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National education inquiry welcomed
23 Feb 2018 | Archive
The policy announcement made by Labor today to commit to establishing a national inquiry into all post-secondary education in Australia is welcomed by Australia’s largest and most representative business group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
CEO of the Australian Chamber, James Pearson, said “We have been calling for years for a holistic approach to education policy. In particular it is important that the post-secondary education system including both Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher education is reviewed collectively recognising that both are vitally important to deliver the skills the economy needs to grow and be productive.
“As the Australian Chamber strongly emphasised in our recent analysis VET needs urgent attention – funding from both federal and state governments has been reduced, and due to a range of policy failures, parts of the system, including apprenticeships, are in crisis.
“It is important to look at the system holistically. Higher education policy particularly as it affects sub-bachelor qualifications has a strong impact on VET and funding that is more favourable to deliver higher education can alter the choices that training providers make as to what qualifications to deliver.”
“It is also important that an inquiry takes into account decisions made by state and territory governments as VET in particular is impacted by their policy and funding choices. These choices concern TAFE, but also should encourage retention of a vibrant competitive system of public, industry and private providers delivering high quality education and training to all post-secondary students who are pursuing higher learning in order to secure their place in the workforce.”