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At a fundamental level, the role of tertiary education is increasingly being questioned, revealing deep uncertainty about its broader purpose and value. The authors of this volume suggest that the impetus for a rethinking of many of the traditional features of the tertiary education system in Australia is already present, with concerns for, among other things, the transparency of information for prospective students, student retention and outcomes under the demand-driven policy settings, the lack of research-industry engagement, and the overall value of tertiary education to the economy and society. The volume begins with a broad-brush overview of the current tertiary sector and the issues it is facing. The chapters then offer ideas for transforming Australian tertiary education. Each is grounded in current issues or trends but goes beyond present thinking to propose ways in which policy and practice might make major advances. The volume has been purposefully framed around tertiary education, rather than higher education, since a key decision for policy makers is how best to resolve current funding and regulatory anomalies created by the inefficiencies and complexities of the current system architecture.

The contents are as follows: Foreword / Richard James and Leo Goedegebuure; Futures for Australian tertiary education: developing an integrated, coherent policy vision / Sarah French, Paula Kelly and Richard James; A framework for differentiation / Leo Goedegebuure, Vin Massaro, Lynn Meek and Alan Pettigrew; Funding an expanded tertiary system: designing a coherent financing architecture / Gwilym Croucher, Jonathan Chew and Peter Noonan; Organising, leading and managing 21st century universities / Geoff Sharrock; To what degree?: alternative micro-credentialing in a digital age / Sandra Milligan and Gregor Kennedy; Engaging university teachers in design thinking / Kristine Elliott and Jason M. Lodge; Analytics of what?: negotiating the seduction of big data and learning analytics / Gregor Kennedy, Linda Corrin and Paula de Barba; Advancing equity in the Australian higher education system / Matthew Brett and Andrew Harvey; Universities and the evolving graduate labour market / Andrew Norton; Standards and quality in Australian higher education / Pip Pattison; Vocational education and the innovation agenda: towards the creation of effective innovation eco-systems / Leo Goedegebuure and Ruth Schubert; Internationalisation of Australian higher education: where for from here? / Douglas Proctor and Sophie Arkoudis; Redesigning the higher education workforce: a new architecture / Elizabeth Bare and Emmaline Bexley.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

The [Australian Science and Technology Council] ASTEC Technological Change Committee is to maintain a continuing review of the processes and trends in technological change in Australia and elsewhere, and evaluate and report on the direct and indirect effects at the national level including social, economic and technological effects. Technological changes have had and will continue to have profound effects on both the levels and the nature of employment. The present report is an exploratory overview of recently observed effects. It presents for discussion issues, views and conclusions that have been identified or formulated by a variety of commentators from different sections of the community. The report identifies several areas where government action could assist in taking maximum advantage of technological change for the economy and the workforce. These include: support for innovation; education, training and re-training; consultation with employees and unions; and women’s employment. The recommendations made relate to problems that are already on the national agenda or which, with reasonable certainty, will be there in the near future.

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This Senate Inquiry was the first national account of adult and community education (ACE) since the 1944 Universities Commission Report by W. G. K. Duncan. Its terms of reference were to: (1) examine and describe existing policies and practices in ACE; (2) consider the impact of current demographic, economic and social change on patterns of ACE, on education providers and on education funding; (3) identify barriers to participation in ACE; (4) examine the educational, employment and personal outcomes of participation in ACE; (5) consider the training and supply of adult and community educators; and (6) recommend policies, strategies and processes to provide a coherent approach to the provision of ACE and to enhance its role and contribution. The Inquiry report investigated the nature and extent of education and training beyond the conventional formal structures and systems. It formally recognised ACE as the fourth sector of education and highlighted a number of significant features that differentiate ACE from other sectors, including: its philosophy and operations promote lifelong learning in ways other sectors cannot; it is predominantly a user pays sector; it is flexible; it enables the clients to enter and leave as they require; it is non-compulsory; and it plays an important role in giving people a 'second chance' to overcome skill deficiencies and remedy shortcomings in previous formal education and training.

