Smart and Skilled year one program review

In January 2015, the New South Wales (NSW) government introduced new arrangements for the provision of subsidised vocational education and training (VET) qualifications under the banner of Smart and Skilled. Smart and Skilled provides funding for government-subsidised training to eligible students and providers for the VET qualifications most needed in the NSW economy. Its introduction heralded the beginning of a more contestable market for training in NSW. Smart and Skilled was designed to achieve six key outcomes: (1) increase participation in VET; (2) give students greater choice; (3) better meet industry training needs; (4) support disadvantaged students; (5) maintain TAFE NSW as a strong and viable public provider; and (6) improve the quality of VET.

In July 2015, Nous Group was commissioned by the NSW Skills Board to undertake a first-year review of Smart and Skilled. The review was conducted in two stages. Stage one assessed the effectiveness, adequacy and impact of the application and assessment process used to approve providers to deliver Smart and Skilled training. Stage two assessed and reported on how the broad policy settings of NSW's VET reforms have impacted outcomes in the NSW VET market, as a basis to provide advice on future policy, program and budget settings for Smart and Skilled. The report is presented in two parts: The stage one report, published in November 2015, contains the findings from the review of the application and assessment process for Smart and Skilled. The stage two report, published in June 2016, contains the detailed analysis from the review of the pricing and quality arrangements for Smart and Skilled.

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