Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations

Inquiry into the Role of Institutes of TAFE
Submissions

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Submission 63

VICTORIAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE SECONDARY PRINCIPALS

Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training on The Appropriate Roles of Institutes Of Technical And Further Education.

PREAMBLE:

The Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals (VASSP) thanks the Committee for the opportunity to participate in the review. VASSP is aware that a variety of reviews on TAFE have recently been carried out and decisions on structural arrangements in Victoria for TAFE Provision are imminent. The Association is also aware of ministerial attitudes regarding a preference for a seamless post secondary educational setting.

ABOUT VASSP:

This association was formed by the amalgamation of the Victorian High Schools Principals Association and the Association of Principals of Technical Institutes in 1986. In 1993 the Association attained its current form when it merged with the Victorian Vice Principals' organization.

Association membership is open to any person who holds a substantive Principal or Assistant Principal position in a Government Secondary School or, who is acting in one of those roles. Regional Principal Consultants are also eligible for membership. VAS SP membership includes approximately 700 Principals and Assistant Principals in approximately 380 government school locations.

The Association is governed by a Committee and an Executive. The Committee consists of the President, two Vice Presidents, Treasurer, 18 Group Representatives and 6 General Representatives. Provision is made for gender balance and balance between Principals and Assistant Principals. Both the executive and the committee meet on a monthly basis. The association conducts two general meetings each year.

Together with the Victorian Primary Principals Association, VASSP is a constituent member of the Victorian Principals Federation which represents the industrial interests of principal class officers. The VPF conducts negotiations with the DOE on a range of industrial matters including remuneration, employment contracts and performance review.

VASSP is also an affiliate of ASPA, the Australian Secondary Principals Association. Through the Australian Secondary Principals Association our members enjoy an association with the International Confederation of Principals.

CONTEXT OF SUBMISSION:

The continuing growth and internationalization of our economy, introduction of new technologies and its effect on reforming work practices and the associated changes in the National Training agenda stress the need for a highly skilled and flexible workforce. VASSP believes that in this context Vocational Education and Training (VET) must be regarded as part of the core business of secondary schools for students in their post compulsory stage. It is no longer appropriate to think of VET as something beyond and divorced from schools. The factors influencing this are:

• Continuing high levels of unemployment particularly youth unemployment.
• The introduction of new technologies, reformed work practices and the demand for experienced employees which have eliminated unskilled pre apprenticeship entry level employment opportunities which provided many traditional youth employment pathways.
• Changes to the Australian Vocational Training System which dramatically update the apprenticeship system and expand educational opportunities for secondary students via the new national framework which requires a coordinated effort to meet the projected demand for quality trained students.
• Increasing demand for tertiary education and the enhanced awareness of the opportunities of TAFE as a destination of secondary students.
• A range of national reports that have emphasized the need for increased training of the workforce to keep pace with other comparable OECD countries.
• The need for education and training to be a whole of life experience.

As an educational organization that plays a critical role in the management, educational leadership and delivery of secondary school teaching and learning programs in the State of Victoria we have a fundamental responsibility to maximize the future opportunities of students leaving our schools. In the context outlined we need to understand and integrate the new realities of the workplace, and to use this as a reference point to provide the support, leadership and curriculum development that will ensure all students are provided with opportunities that will enable them to follow the pathway of their choice at the conclusion of their secondary education.

The work place as an essential part of our social and economic fabric dictates that students should study and experience the "world of work" concurrently with other studies which have been designed to equip them for their future as Australian citizens.

Students irrespective of their future aspirations will require programs that address the changed realities of the workplace. It is therefore essential that secondary colleges enhance opportunities for young people via VET programs, to bridge the gap between individual expectations and the reality of the workplace.

The further challenge for schools and the community is to not downgrade the esteem accorded to university or academic pathways, but to acknowledge and provide similar esteem to the pathways of further education, training and work.

