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November 5, 2007
It is strange isn't it. The policy emphasis being on investment in skills training and skills formation to address the current skill shortages to ensure ongoing economic growth and prosperity for all. Inadequate workforce skills, it is argued, have contributed to Australia’s declining productivity performance in recent years. CoAG's reform agenda is to improve the skill levels of the Australian population (and thus increase the level of human capital).
Yet both sides of politics continue to ignore the public TAFE sector. Despite the vocational education being traditionally based on the kinds of on-the- job training offered through TAFE, the TAFE sector has become "the great Cinderella" of Australian education.
What we are being offered is a vastly enlarged technical colleges program by the Coalition to address the declining skills formation capacity. So we have a duplication of infrastructure, planning, resources, processes and results that are already available and recognised regionally, nationally through TAFE institutes and colleges.
Why so? Why isn't TAFE being reformed? Isn't this a viable way to address the growing need for more highly developed cognitive and behavioural skills amongst all levels of the workforce?
Is it a case that old policy instruments are now not necessarily adequate for the current situation. The old training regime was structured primarily around trades training, assumed ongoing (i.e. permanent) employment. The ALP's response is Skills Australia, a new institution to advise the government on how to address skills shortages in the work force.
What has happened is the “education” part of vocational education and training has been narrowed into “key competencies”, and then has morphed into “employability skills”.The dichotomy of “vocational” versus “general” education has become entrenched. What has been pushed to one side is the contextual knowledge and information about the trade which enables the worker to become an autonomous learner.
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Gary,
My recollection is that at the time Malcom Fraser was Minister for Education and Science there was a recognised shortage of technical people in Austrlia. The best of the Tech. Colleges were morphed into technical institutes of higher learning, eventually with university status. What became TAFE colleges were left behind and have been struggling ever since.
I do not know how or if the C'wealth does put money into TAFE? Does anyone know how the C'wealth arrived at the decision to create its own group of trade colleges. Was there consultation with the States, with industry, the unions. I suspect no to all of the above. Seems more like one of Howard's gut feeling things.
It is certainly a crazy waste of money and human resources to duplicate a system which is up and running. Build on what you have would have been more responible economic management. The current Government seems intent on duplicating bits and pieces of what the States are already doing. We will have utter chaos if it continues.
Your question about what knowlege and experience people need to have to safely perform tasks that are the convential and modern trades. We need to ask industry and the people who do the work. Certainly politicians are not likly to have the answers.