Changes to the apprenticeship system are a “quantum leap” in training reform. VET figures have welcomed COAG’s decision to reform Australia’s apprenticeship system in line with recommendations from the Australian Apprentices Taskforce. Announcing the changes early last month, COAG said ...

What are the benefits of mandatory standards and compulsory professional development for teachers, asks John Mitchell. There is always controversy when governments propose compulsory basic standards for teachers, no matter whether it is the higher education or VET sector. This ...

Two states will go it alone and regulate their own VET providers – but not those with international students. VET colleges in Victoria and Western Australia will be overseen by the new national regulator if they take international students or ...

PPP graduates are more likely to find work, but they are also more likely to be looking for work in the first place. Previously unemployed graduates of the federal government’s $7 billion Productivity Places Program (PPP) are 9 per cent ...

What bright ideas will help TAFE staff develop new capabilities, asks John Mitchell. With mounting pressure on TAFEs to increase their ability to make money, in the future many more TAFE staff may be rated by their potential to generate ...

Are providers really moving towards market-based approaches, asks John Mitchell. There is a view circulating around the VET sector that many providers are becoming less dependent on government funding and more aligned with the fluctuations of the market. But in ...

VET graduate employment falls in 2009 The economic slump has seen the number of VET graduates employed after training decrease. According to the NCVER’s 2009 ‘Student outcomes survey’, 77.8 per cent of graduates were employed after training, compared to 80.7 ...

Not having a problem is a problem in the new, lean organisation, writes Ray Griffiths. There is little doubt that in a world of market contestability, user choice and uncapped funding for places, the efficiency and effectiveness of our internal ...

Last-minute bailouts have saved two ATCs, but a third hasn’t been so lucky. Uncertainty has hung over the Australian technical colleges (ATCs) until the very end, with the future of one of the colleges still unclear even though its founding ...

Two of the ambitious VET targets the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has set may be much closer to fulfilment than they realise. It all comes down to what is and isn’t counted. COAG has called for a halving of ...