Advancing Australia's VET Sector - curated industry news #07 2022
Dear friends and colleagues,
There have been quite a lot of industry discussions going on in response to the recent national Jobs and Skills Summit, so we thought we’d provide you with an overview this month.
The 2022 Skills Priority List information was released this week in a joint media release issued by the Prime Minister and Minister for Skills and Training, revealing the number of Australian occupations with skills shortages have almost doubled - "a staggering increase, highlighting the urgent need to respond to the biggest skills and labour shortage in decades, which is compounding economic challenges."
“The Skills Priority list shows that 286 assessed occupations were in national shortage, compared to 153 occupations in 2021.?The demand for workers has grown with the number of jobs advertised reaching 309,900 in August 2022 – a 42 per cent increase from the same time last year with employers struggling to fill vacancies.”
More than half of the 20 largest employing sectors are experiencing a skills crisis, including teachers, GPs, registered nurses, electricians, carpenters, chefs, motor mechanics, machinery operators, drivers, labourers as well as aged & disability carers and child care workers.
“Our Jobs and Skills summit highlighted the importance of quality training opportunities to ensure better jobs and a better future for Australians. My Government is focused on growing our vocational and training sector, delivering 465,000 fee-free TAFE places to help address skills shortages, and upgrading key TAFE infrastructure. We also have a strong focus on opening up more opportunities for apprentices and traineeships, giving people on the job work experience.” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
This news was swiftly followed by a meeting of federal, state and territory skills ministers aimed at progressing a range of key vocational education and training reform matters.?
A joint media release issued stated: “As a nation we are facing the most acute skills shortages experienced in decades and key to addressing this is enhanced engagement across jurisdictions and with stakeholders.”
The Jobs and Skills Summit in September has been viewed as marking a turning point in the renewal of the national conversation on a shared vision for Australia’s economy and increased collaboration on addressing skills and labour shortages.
Immediate funding has been slated to deliver 180,000 Fee Free TAFE training places and?Skills Ministers welcomed the Commonwealth’s increase in the permanent Migration Program as an outcome of the Summit.
Discussions centered?on progress to establish Jobs and Skills Australia, which will provide independent advice on the current, emerging, and future workforce, skills, and training needs, and develop close partnerships with state and territory governments, industry including unions, employer bodies, and education providers.
A new long-term National Skills Agreement will be negotiated and Skills Ministers committed to collaborative engagement on a breadth of priority reform areas to achieve a VET sector with TAFE at its heart, aimed at providing:
“High-quality, responsive, and accessible education and training to boost productivity and support Australians to obtain the skills they need to participate in secure and rewarding employment and prosper in the modern economy.”
Standards for RTOs are being revised as part of important reforms and will be released for public consultation. These are aimed at improving the quality of training delivery through building the capability and capacity of teachers, trainers, assessors, and RTOs to innovate and deliver excellence in training focused on learner outcomes.
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An agreement has also been undertaken to develop a VET Workforce Blueprint to support, grow and retain a quality workforce.
“Skills Ministers also acknowledged the Summit’s strong message that renewed efforts are required to ensure that all Australians have opportunities to skill and upskill, with a particular focus on the participation of women and First Nations Australians, people with disability and young people struggling to enter the labour market.”
To help achieve this, TAFE Directors CEO Jenny Dodd has commented that the issue of TAFE funding must now be urgently addressed.
"TAFE desperately needs more flexibility to deliver training that employers need, now and for the future...better funding for vocational education and training is essential."
Experts in the field have raised concerns over extending and increasing visas for graduate international students as a perceived ‘silver bullet solution’ for skills shortages. Professor Ly Tran of Deakin University believes a range of systemic issues persist and reform to graduate visas is merely “papering over the skills gap.”
Additionally, Claire Field of Claire Field Associations warns that while international student visa processing is now way, there could be major integrity problems in store for VET.
“Let’s hope ASQA is able to identify and sanction providers deliberately targeting non-genuine students, who may be slipping through the net despite best efforts.”
In this newsletter, we have included a dedicated section to ASQA’s response to the national Jobs and Skills Summit, including its recently released Corporate Plan and Identified Risk Priorities for 2022-2023.
ASQA views the key outcomes of the recent summit as being full employment and growing productivity, with a strong focus needed for embedding women’s economic participation and equality as a key economic imperative strategy.
This view is a reflection of the keynote address given to the Jobs & Skills Summit by CEO Danielle Wood of the Grattan Institute in which she urged Australia’s leaders to forge a plan for full employment and higher productivity.
“A commitment to strive to maintain full employment is probably the single biggest commitment we could make to deliver better economic outcomes for Australians.”
We will continue to keep you updated with more as discussions continue to progress.