Newsletter 21 November 2011
- Contestability debated by industry leaders
- TAFE Institutes rewarded for strong industry partnerships
- Strategic Regional Leadership Forum
- Taskforce to lead Queensland TAFE reform
- Participate in development of online skills profile builder
- NSW meet and greet with department heads
- Adult literacy forum
- Webinar presentation available
- Diary Dates
Contestability debated by industry leaders
The impact of contestability on the publicly-funded VET system was debated at a Thought Leaders Forum held in Sydney last week.
The forum, which discussed the lessons learned from the Victorian system and the roll-out of contestable funding models across Australia, was organised by TDA along with the TAFE Development Centre.
The forum featured three high-profile industry speakers:
- Pam Christie, Deputy Director-General of TAFE and Community Education, NSW
- David Williams, Victorian TAFE Association (audio, speaking notes, presentation)
- Pat Forward, Australian Education Union (audio, presentation)
Presentations and audio files can be accessed above, as well as a welcome address from Denise Stephens from the TAFE Development Centre. The Forum was well-attended by TAFE management, industry and government.
TAFE Institutes rewarded for strong industry partnerships
Congratulations to the TAFE Institutes who gained awards at the Business/Higher Education Roundtable Annual Collaborative Awards, held in Melbourne.
The awards recognise effective partnerships between industry and the tertiary education sector.
TAFE winners included:
- Best Vocational Education & Training Collaboration - Crown Melbourne Ltd and Swinburne University of Technology
- Best collaboration with a regional focus in R&D or Education & Training - Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, South West TAFE, Gordon Institute of TAFE, Wodonga Institute of TAFE, Victoria University and Partners
- Excellence in Accounting Teaching Award - RMIT and Partners
- The Ashley Goldsworthy Award for Sustained Collaboration between Business & Higher Education – Victoria University
See a media release here.
Strategic Regional Leadership Conference
The second Strategic Regional Leadership Conference was held in Port Macquarie on 18 November, with delegates welcomed by TDA member Elizabeth McGregor, Institute Director North Coast Institute of TAFE and Chair, Mid North Coast Regional Development Australia.
The Hon Simon Crean MP, Minister for Regional Australia and Rob Oakeshott MP, Federal Member for Lyne headed an impressive array of Australian and international speakers examining the opportunities for identifying regional leadership for innovation.
The conference invited people living in the regions to work across services by “joining the dots” and to identify the sustainable advantage of their place based location.
To find out more about the speakers and the conference program click here.
TDA was delighted to be one of the event partners of the Conference.
Taskforce to lead Queensland TAFE reform
The Queensland Government has announced the formation of a ministerial taskforce to lead a three-year transformation of TAFE Queensland.
The Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining, the Hon Stirling Hinchliffe, has appointed former Director General, Peter Henneken AO, to lead the taskforce.
Click here for more information.
Participate in development of online skills profile builder
TDA members have been invited to participate in a scoping study for the development of a national “Skills Builder” - an online automated tool that enables an individual to manually input their skills to generate a skills profile or map.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has requested that the feasibility and viability of such a service be measured by the study.
A series of consultations will be held around the country, and the information gathered will contribute to the scoping study. Dates and locations include:
- Perth, 29 November
- Adelaide, 30 November
- Hobart, 1 December
- Melbourne, 2 December
- Canberra, 5 December
- Sydney, 6 December
- Brisbane, 7 December
- Darwin, 8 December
For more information please contact Marnie Kennedy, of Miles Morgan, on 08 9228 8089, or by email at marnie@milesmorgan.com.au.
NSW ‘meet-and-greet’ with department heads
TAFE NSW Managers Association will be holding an end-of-year forum titled, “Messages from Above”, which will provide an opportunity to meet with the new Director General of the Department of Education and Communities and Managing Director of TAFE NSW, Dr Michele Bruniges, and Deputy Director General, Pam Christie.
The event will be held at the Sydney Institute of TAFE, Ultimo Campus, Building A, on Tuesday 6 December.
Places are limited. Click here for a flyer.
Adult literacy forum
The NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council Conference 2011 will be held at the University of Technology Sydney, on 9 December.
The conference is titled “Participation, Partnerships and Professionalism: the ‘other’ PPP of Adult Literacy and Numeracy”, and is aimed at literacy and numeracy practitioners.
Click here for more information.
Webinar presentation available
For those who participated in the recent Scenarios for Australia to 2025 webinar, the presentation from the event is now available.
A PDF of the presentation can be found here.
Diary Dates
2011 AUSTRALIAN TRAINING AWARDS
DATE: 25 November, 2011
LOCATION: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank
DETAILS: Click here for more information
SERVICE SKILLS AUSTRALIA 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Quality in the Making
DATE: 27-28 February, 2012
LOCATION: Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane
DETAILS: Click here for more information
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