Future-proof: protecting Australians through education and skills

This discussion paper sets out the vision the Business Council of Australia (BCA) has of creating a culture of lifelong learning and building a universal education system for Australians across schools, vocational education and training (VET), and higher education (HE). BCA proposes a 'tertiary system' with five core components: (1) Putting the learner in charge by giving every Australian a capped Lifelong Skills Account that can be used to pay for courses at approved VET or HE provider over the person's lifetime. The account would consist of a subsidy and an ICL, and replace all...  [+] Show more

This discussion paper sets out the vision the Business Council of Australia (BCA) has of creating a culture of lifelong learning and building a universal education system for Australians across schools, vocational education and training (VET), and higher education (HE). BCA proposes a 'tertiary system' with five core components: (1) Putting the learner in charge by giving every Australian a capped Lifelong Skills Account that can be used to pay for courses at approved VET or HE provider over the person's lifetime. The account would consist of a subsidy and an ICL, and replace all existing loans and subsidies; (2) Better market information so learners know what jobs are available, what they might earn, what courses are available, how much it will cost them, and their loan repayment schedule; (3) Maintaining the unique character of each sector - VET as an industry-led sector based around competency-based training and applied learning, and HE in providing advanced qualifications, learning for the sake of learning, academic inquiry, and world-class research; (4) A shared governance model clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each level of government and industry, and a new institution to manage LSAs and market information; and (5) A culture of lifelong learning that encourages people to use qualifications to build a strong foundation, and then dip in and out of short, accredited modules to effectively create their own 'credentials' that allow them to upskill and retrain throughout their lives.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication.

The reform plan, 'Future-proof: Australia's future post-secondary education and skills system' is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.286.