New figures show the number of students in VET in schools programs is on the rise, but there’s much room for improvement. The total number of students undertaking a VET in schools program increased by 25 per cent in 2008. ...

This year’s VET Fulbright scholar has workforce development in his sights. If there is one thing that could put the education revolution on hold, it is the ageing workforce. Schools, VET and higher education are all facing an impending crisis ...

Let’s consider letting non-permanent residents sign up for apprenticeships, says the shadow training minister. Australia should consider allowing migrants and overseas students to become apprentices, according to shadow training minister Mathias Cormann. “It would help ensure that training delivered to ...

What does industry currency really mean to VET practitioners, asks John Mitchell. The credibility of the VET sector hinges largely on whether the skills of its practitioners match the skills used in contemporary industry. But the industry currency of VET ...

Franchises may be a good option for TAFEs wanting to deliver degrees. Franchising arrangements may be the most promising collaboration model for TAFEs and universities, given that TAFEs are being excluded from the demand-driven funding system for higher education, according ...

The “university” name may be sacrosanct, but “TAFE” isn’t. Two private colleges call themselves TAFEs, and many more use the name promotional material. The Victorian government may move to protect the TAFE brand amidst signs that increasing numbers of private ...

Is the VET system capable of engaging small business people, asks John Mitchell. A large number of people in the Australian workforce who have been let down by the VET system are small business people. This was glaringly obvious to ...

VET’s future is best positioned in a federally funded tertiary system, according to former DEEWR deputy secretary and outgoing TVET Australia managing director Jim Davidson. Davidson said VET was facing increasing pressures to cooperate both above and below, as schools ...

Is it easy to reinvent a TAFE institute, asks John Mitchell. Can TAFE institutes reinvent themselves? This is a pressing question for the sector as it moves towards a market-based framework in the next few years in most states and ...

International students at the Austech were reportedly offered incentives to pay thousands in tuition fees just days before the college collapsed at the end of last week. Hundreds of international students including many Indians were reportedly crowded outside the main ...