Presenters: Mish Eastman, Deputy Vice Chancellor Vocational Education & Vice President Vocational Education and Robbie van Dijk, Director Governance & Strategic Initiatives
Interactive Problem-Solving Session Abstract
In September 2023, the Australian Government released its roadmap for Australia’s labour market, Working Future: White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities. Working Future provided an overview of what the five influences on jobs and employment are now and in the future: Population ageing, rising demand for quality care and support services, expanded use of digital and advanced technologies, climate change and the net zero transformation, and geopolitical risk and fragmentation.
It was estimated that in the next 10 years more than nine out ten new jobs will require a post-school qualification, of which 44 per cent will require a VET qualification. VET is expected to play an integral role in equipping people with the capabilities and skills necessary to respond to these job and employment influences.
Working Future provided some important points for consideration if VET is to rise to the challenge and meet expectations: Elevating the attractiveness of VET as an educational pathway, increasing completion in trade qualifications, lifting the relevance of training to meet future skill needs, creating industry-relevant training, promoting ongoing and workplace training, removing barriers to lifelong learning, and better collaboration between VET and higher education.
The question posed for this session is:
The VET system has an opportunity to make a significant contribution to workforces of the future that could change the status of VET.
a. What can the TAFE sector do to lead this change and respond to the need for lifelong learning; delivering integrated, industry-relevant training and pathways in a challenging and complex global environment.
b. What are our strengths and how do we identify and address challenges at pace and scale