The communiques for the Ministerial Council of Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE), the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Standing Council on Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE), COAG Industry and Skills Council (CISC) (skills stream), COAG Skills Council, Skills Ministers' Meeting (SMM), and Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC) are a public record providing an overview of the outcomes of each meeting.
As a result of a COAG decision on 30 April 2009, Ministers agreed to a realignment of roles and responsibilities for the Ministerial Council on Education,
... Show more
The communiques for the Ministerial Council of Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE), the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Standing Council on Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE), COAG Industry and Skills Council (CISC) (skills stream), COAG Skills Council, Skills Ministers' Meeting (SMM), and Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC) are a public record providing an overview of the outcomes of each meeting.
As a result of a COAG decision on 30 April 2009, Ministers agreed to a realignment of roles and responsibilities for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE). MCEETYA was replaced by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), and MCTEE replaced MCVTE. At a joint meeting of MCVTE and MCEETYA on 12 June 2009, Ministers agreed to MCTEE commencing from 1 July 2009. A realignment of responsibilities and functions for MCTEE included a broader, cross-sectoral role for the council. As agreed by COAG, MCTEE had responsibility for higher education, vocational education and training (VET), international education (non school), adult and community education, the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), employment, and youth policy relation to participation in tertiary education, work and workforce productivity.
On 13 February 2011, COAG agreed to a new Council System consisting of Standing Councils, Select Councils and Legislative and Governance Fora. SCOTESE was established in September 2011. SCOTESE had high-level policy responsibility for the national tertiary education, skills and employment system, including strategic policy, priority setting, planning and performance, and key cross-sectoral issues.
On 13 December 2013, COAG agreed that its Council System should be streamlined and refocused on COAG's priorities over the next 12 to 18 months. This included agreement to establish CISC, which replaced SCOTESE. The inaugural meeting of CISC took place in Brisbane on 3 April 2014. Initially, the chairperson of CISC was the Commonwealth minister for industry, with membership comprising state and territory ministers with portfolio responsibility for industry and/or skills. The government of New Zealand was also invited to participate. The skills and industry streams of the Council routinely met separately, allowing the respective ministers to focus on sector specific issues.
The COAG Skills Council was announced on 9 August 2019 and replaced CISC. The Council assisted COAG by developing and implementing policies under the vision endorsed by COAG, ensuring the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a responsive, dynamic and a trusted sector that delivers an excellent standard of education and training. The Council was responsible for skills development and national training arrangements, with a focus on major policy reforms requiring Commonwealth-State collaboration. The Council's priority actions included ensuring the national training system delivers a highly skilled and productive workforce to support national and local economies.
In May 2020 the Prime Minister announced that the former COAG had ceased. It was replaced by a new architecture for federal relations including the Skills National Cabinet Reform Committee (Skills Committee). In addition to the Skills Committee, skills ministers had responsibility for the ongoing management of VET system through the Skills Ministers' Meeting (SMM). Both the Skills Committee and the Skills Ministers' Meeting provided a forum for intergovernmental collaboration and decision-making about skills development and national training arrangements. The Skills Committee and the Skills Ministers' Meeting consisted of ministers from each state and territory, with portfolio responsibility for skills issues.
The Skills and Workforce Ministerial Council (SWMC) was established following a review of Ministerial Councils in 2022 [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 155.151]. The SWMC provides a forum for national cooperation and stewardship across the VET system and on the intersection of skills and training policy with workforce issues. The Council collaboratively progresses items of national importance within the portfolio to achieve agreed objectives and priorities. SWMC meetings are held at least quarterly.
Edited excerpts from publisher's websites.
Show less