KEY ISSUES FOR VASSP:

VASSP believes it is appropriate to comment on matters affecting TAFE roles in relation to its interface with secondary schools in the implementation of VET programs in Schools. In general, it is also the belief of VASSP that the interface between the end of school, and tertiary education should be as transparent as possible whilst maintaining the sovereignty of the appropriate sector.

It is our view that the following series of principles should be taken into account during the inquiry and in any subsequent decision making process. Obviously the statements made relate to the Victorian Education scene. However, their extrapolation nationally would appear valid.

PRINCIPLES:

PRINCIPLE 1.

VASSP strongly supports the development of VET in Schools Programs. However, there will be VET areas that cannot be resourced in secondary schools because of specialist facilities, equipment or staff expertise and the VET sector, particularly Institutes of TAFE should continue to provide Vocational Education Programs for secondary schools. VASSP is opposed to any structural initiative that will broaden the gap for workable relationships between TAFE institutes and secondary schools making the choice more difficult for students. The effective relationships between schools and TAFE institutes must be encouraged and supported to ensure the most efficient utilization of publicly funded resources.

It is our opinion that:

• Education to Year 12 should be general in the sense that students should have the opportunity to experience a broad education including VET Programs which will assist them in expanding their aspirations regarding higher education, further training or the workplace.
• The expertise of the secondary school in the delivery of library, welfare and teaching resources to optimize student success in the VCE area are strong arguments for the sole provision of VCE occurring in the secondary school setting.
• The changes to the Youth Allowance scheme and a projected return to Victorian schools of 6500 young adolescents in the middle of 1998, have accentuated the need for the expansion of the breadth involved in the VCE. This aspect is expected to be addressed by the Victorian Government initiated review of the VCE.
• Victorian schools are currently funded to provide a minimal VCE of 16 units. The provision of VET programs (VET in Schools Programs) has placed a significant burden upon the financial resources of schools who have endeavored to provide the VET component through the purchase of teaching and equipment needs via TAFE institutes. The level of Federal and State Government resources provided to offset this cost has at the best reached 70% of the costs incurred by Victorian secondary schools. This is financially untenable.
• The real cost to TAFE of providing VET components for schools is significantly less than the initial indicative cost. The evidence for this is the large number of VET in Schools students who continue on to further VET studies at the conclusion of their VCE, thus, alleviating the need for TAFE to spend money in attracting these students. (Local research shows that students participating in VET in Schools programs are twice as likely to continue into TAFE)
• The role of TAFE institutes in facilitating Flexible Delivery modes for rural secondary schools must be enhanced.

PRINCIPLE 2:

Past experience has been that the allocation, distribution and spending of assigned government funding has met with unnecessary bureaucratic interference and long delays. In any new system this must be overcome. The determination of budgets at least six (6) months, preferably nine (9) months prior to the commencement of the school's planning process is essential.

In support of this the following is presented:

• Responsibility for the allocation of funds to support school programs has traditionally rested with the Division of Schools, Department of Education. VET in Schools Programs are designed as an integral part of a VCE program, yet funding resources to support these programs have followed the trail of ANTA to OTFE to Schools Division to Schools. Such a trail is unnecessarily cumbersome, time consuming and bureaucratic. In practice this process has seen each link within the chain requiring submissions and accountability reporting which has led to considerable additional work and frustration on the part of schools.
• The need for schools to develop longer term planning in the full knowledge of ongoing government financial support is critical. The diminishing level of funding for the off the job component of VET in Schools Program of 70% in 1997, 50% in 1998, ?% in 1999 and beyond is untenable.
• The area of funding for VET provision above the standard VCE funding provision needs investigation. It is the contention of Victorian Schools that the cost of such VET provision is considerably more expensive and significantly exceeds their VCE funding allocation.
• The levels of funding for VET provision in secondary schools should be such as to allow purchase or provision of the required service from the best source, be it, TAFE institute, registered training provider or in house.
• VET provision in a school encompasses:
• Workplace determination
• Workplace supervision
• Employer training
• Publicity
• Program coordination
• and schools must be funded to a level which will enable them to adequately facilitate all of the above areas.
• We are cognizant of arguments whose premise is that schools should be funded at the same level as a TAFE institute for the provision of VET. However, it is our view that an in-depth study should be conducted to ascertain the true costs to schools, above that of VCE, of providing VET for their students.
• VASSP is becoming increasingly concerned that in the area of VET in Schools Programs, schools within affluent areas are more able to access provision through parent contributions which are not available to students from families of lower economic status
• Best practice for VET in Schools Programs requires students to be involved in work placements. The organization and coordination of such placements is time consuming and expensive. Staffing components of schools which offer VET in Schools Programs should be amended to reflect the high staffing demands of this component of the schools program.