A follow-up report, 'Beyond Cinderella: towards a learning society', which looked at the structural and policy changes at Commonwealth level in adult education since this Inquiry, is indexed at TD/LMR 85.645. Show less

On 17 March 2005, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was asked by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Hon Warren Truss MP, to inquire into rural skills training and research. The terms of reference for this inquiry were to inquire into: the availability and adequacy of education and research services in the agriculture sector, including access to vocational training and pathways from vocational education and training to tertiary education and work; the skills needs of agricultural industries in Australia, including the expertise and capacity of industries to specify the skills-sets required for training, and the extent to which vocational training meets the needs of rural industries; the provision of extension and advisory services to agricultural industries, including links and coordination between education, research and extension; and the role of the Australian government in supporting education, research and advisory programs to support the viability and sustainability of Australian agriculture. In February 2007, the Committee presented its results from the review and found that severe skills shortages exist in rural industries and there are significant gaps in the capacity to respond to those shortages. The Committee made 29 recommendations for the government to consider and they included: the development of a national strategy on rural skills training, encompassing the school, vocational education and training (VET), and higher education sectors; making the regulatory framework surrounding VET more flexible and responsive to industry needs; rationalising training providers and reinvigorating vocational education and higher education in agriculture and forestry; revitalising agricultural colleges across Australia; providing agriculture and forestry courses at Australian Technical Colleges; developing a national extension framework to revitalise extension services; linking research funding to the provision of extension services; providing a greater security of funding for rural industry related Cooperative Research Centres; and developing a ‘skills passport’ to encourage the transfer of skills within and between rural industries. Show less

The inquiry into Indigenous education and training was referred by the Senate to Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Committee in March 1998. The Committee reviewed parliamentary, government and commission reports on Indigenous education and training of the previous 10 years. It assessed the recommendations made in these reports and investigated the extent to which action had been taken to address them. The Committee received submissions from all states and territories, made site visits, and conducted formal and informal hearings with Indigenous education stakeholders in four states and the territories. A key part of the inquiry was the identification of recent initiatives that had proven successful in improving educational achievement for Indigenous Australians. The Committee also compared the level of state, territory and Commonwealth resources devoted to education and training programs for Indigenous Australians over the previous decade. Most of the inquiry focused on the compulsory years of schooling because of the relatively low numbers of Indigenous students who complete secondary education. However, vocational education and training, adult education and higher education are assuming greater importance and were addressed in the inquiry as was the impact of health on education. Rural and remote areas were also a focus of the inquiry as Indigenous people living in these areas face great difficulty in accessing education. The educational needs of those living in urban locations were also examined. The inquiry found that equity for Indigenous people in most educational sectors had not been achieved. However, substantial progress had been made in a range of areas, with some major improvements in Indigenous educational participation. The result has been continuing failure in some areas and partial success in others. Show less

This report aimed to investigate the factors that have led to improved employment prospects in Indigenous communities, and to make recommendations relating to future policy.

The trends in vocational education and training (VET) were assessed, and an increase was noted in the number of Indigenous apprenticeships and Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) certificates following the implementation of various government programs and initiatives. Nonetheless, the report indicated a need for more flexible and culturally appropriate training, and suggested that the long-term sustainability and success of such policies and initiatives has yet to be proven. Show less

This report sets out a new direction for labour market policy in Australia. It is the outcome of the work undertaken by the Committee of Inquiry into Labour Market Programs chaired by Peter Kirby, formed in late 1983 in response to government concerns over the deterioration of the labour market since 1970, resulting in high levels of unemployment and a number of groups being disadvantaged in terms of access to employment, including women, young people, those with disabilities, and older workers. This final report documents the Committee’s examination of labour market policy and programs and the context in which they were developed and its recommendations for improvements. The Committee focused on the ‘fundamental philosophical, systemic and structural questions that needed to be resolved to develop a coherent framework for government intervention in the labour market’. The report’s recommendations were designed to foster a labour market policy which would give greater emphasis to the needs of the individual for access to education, training and other support to deal with a variety of labour market conditions. It is also advised that there be less centralisation of administration and more involvement of employers, unions, and community groups in planning, policy formulation and review. The most important recommendation, however, was the proposal for a new structured training system for young people. The Australian Traineeship System (ATS) was introduced in 1985 as the cornerstone of the Commonwealth Government’s Priority One Program for young people. Traineeships would combine broad-based vocational education and training (VET) in education and training institution with work in a related occupation to form an integrated training system. It was also intended that graduates of the scheme would have the opportunity to progress to more advanced areas of education, training or employment if they wanted to. Other labour market programs introduced in 1985-86 in response to the Committee’s recommendations were a general wage subsidy scheme, Jobstart, the adult training program and the community training program. The Committee also recommended changes to advisory structures for employment and training. The report covers current labour market programs and government structures for education, training and employment, approaches to labour market intervention, labour market planning, traineeships for youth, trade training, further training and retraining for adults, the rationalisation of wage subsidy programs, community based programs, and new arrangements for advice and administration.

The overview of the Kirby report and recommendations is indexed at TD/TNC 87.1160. Show less