Vocational education for the twenty-first century

This paper is one of a series of policy discussion papers presented by the LH Martin Institute. The aim is to contribute to the debate the Institute sees as necessary to reform and invigorate the tertiary education sector, in particular vocational education and TAFE. The series covers a range of topical issues, from policy settings, governance, funding, competency based training, social inequality and training markets. The crisis in Australian vocational education is more than a funding, marketisation or system design issue: it is a question of the fitness of our vocational education...  [+] Show more

This paper is one of a series of policy discussion papers presented by the LH Martin Institute. The aim is to contribute to the debate the Institute sees as necessary to reform and invigorate the tertiary education sector, in particular vocational education and TAFE. The series covers a range of topical issues, from policy settings, governance, funding, competency based training, social inequality and training markets.

The crisis in Australian vocational education is more than a funding, marketisation or system design issue: it is a question of the fitness of our vocational education model for our times. In the context of revolutionary digital technologies, continued globalisation, population ageing and changes to work patterns such as the emergence of the gig and post-work economies, we are failing to repurpose our vocational education resources to develop the twenty-first century capabilities needed by individuals, communities and industries. This paper starts with history, looking at how late twentieth-century vocational education revolution and counter-revolution trapped Australia's vocational education sector in a pre-digital time warp. The discussion will go on to reflect on promising concepts of vocational education emerging in some other countries as they grapple with twenty-first century challenges: what we can we learn from them and from our own experience. Finally, we will reimagine vocational education in Australia as it could be to increase inclusivity, innovation and prosperity.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website.