A new Vocational Education and Training (VET) model has been agreed to by the federal and state and territory governments and was announced in late October by the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. Ai Group’s Chief Executive, Innes Willox, released a statement in response to the announcement, stating that the new model makes critical changes to Australia’s VET system that will make it more future-facing and more in-tune with the needs of industry, the economy and individuals.
Mr Willox said that while industry has long been central in informing and driving Australia’s vocational education and training system, the plan announced by Minister Stuart Robert to establish new industry clusters to take on the strategic role of workforce planning and labour market analysis is fundamental to making the VET system more relevant to the emerging directions in the economy and the workforce, and more able to develop the skills that will be needed in the future.
Ai Group sees it as vital to ensure that Australia develops the supply of skills needed now and into the future to enable a vibrant post-COVID economy. As large parts of the economy have emerged from protracted lockdowns, businesses are staring into intensifying skill shortages. This is coming at a time when the war for talent is global. While we need short-term solutions to this problem, including the expansion of skilled migration, it has never been more important to establish industry engagement and advice that is enduring, focuses on the medium term and builds our domestic skills supply.
A refreshing feature of the new VET model is the leadership role allocated to the Industry Clusters. This will involve deep and meaningful engagement across the providers and users of the VET system, including the National Skills Commission, National Careers Institute and ASQA. In addition, engagement with the delivery system will ensure better and more responsive implementation of changes.
Ai Group is actively involved in the Transition Advisory Group (TAG) that worked through the development of the new model, and is committed to promoting the development and design of a model that deeply embraces a strategic, future-facing industry led model.
