Labor’s policy essentially creates a new layer of tertiary education that would involve universities and TAFE Institutes working together to deliver associate degrees and advanced diplomas.
The South Australian government has decided to largely limit funding for government-subsidised vocational courses to TAFE South Australia, the sole public training provider.
NSW Nationals’ leader Troy Grant has broken new ground by speaking Wiradjuri in parliament and at his party’s election launch – and it reflects a growing Indigenous language revival in NSW.
Recent weeks have seen various horror stories of the workings of dodgy private providers of vocational education and training, including the latest: a recall of certificates due to concerns of sub-par standards in these institutions.
Male domination of trades and trade courses in the automotive, construction, mining and energy sectors is entrenched above 95%, despite the substantial pay advantage compared to other trades such as hairdressing…
The Australian government is reviewing vocational education and training qualifications. The aim is to streamline a system that has educators, employers and government baffled by its complexity. The government…
In the 40 years since its inception, rarely has TAFE featured as a central platform on which political parties win or lose votes. As such it seldom rates mentions in political campaigns as a distinct sector…
Vocational education and training is crucial to developing the skills of the workforce, but the quality of training and development is under question, and it is a problem – a major problem. Public TAFE…
The reform of Australia’s federation is under review. In this special series, we ask leading Australian academics to begin a debate on renewing federalism, from tax reform to the broader issues of democracy…
After announcing a slew of changes to vocational education and training (VET) earlier in the week, Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane made further changes yesterday to the regulation of the sector. While…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane yesterday announced funding to engage young people in education and employment, and reforms of apprenticeship support services. This announcement…
Since their inception in 1974, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions have been the major providers of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia. This may not be the case in the…
Within a few months of coming to office the Abbott government established a Vocational and Education and Training (VET) Reform Taskforce. Over the past two years there have been three separate parliamentary…
On the eve of Good Friday, in apparent attempt to bury a bad news story, the Victorian government sacked seven of the chairs of its 14 standalone TAFEs and two more were to “retire”. These sackings came…
There might be a new premier in Victoria, but it seems there’s still no good news for TAFEs. The $200 million in structural adjustment funding announced this week is certainly welcome, but it is simply…
This year, the majority of TAFEs across the country have been threatened by state government changes to the sector. In New South Wales and Victoria, vocational education has seen institutional closures…
Senior Research Fellow in Youth, Research & Policy Centre, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Honorary Fellow in Education Policy, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne