Damian Oliver, University of Technology Sydney and Serena Yu, University of Technology Sydney
Lured by government subsidies, registered training organisations are enrolling people into VET courses that do not match their needs and for which there is a dubious case at best for taxpayer support.
Should the Federal government take over from the states in funding vocational education and training?
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The Federal Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne has recently added his support to the proposal for the federal government to take over full responsibility for funding Vocational Education and Training.
Vocational education and training students probably need income-contingent loans more than university students.
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The HECS revolution remains seriously incomplete because it does not extend to many parts of the vocational education and training sector - which still suffers from the scourge, hostility and unfairness of upfront fees.
VET in schools won’t necessarily get you a job right out of school, but it’s a good start.
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The South Australian government has decided to largely limit funding for government-subsidised vocational courses to TAFE South Australia, the sole public training provider.
What a young person decides to study should be based on an informed choice of what is best for them - not what will be subsidised the most.
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Under our proposal, governments would guarantee public support for eligible people between the ages of 18-24 years – not just to go to university, but also for vocational education and training.
A few anecdotes about dodgy Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers doesn’t mean that the whole system is broken.
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A few anecdotes about dodgy private training colleges don’t mean the whole system is broken.
Students undertaking vocational courses are less likely to pay back their student loan given many don’t earn over the repayment threshold.
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More than a third (40%) of government loans to vocational education and training students will never be repaid, according to a new analysis by the Grattan Institute.
Vocational education is underfunded, understood by too few, and too specific to allow students to go on to further education.
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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…
Complaints of dodgy providers of vocational education and training in aged care and child care show something has to be done to regulate private providers.
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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…
Funding of vocational education is suffering given neither the state nor Federal government has sole responsibility.
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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…
Changes to the regulation of Vocational Education and Training are good, but they ignore the real problem, that the sector is chronically underfunded.
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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 have unveiled their plan for Vocational Education and Training - but do they really know what they’re doing or should they leave it to the States?
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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…
There’s a unique opportunity to reform the VET sector.
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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…
With technology changing the landscape of higher education, The Conversation is running a series “Re-imagining the Campus” on the future of campus learning. Here, Mary Leahy considers the impact of allowing…
Education experts and senior academics have called on the Victorian Government to abandon budget cuts that they say will effectively privatise TAFE in Victoria and force several campuses to shut. In an…
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