‘YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY’ key agendas - partnerships and productivity

1. MEGT Board discussion 19 March 2013 ‘YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY’key agendas - partnerships and productivity Martin Riordan CEO TAFE Directors Australia

2. Policy context • COAG targets for workforce productivity • Higher education attainment • Increased workforce participation • Changing industry skill needs • Innovation and technology (NBN) • Skill shortages • Australian Workforce Development Funds • Reforms to VET in each state and territory • The shift to an entitlement model and training market • Different governance and funding arrangements in each state and territory • NSW, Queensland & Victoria each seeking recognition under NPA, for share of $1.75B reward payments • Victorian back down with additional $200M latest signal of change • Queensland proposal to push ahead with governance / TAFE reform • NSW Treasury reference of Entitlement pricing to iPART NSW

3. Policy context (cont.) • An interconnected tertiary environment • Most TAFE Institutes are now Higher Education Providers or in some form of partnership/alliance with a university • Limited Commonwealth funding to support students studying HE in VET available (currently only available to Holmesglen and NMIT) • The international education market • Australia in the Asian Century • Student visas • Green Skills • Importance of VET in developing green skills for the future • Quality provision • A changing regulatory and registration context (ASQA regulating VET, TEQSA regulating Higher Education) • Current review of quality standards for VET and HE providers. • Referral of powers by some States to the Commonwealth resulting in varying regulatory arrangements across jurisdictions.

4. Policy context (cont.) • Apprenticeships in crisis Dwindling consistency in completions in key trades MBA / HIA epressing serious shortages into the future Industrial impasse (unions and employer groups) • TDA interest in Budget 2013 proposal with Group Training (MEGT) Is there merit to approach Government with a new product offer, EG Trade Diploma, with apprenticeship ‘nested’ within course -- and start of course, and late application of institutional format funded on etension of FEE HELP – literacy, numeracy and ICT skill sets • AWPA Report ‘National Workforce Development Strategy’ offered no recommendations, despite citing apprenticships as confusing and dupplication

5. Policy context (cont.) • An interconnected tertiary environment • Most TAFE Institutes are now Higher Education Providers or in some form of partnership/alliance with a university • Limited Commonwealth funding to support students studying HE in VET available (currently only available to Holmesglen and NMIT) • The international education market • Australia in the Asian Century • Student visas • Green Skills • Importance of VET in developing green skills for the future • Quality provision • A changing regulatory and registration context (ASQA regulating VET, TEQSA regulating Higher Education) • Current review of quality standards for VET and HE providers. • Referral of powers by some States to the Commonwealth resulting in varying regulatory arrangements across jurisdictions.

6. TDA’s response on behalf of members • New Strategic Plan • Advocacy – ssupporting a strong, sustainable, high quality public provider (TAFE) sector in a competitive training market • Leadership in policy development • New services for members to meet changing needs • Suite of position papers • Innovative partnerships with industry • Skill shortages – apprenticeships & traineeships • TAFE in the interconnected tertiary sector • The role of the public technical and further education provider • Quality standards for VET provision • International • Green Skills • National and international networks • Green Skills • Higher Education providers • TVET • Regional Australia Public Providers

7. 1. Strategic Plan 2013-15 ‘TDA will lead with innovative advocacy within new VET environment’ • Survey of members, consumers and industry • Detailing perceptions on TAFE ahead of launch of new Strategic Plan • Victoria and Queensland surveys • Survey of 61 TAFE CEOs, senior executives • Mentor the “game plan” change for TAFE Institute members • New governance in all states / territories • Funding issues under NPA Agreement, within unstable Federal climate • Tight funding environment, learning curve for executives • Industry perspective – positioning under workplace training - Local approaches to enhance TAFE industry partnerships, SMEs - Bilateral work between TDA with state-based business networks

8. 1. Strategic Plan – Paradigm change

9. 3. Industry perspective Employment Two surveys: • Victoria (2010, 2011) • Queensland (2012): • general perceptions and opinions about TAFE including employers and industry • how well the community understands the proposed reforms to vocational education and training (VET) • how TAFE compares with other providers (in particular private colleges) • general satisfaction with current levels of service provision • Consumers & industry (sample 1000 surveyed) Occupation