PRINCIPLE 3:

VASSP strongly supports the concept of transparency in the school-tertiary interface. However, structures must be implemented to ensure that each sector of tertiary education is equally valued and supported.

• The amalgamation of the university and TAFE sectors will cater for the community's tertiary education needs on a more equitable basis in that:
• one sector will not be valued above the other,
• students ability to articulate from one sector to another would be enhanced,
• the resources of each sector will be better used by an enhanced student base,
• it minimizes the need to make difficult further education choices at the time of exiting year 12
• Amalgamation would lessen the continuing historical perception that values university education above that of the VET sector.
• In supporting a concept of one tertiary education provider safeguards must be implemented to ensure that:
• Whilst economies of scale are obvious the quality of programs and services to students, schools and the wider community must not be compromised.
• Combined universities and TAFE governance arrangements would need to be reviewed to reflect the joint responsibilities and ensure that TAFE interests were well represented.
• Linkages within universities must not prohibit TAFE from operating effectively in the open training market, locally nationally or internationally
• The concept of life long learning is essential for the well being of the Australian community. In facilitating one tertiary provider it is essential that the value to both the individual and community as a whole that those programs previously offered under TAFE are highlighted and remain readily available. Students should be actively encouraged to pursue programs in the VET area as against programs of a more esoteric nature whose work outcomes are less concrete and of dubious value to the Australian community.
• The incorporation of on the job components in several undergraduate courses would enhance the value of those courses to industry. Such incorporation may become feasible through the utilization of current VET institute resources.

PRINCIPLE 4:

Quality Assurance issues must be implemented if VET in Schools Programs are to run successfully in secondary schools and achieve VET sector and industry credibility.

Any training obtained by students attempting VET in Schools Programs must be accepted by industry as recognized training for employment and by the VET sector for articulation purposes. For this to occur VASSP believes that the following must apply:

• VET in Schools Programs must operate within the ANTA credentialing system.
• All schools delivering VET in Schools Programs must be registered as providers of these programs.
• The registration procedures for VET in Schools delivery must be part of the standard VET sector delivery registration process. Any process of VET in Schools registration that is outside the VET sector is meaningless to industry and the VET sector and must be avoided.
• Industry training boards must be involved in the development of VET in Schools Programs, with such programs utilizing only nationally ANTA registered VET modules.
• VET in Schools Programs certification should only be issued upon the authority of the STB (State Training Board). State Secondary Education Authorities should perform no formal role in the issuing of such certificates.
• VET in Schools Program certificates should be the same, in status and detail, as any certificates issued by the VET sector for an equivalent program at the appropriate Australian Quality Framework (AQF).
• An aspect of the registration of a VET in Schools provider should be that the provider has implemented practices which would lead to the granting of Australian Quality Council recognition for quality assurance purposes.
• Publicity material (targeted at all media) should be developed to inform the community of the availability and value of VET in Schools Programs.

An integral part of insuring a quality program is the Professional Development of teachers and instructors who are involved in the presentation of the programs. It is our belief that the issue of Professional Development has been significantly neglected to this time. The following should be implemented without delay:

• Teachers involved in presenting VET in Schools Programs must have completed a registered PD program to a satisfactory level and received a recognized certificate to that effect.
• The above should also apply to VET sector instructors.
• The role of "on the job" learning should be exemplified with employers being supported (Training and Finance) to provide such training.

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