Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Responses in the New Global Economic Context

Margaret McKinnonGroup Manager

Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Canada–Alberta International Conference, Calgary 31 August 2009

…three themes• Before the Global Financial Crisis – Australia’s

economic outlook

• Responses during the GFC

• Next generation economy and the role of VET

Australian Government election commitments• Trade Training Centres – $2.5 billion infrastructure. Trade

Training Centres enable senior school students to undertake combined academic and vocational pathways in their last years of school.

• Digital Education Revolution – $2.2 billion program to ensure every Australian senior school student has access to information and communication technology equipment

Australia’s vocational education and training system• 1.7 million students in

publicly funded VET programs

• 1 in 9 people between the ages of 15 and 64

• Majority of students are studying part-time

• 43.4% of students are 24 years of age or under

• Commencements in trade apprenticeships grew around 5.8% per year over the last decade

Impact of the Global Financial Crisis – Uneven across Australia…

• Youth unemployment is at 12.5% and rising

• The number of people commencing in a trade apprenticeship decreased by 21.9% in March 2009

• The trades where the fall in is sharpest are: automotive, engineering, construction, electro technology, telecommunications and the wood trades

• 363 localities were already classified as severely disadvantaged prior to the GFC.

Australian Government Responses• Infrastructure

• IT Infrastructure

• Productivity Places Program

• Youth Compact

• Redundant Workers compact

• Apprenticeship – out of trade measures

Council of Australian Governments – Education and training targets

• Lift the Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate to 90 per cent by 2015.

• Halve the proportion of Australians aged 20 to 64 without qualifications at Certificate III and above by 2020.

• Double the number of higher qualification completions (Diploma and Advanced Diploma) by 2020.

• 40% of all 25-34 year olds attain a higher education qualification by 2025.

Next generation challenges• Changing industry profile – longer term

structural readjustment – accelerated restructure due to the need for a “green economy”

• More and higher – Lift education and training levels of Australians and improve apprenticeship completions

• Address adult literacy and numeracy

Training for Sustainability• $650 million for Sustainability

Round of the Tertiary Infrastructure fund for VET, higher education and research infrastructure related to climate change and sustainability

• Training places for unemployed youth and for home insulation installers

• The commitment that trade apprentices that commence after next year will graduate with a core set of ‘green skills’

• National Green Skills Agreement

Language, Literacy and Numeracy• Greater attention to foundation skills training

• Ensuring that all training packages have Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LL&N) competencies

• Addressing the shortage of LL&N trainers and assessors

• Expanding the capacity of the community education sector to assist ‘reluctant learners’

Thank You

margaret.mckinnon@deewr.gov.au