Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
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Submission 56
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment,
Education and Training Inquiry into the Appropriate Roles of Institutes
of Technical and Further Education.
1. Need for a Review of Tertiary Education
It has been clear or some time a review of tertiary education (ie vocational
education and training and higher education) is long overdue. Consequently,
the announcement of the West Review of Higher Education, with terms of
reference clearly focussed on higher education, was a major disappointment.
This Inquiry is therefore welcome. Nonetheless, a comprehensive independent
review of tertiary education remains necessary. The Standing Committee
should consider recommending a full review of tertiary education.
2. Creation of a Training Market
Since the establishment of the Australian National Training Authority
(ANTA) in 1992 all Governments have committed themselves to the creation
of a client focussed training market. Features of this proposed market
include: flexible delivery of learning funding based on user choice
Funding based on a form of user choice has applied in the traineeship
area for a number of years. Beginning in 1998, funding based on user choice
will be progressively introduced for traditional apprenticeships as part
of the Commonwealth Government's "New Apprenticeship" scheme.
ANTA has indicated its desire to extend user choice funding to other areas
of vocational education and training. Queensland and other states have
already made considerable moves in this direction. The end result of these
initiatives could be to deprive TAFE institutes of some or all of their
traditional direct public funding and require the institutes to bid for
their funding in some form of "market". Whilst it is likely
that, in the short term, TAFE institutes may remain the major players
in this market, it is increasingly likely that private VET providers,
secondary institutions and universities will be attracted to bid for both
commonwealth and state VET funds, especially in low cost "paper-based"
fields.
In these circumstances, where TAFE institutes could be squeezed at both
the "bottom" and "top" of their existing activities,
it is inevitable that the institutes will look to diversify their activities
and funding sources. The alternatives could be contraction and, perhaps,
closure or amalgamation with other institutions.
3. The Traditional Role of TAFE Institutes
TAFE Institutes have been established by state and territory governments
through the amalgamation of previously existing TAFE colleges. This has
been a phenomenon of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Exceptions exist
in Victoria (and to some extent, the Northern Territory) where both multi-sectoral
universities and TAFE institutions have been established.
The roles of TAFE institutes vary a little from state to state, but essentially
have been inherited from the pre-existing colleges. The roles include:
- entry level training at traineeship and apprenticeship levels. Whilst
the number of enrolments in traineeships has increased in recent years,
apprenticeship enrolments have dropped considerably. Entry level training
is a significant (around 20%) component of the activity of TAFE institutes.
- other vocational education and training including para-professional
(diploma and advanced diploma) training.
- adult secondary education
- adult and community education (ACE)
- specially funded government programs such as labour market programs
(LMP) and English as a Second Language (ESL).
- provision of VET programs on a fee for service basis for both institutional
clients and individual students including those from overseas.
The range of activities of TAFE institutes is thus quite broad. However,
the dominant role has been, and continues to be the provision of vocational
education and training from entry level up to and including professional
level.
4. The role of Secondary Schools and Colleges
Over the past 25 years the role of the secondary sector has increasingly
become the provision of general education necessary for life in a modern
democratic society. This has included preparation for further study, especially
within a university. It may well be that this aspect of secondary education
- preparation for university - has become the measure of success in secondary
education despite the fact that only around 30% of students make the direct
transition from school to university. In recent times governments
- commonwealth, state and territory - have recognized that secondary education
needs to be a preparation for work, for vocational education and training
and for higher education as well as for life in general. As a result there
is now an increasing, and welcome, focus on vocational education and training
in secondary schools. A result of this could be that secondary schools
may become competitors within the VET market.
5. The Role of Universities
The role of universities appears to include a wide range of components,
some of which overlap with TAFE. These components include:
- undergraduate education including vocational education (nursing, physiotherapy,
teacher training etc).
- postgraduate education including vocational education (graduate certificates,
diplomas and "professional" higher degrees).
- research and development.
- consultancies.
- adult and community education.
Some universities, particularly in Victoria, include a TAFE component.
While these are primarily universities which have evolved out of technical
institutes (eg RMIT and Swinburne), some of the longer established universities
(eg Melbourne), have acquired TAFE components.
Other universities, especially those in regional NSW and Queensland,
are increasingly offering vocational education and training programs at
diploma , advanced diploma, associate degree and graduate certificate
levels.
Pathways In Education
Until recently school leavers had three well defined pathways available
to them - get a job, go to university or go to TAFE. The situation is
no longer quite so simple. While combinations of employment and part-time
tertiary study have always been available, the permutations open to school
leavers are now broader.
Many tertiary institutions, particularly TAFE institutes, will give credit
for students at the secondary level. To an extent tertiary studies can
now commence in school.
Credit transfer arrangements between universities and TAFE institutes
operate in both directions and allow students to access the strengths
of both TAFE and universities. Unfortunately, many - indeed most -
universities are loath to grant more than 50% status for studies in TAFE
irrespective of the merit of the particular situation. The consequence
for the individual TAFE graduate seeking a degree is an extra year of
study and the loss of considerable income during that year. The consequences
for society is that it must bear much of the cost of this extra year of
study.
The Future for TAFE Institutes
Broadly speaking, TAFE institutes have been established to provide vocational
education and training relevant to the needs of an educated and flexible
workforce. TAFE institutes now operate in a market along with other providers
including schools and universities.
Under such circumstances it is inevitable that the roles of providers
- be they private or public, be they secondary or TAFE or university -
will overlap and that there will be competition between the players. Competition
implies that, at least to some extent, the services and products provided
by the various providers will aim to serve the same clients. petition
also implies that there will be "winners" and "losers".
It is therefore likely that we will see TAFE institutes attempt to expand
the range of services which they make available to their clients - both
individuals and employers. It is also likely that institutes will move
to service their individual clients' needs throughout their lives/careers.
If this happens it is very likely that we will see TAFE institutes
offering vocational education and training from entry level up to, and
perhaps beyond, first degree level. Qualifications at the top end
of the scale - vocational degrees - could be offered by individual TAFE
institutes or could be offered in conjunction with existing degree granting
institutions. The justification for this change will be the improved pathways
for students and reduced education and training costs for the community.
Aidan O'Leary Convenor, National TAFE Science Network C/O Canberra Institute
of Technology PO Box 826, Canberra City, ACT 2601
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