Edition 57, June 2008

Strong response to government VET reform discussion paper

Over 80 responses have been received to the Australian Government's Skilling Australia for the future discussion paper.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has made all the responses to the paper available on the Productivity Places Program website.

The Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard, the Treasurer Wayne Swan and Employment Participation Minister Brendan O'Connor, released the discussion paper on 1 April 2008.

The paper explained the rationale and objectives behind the policy and outlined a road map of the government's intended reforms of vocational education and training.

The paper provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to provide feedback about the proposed architecture and implementation arrangements for the 630,000 additional training places, to be delivered as the Productivity Places Program.

The Skilling Australia for the future policy is focused on greater investment in skills training to increase workforce participation and productivity in Australia to boost growth while maintaining steady inflation outcomes over the medium to long term.

The policy is built around a new industry demand driven approach to training delivery. The new policy strengthens the role of industry skills councils and establishes Skills Australia as an independent high-level body to provide the government with advice about the future skills needs of the country and help inform public investment in training.

The reforms aim to halve the proportion of Australians aged 24 to 64 years without qualifications at Certificate Level III and above and double the number of higher qualification completions (diploma and advanced diploma) by 2020.

Some of the discussion questions included:

  • How should Skills Australia interact with industry groups to ensure that it has access to the most appropriate and up to date data?
  • How can industry skills councils encourage and highlight responsive registered training organisations delivering high quality training for their industry?
  • What can be done to ensure that the training outcomes for individuals and enterprises translate into appropriate employment outcomes?

For more information on the Skilling Australia for the future discussion paper and to view the responses www.productivityplaces.deewr.gov.au/Discussion_Paper_Responses.htm

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