TAFE SA is the dominant provider of vocational education and training (VET) in South Australia, currently receiving an 85 per cent share of public funding. Its reach and reputation for reliably delivering training of a high quality has seen it acquire standing in South Australia not simply as a training facility, but as a somewhat iconic and familiar institution. While TAFE SA had come under criticism for being slow-moving, inefficient and overly protected, rarely were there concerns expressed about the quality of its VET delivery. This changed dramatically when an audit by the... [+] Show more
TAFE SA is the dominant provider of vocational education and training (VET) in South Australia, currently receiving an 85 per cent share of public funding. Its reach and reputation for reliably delivering training of a high quality has seen it acquire standing in South Australia not simply as a training facility, but as a somewhat iconic and familiar institution.
While TAFE SA had come under criticism for being slow-moving, inefficient and overly protected, rarely were there concerns expressed about the quality of its VET delivery. This changed dramatically when an audit by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) concluded that TAFE SA was non-compliant in a number of areas relating to assessment. ASQA gave notice in early December 2017 of its intention to suspend 10 qualifications from TAFE SA's scope of registration. The shock of this finding, and its implications not only for TAFE SA but for VET in South Australia, was such that the former government sought the resignation of the TAFE SA Board chair and accepted the Chief Executive Officer's offer to step down. It then commissioned two independent reviews: a Quality Review (to which this report relates); and a Capability Review. While both ultimately address the question of how to restore confidence in TAFE SA, each approaches this question from a different starting point.
The purpose of this Quality Review (the Review) is to 'make recommendations to ensure the quality, sustainability and reputation of the state's public VET provider'. It seeks to identify the systemic issues within TAFE SA that contributed to ASQA's adverse findings and set out the key reforms that would be needed to lift performance and thereby restore TAFE SA's reputation in the market and the wider community.
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