Newsletter: 17 November 2008

    TDA responds to the OECD report on VET in Australia

    TDA has welcomed the recently released OECD report Learning for Jobs: OECD Review of Vocational Education and Training: Australia. To view TDA's response to the OECD report click here

    Learning for Jobs calls for federal, state and territory agencies to overcome the governance imposed on vocational education, highlighting the contrast to higher education and similar lines of control and funding. The OECD questioned the complexity of Training Packages, calling for their review, aging of the workforce, and more transparency across providers.

    During the review process TDA hosted the OECD Provider Roundtable in Sydney in April.

    The OECD Report acknowledged the Roundtable, adding an extensive literature review and consultations with key Australian tertiary education stakeholders as key issues in its Australian review - one of 14 countries under the OECD benchmark review microscope.

    A summary of the outcomes from the April OECD Providers Roundtable is available here.

    The OECD report is available here.

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    TAFE career advisors receive scholarships

    Congratulations to the many TAFE career advisors that were awarded an Australian Government Scholarship for Career Advisers, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, last week.

    There were 96 scholarships announced overall including 76 'Study Scholarships' for post-graduate studies or professional development, and 20 'Industry Scholarships' for short-term work placements.

    To see a media release from the Deputy Prime Minister click here. To view a list of the awardees click here

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    Vice Chancellor from Group of Eight steps up campaign for US community college model re-structure post Bradley Review in Australia

    The Australian newspaper's Higher Education section has featured a call by leading Group of Eight advocate, the University of Melbourne Vice Chancellor, Professor Glyn Davis, for the creation of a community college network in Australia, similar to that which operates in California.

    Professor Davis insisted there was merit in looking at how the US-community college model may help combine TAFE and university campuses in a single entity, reportedly to be beneficial to rural and regional areas.

    Martin Riordan, CEO of TDA, is following-up, seeking a reply to The Australian. He said the article, featuring Professor Davis, made no mention of the adverse situation facing many Australian regional universities, nor how the community college restructure would be justified when, in fact, a key issue is over-supply of universities in Australia.

    Click here to read the article.

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    ABS figures show international education exports climbs to $14.2 billion

    New ABS Trade in Services figures show international education activity contributed $14.2 billion in export income to the Australian economy, in 2007-2008.

    This is an increase of approximately 23 per cent from the previous financial year. During the 10 years until 2007-08, education exports have grown at an average annual rate of 16 per cent, compared with an average annual rate of seven per cent across all services exports.

    A research snapshot is available here.

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    Project blog available for updates on new Training.gov.au initiative

    Members can follow the progress of the new Training.gov.au website through a project blog available here.

    The Training.gov.au initiative is a collective effort by Australian, State and Territory Governments to develop a suite of websites, tools and interfaces which will replace NTIS.gov.au and Training.com.au.

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    SOS request to TDA members -- International student integration

    Australian Education International has requested assistance from TDA Members on a research project to identify good practice examples of strategies that help international students socially integrate with other students and the wider community.

    Please click here to read the request.

    Expressions of Interest are due 31 December. For further information please contact Rebecca Biazos on 0407 550 180 or Rebeccabiazos@bigpond.com.

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    TDA to participate in Australia-Japan Conference

    Kevin Harris, CEO of Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE NSW, and Board Member of TAFE Directors Australia, will represent TDA at the fifth Australia-Japan Conference to be held in Tokyo, 19 November 2008.

    The high-level Government conference is an important part of the Australian-Japan bilateral relations, and discussions will be focused on revamping education and training linkages between Australia and Japan.

    NOTE - Members are invited to send through any comments, ideas and issues relating education and training and the Australian-Japan relationship to Rebeccabiazos@bigpond.com by COB, 18 November 2008.

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    Nominations open for Australian Vocational Student Prize

    Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, has called for nominations for the 2008 Australian Vocational Student Prize.

    The awards recognise exceptional skill, commitment and achievements of a student participating in a VET in Schools program or an Australian school-based apprenticeship.

    For more information click here.

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    NCVER report shows workforce development decisions of RTOs

    The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has released a report written by Geof Hawke titled Making decisions about workforce development in registered training organisations.

    The high-level report surveys and tracks the emerging and strategic role of the Human Resource Function within TAFE Institutes; importantly examining the processes that registered training organisations use to make workforce development decisions. It also shows how the decisions of RTOs support the personal choice staff make about their own development. Click here to view the report.

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    Diary Dates

    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS
    Australian Training Awards
    DATE: 20 November 2008
    LOCATION: Darwin
    DETAILS: For more information, click here.

    COMMUNITY SERVICES & HEALTH INDUSTRY COUNCIL
    Supporting the Health Profession - The next wave of workers
    DATE: 26 November 2008
    LOCATION: The Sebel, Albert Park, Melbourne
    DETAILS: For more information, click here.

    THE ASSOCIATION FOR ACTIVE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHERS (AARE)
    AARE 2008 International Education Conference
    DATE: 30 November - 4 December 2008
    LOCATION: Brisbane
    DETAILS: For more information, click here.

    AUSTRALIAN FLEXIBLE LEARNING FRAMEWORK
    eLearning08
    DATE: 26 November 2008
    LOCATION: Shangri-La Hotel, The Rocks, Sydney
    DETAILS: www.flexiblelearning.net.au/NSW

    PRINCIPLE MEDIA LTD
    Learning Technologies Conference
    DATE: 28-29 January 2009
    LOCATION: London, UK
    DETAILS: For more information click here.

    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS
    BIG Skills Conference
    DATE: 2-5 March 2009
    LOCATION: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour
    DETAILS: For more information click here.

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