10. Key Findings General community perceptions • Almost 80% of Queenslanders, including employers, regard TAFE as an extremely important community asset; one worth preserving regardless of cost • 83 % agree that TAFE plays an essential role in developing a highly skilled and productive workforce in Queensland • 78% agree that TAFE provides a quality standard of education • Over 80% agree that TAFE courses of high quality courses and are reliable and trustworthy • 74% agree that TAFE is important for disadvantaged groups within the community to obtain the skills they need • 84% agree that TAFE is critical for regional areas

11. Perceptions of Employers and Managers • Employers generally agree with the general community • The majority of employers or managers were in small businesses employing1 - 10 employees • In questions for employers or managers only, we found: • 63% agree that TAFE has the capability to address the skill needs of their businesses • Over 70% agree that TAFE works closely with local industry • Over 60% would recommend a TAFE qualification to others in industry • Over 60% regard TAFE courses as innovative

12. Perceptions of employers seeking employees • Employers strongly believe it doesn’t matter where a person is trained, it is their skills that matter • However, they regard TAFE graduates as having the skills and knowledge to do the job compared with graduates from private colleges (Av=3.83 cf 3.23 / 5) • When asked to rank (1 – 4) the qualification employers seek when looking for new employees: • the highest ranking went to TAFE graduates • followed by “It does not matter where the prospective employee's qualification has come from” • the lowest ranking was awarded to qualifications from an unfamiliar private college.

13. 2. TDA Position Papers • Innovative industry partnerships • Paper produced by Dr John Mitchell ‘Reinventing service delivery’ consisting of six case studies of exemplars of innovative partnerships between TAFE and industry • Launch of the publication was held in late Feb 2013 • Publication will be launched in QLD, VIC and WA in coming months • Skill shortages – Apprenticeships & Traineeships • Record evidence of emerging issues/shortages • Record duplication and confusion • Lack of alignment with Employment Services & RTOs • Solutions ... • TAFE in the interconnected tertiary sector • Paper produced by Virginia Simmons outlining the role and value of TAFE in tertiary education • Accompanying document containing 6 cases studies of students who have completed or are undertaking a degree in TAFE who may not have had the opportunity otherwise. • Both to be published in May, 2013

14. 2. TDA Position Papers (cont.) • The role of TAFE in skills development • Paper forthcoming in response to reforms in each state and territory and the recent release of ‘Future Focus, 3012 National Workforce Development Strategy’ produced by the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency. • Quality provision in VET • Paper forthcoming in response to the NSSC’s discussion paper on new quality standards for VET released last week, ‘Improving vocational education and training – the case for a new system’. • International TVET • Paper forthcoming. . Streamlined visas for international VET students?

15. 2. TDA Position Papers (cont.) • The role of TAFE in developing green skills • Case studies of embedding sustainability in training programs -- Illawarra TAFE, Swinburne TAFE, Sydney Institute of TAFE and TAFE NSW North Coast Institute of TAFE • A survey of 61 TAFEs (December 2011 - 30% response rate) indicating: • Culture– 83% of Institutes had a current sustainability plan with targets for environmental indicators, teaching and learning and infrastructure. • Curriculum - 81% Institutes cited active programs in sustainability. 30% of courses registered included sustainability competencies. PD in sustainability varied with some only delivering basic courses • Community – a modest response with several Institutes, mostly regionally-based, having strong community, regional and industry partnerships in sustainability http://ecommunities.tafensw.edu.au/pluginfile.php/918/mod_page/content/39/CoreCompetencyFeature.png

16. TAFE and Sustainable Campuses

17. Survey - National uptake of Green Skills (1) Green Skills/ energy efficiency training enrolments (Aust 2008 – 2010) Source NCVER Students and courses database) State training NSW - https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/training_providers/greenskills/general_resources.html

18. Con’t - National uptake of Green Skills (2) Green skills/energy efficiency enrolments by industry, Australia 2008 – 2010 (Source: NCVER, Student and courses database)

19. Contacts Martin Riordan – CEO TAFE Directors Australia Email: mriordan@tda.edu.au Telephone: + 61 2 9217 3180 Facsimile: + 61 2 9281 7335| THANK YOU