Next year, more than 1.4 million people are expected to enrol in some form of publicly funded, accredited vocational education and training (VET) or higher education in Australia. Many of these people will still be actively engaged members of society, working and making invaluable contributions to their communities, in 2070. This report was developed to address the question: How do we make sure that Australia has a post-compulsory education system that best equips them to do so? The Monash Commission was established in 2018 to help rethink the effectiveness of post-compulsory education... [+] Show more
Next year, more than 1.4 million people are expected to enrol in some form of publicly funded, accredited vocational education and training (VET) or higher education in Australia. Many of these people will still be actively engaged members of society, working and making invaluable contributions to their communities, in 2070. This report was developed to address the question: How do we make sure that Australia has a post-compulsory education system that best equips them to do so? The Monash Commission was established in 2018 to help rethink the effectiveness of post-compulsory education and training in Australia. In doing so, the Commission has considered possible new models for the future of the post-compulsory system across vocational education and training (VET), higher education and learning throughout life.
In conducting its inquiry, the Monash Commission has canvassed research from scholars, conducted interviews with industry representatives, students, and leaders of educational institutions, and tested its recommendations with key individuals who have worked at the forefront of post-compulsory education. The result is a proposal for a differently organised post-compulsory education system that is more attuned to the contemporary and future needs of Australia and its people – one that will prepare us with the knowledge, skills and confidence to plan a future for ourselves and give us the tools to realise it. The report comprises three recommendations to reposition the system for Australia's future: (1) Establish a statutory agency for post-compulsory education and training; (2) Introduce a universal learning entitlement and a lifetime learning account; and (3) Design a coherent, sustainable model of financing public providers.
To accompany the report, the Monash Commission has made available a number of resources including: Countries in focus: Canada; Diversity in Australian tertiary education: more than words? / Robert Griew, Jessie Borthwick and Cameron Barnes; Vocational education finances in context / Gerald Burke; Governing Australia’s post compulsory education ecosystem / Michael Mintrom and Andrew Gunn; Monash Commission: rethinking post-compulsory education in Australia / John Halsey; Extracts from the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education presented to the Australian Government, 31 January 2018 / John Halsey; Implications of the human capability approach for relations between Australian vocational and higher education / Gavin Moodie and Leesa Wheelahan; Australia’s future demographic and workforce challenges: the role of tertiary education / Peter Noonan; Uncharted Territory: the (re) politicization of international education / Christopher Ziguras; and Access and opportunity / Strategic Intelligence and Insights Unit.
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