

If the Certificate III in Aged Care Work and the Certificate IV Assessor and Trainer were designed to be the cornerstones of education and skill development for workers in aged care there is a problem. My experience with these qualifications began ...

It’s hard to miss the story in the mass media that the Australian retail industry is in bad shape. The tales of woe are relentless: sudden increase in online purchases from overseas providers, mass closures of local bookshop chains, supermarket ...

The current patchwork system of VET regulation increases the legal complexity for RTOs trying to comply, writes Haroon Hassan. There have dramatic changes in the regulation of the VET sector over the past two years.  The well documented impacts of ...

Will VET and higher education ever agree on a definition of quality, John Mitchell asks. The VET and higher education sectors are entering an exciting but uncertain phase, as both sectors begin to focus on a previously elusive goal, defining ...

Uni not turned out how you’d planned? Looking for a new direction? Like to stand out from the crowd? Then choose West Coast Institute of Training (WCIT).  These are just some of the clever marketing pitches used in advertisements by ...

A shift towards a renewed focus on pathways and linked learnings not only sets students in a direction but gives them options. In Australia and New Zealand there is increased discussion about the need to engage young people especially but ...

Over half a billion bucks is riding on workforce development plans, so the race is on to learn how to prepare and write such plans, and convincing ones at that. By John Mitchell. Absorbing Skills Australia, the National Workforce and ...

The fostering of novice researchers in VET is critical, says John Mitchell. A lack of quality research bedevils VET, leaving it at risk of being further damaged by poor policy decisions and mass media beat-ups. Two recent examples are the ...

If TAFE Institutes are to prosper under demand-driven conditions, then they need to be given more power to control their own destinies, writes Andy Smith In early May, Skills Australia released its long-awaited report on the future of the VET ...