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The purpose of this statement is to provide an overview of the Australian government’s science and technology strategy. It sets out the major issues essential to developing the nation’s scientific and technological capacity and enhancing its contribution to meeting national needs. The strategy is presented under four broad headings: (1) the central role of science and technology in achieving national objectives; (2) management strategy (including an increase in overall funding of research and development); (3) human resources strategy (including research training); and (4) science and technology and the wider community. The government intends to increase the resources available for allocation to higher education institutions and researchers on the advice of the Australian Research Council (ARC) in consultation with the Higher Education Council (HEC). Additional funding will be provided to support research training and to open research scholarships, linking directly with industry. The health and medical research workforce will be strengthened through the provision of funding to assist young scientists transition into full independence.

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The need for reforms of the Australian vocational education and training (VET) system to build the skills of the workforce and to facilitate the processes of economic development and structural change had been well documented in previous Ministerial statements ('Skills for Australia' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.648); 'A changing workforce' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.675); and 'Industry training in Australia: the need for change' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.664)). This policy statement announces reforms that would underpin the award restructuring process already in process, with an extended and improved training infrastructure. The initiatives outlined in this statement aimed to enhance the quality, consistency and equity of the national training system. They included: organising a meeting of relevant Federal and State Ministers to seek agreement on establishing a National Training Board to determine national standards and skill competencies across a full range of industries and occupations; establishing a National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) to enable the development of national standards for competency-based skills recognition; allocating funding for skills audits, development of skills and competency-based training, curriculum development and an expansion of Training Services Australia and Group Training Schemes; funding to improve equity in apprenticeship arrangements to encourage more disadvantaged groups to enter the job market; and more flexible and broadly-based training arrangements. Show less

In 1988, the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, the Hon J. S. Dawkins, released a discussion paper, 'Industry training and Australia: the need for change' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.664). The aim of this paper was to provoke debate on measures both to improve the quality of training and to increase the amount of training being undertaken. The Employment and Skills Formation Council (ESFC) of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training (NBEET) was charged with providing an interim report by 5 May 1989 on the outcomes of the consultations to date.

This interim report aims to both summarise the views expressed during the consultation process and highlight the reforms which ESFC believes are required in the training system. The structure of the report is as follows. Chapter two provides a summary of the discussion paper and establishes the context in which the report was written. This includes a discussion of the pressures necessitating reform of the training system. Chapter three summarises the main issues as expressed in the written submissions and discussions, and assesses recent developments in industry training. Chapter four presents ESFC's advice on the direction of future reforms. Issues discussed include measures to improve the quality and responsiveness of the education and training system, measures to improve access to training for women and disadvantaged groups and the funding of an expanded and improved training system. Conclusions are presented in the final chapter.

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