The NSW Government’s flagged reforms to the TAFE system will undermine quality skills training and lead to a proliferation of shonky private operators, the Community and Public Sector Union warned today. The Government’s endorsement of measures outlined in the Public Sector Commission of Audit released last week will see TAFE institutes underfunded in favour of […]

The Gillard Government will invest more than $480,000 to help hundreds of young Australians get ready for further study, training and work. Minister for Youth Peter Garrett said 15 not-for-profit organisations will receive grants as part of the Australian Government’s Youth Development and Support Program (YDSP). “These projects will help young people, aged 12 to […]

Victoria’s Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall has slammed his federal counterpart Senator Chris Evans for playing politics with the state’s training system. Mr Hall said Senator Evans’ claims, made on last week’s 7.30 Report, that Victoria’s training regulatory body, the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), was not doing enough to crack down […]

The QLD Minister for Education, Training and Employment John-Paul Langbroek has today announced the finalists for the 51st annual Queensland Training Awards. “The State Government’s top industry awards honour achievements across a number of industries vital to Queensland’s success,” Mr Langbroek said. “These awards are about recognising the state’s best employers, apprentices, trainees, teachers, trainers […]

This webinar has been postponed. Please stay tuned to find out when it will be re-scheduled. Victoria is currently leading the country in the introduction of open market mechanisms and cost shifting lead by a philosophical view of education as a cost rather than an investment. John Pardy has been researching recent changes to Victorian […]

The Rio+20 Outcomes document should be celebrated for committing to promote Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) beyond the UN Decade and for identifying the importance of non-formal education programs for sustainable development. However, there still is a tendency to assume that ESD and education more broadly is about teaching young people for the future. While this […]

Western Australian Training and Workforce Development Minister Murray Cowper today announced 46 outstanding finalists in the 2012 Western Australian Training Awards.The finalists, chosen from more than 200 entrants, represent the brightest and best of Western Australia’s vocational education and training sector.They will vie for the title in their respective categories at a presentation dinner on […]

For those who work in the adult and community education sector, the link between learning and wellbeing is very clear, however ‘wellbeing’ is not an easy concept to quantify. In a recent briefing briefing paper from the NSW parliamentary research service titled ‘Measuring wellbeing’, Talina Drabsch explores the historical context and five main approaches of […]

A new study into the effectiveness of pre-apprenticeships shows that they have strong support from employers and training providers, and that they improve the prospects of individuals taking up an apprenticeship and completing it. The study finds that, contrary to some recent evidence, pre-apprenticeships play an important role in improving labour market outcomes in the […]

    The National VET E-learning Strategy is set to boost the innovative use of e-learning in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, with a release of guidelines for new co-investment funding opportunities in 2012. The joint Australian State and Territory Government initiative is offering co-investment funding for projects which strengthen the Australian training […]

Three community organisations will together use $250,000 of national grant funding to run events during Adult Learners’ Week 2012, tied to this year’s theme Digital Literacy. Parliamentary Secretary for Skills, Sharon Bird, today encouraged adult learners and their communities to participate in projects to be run by Adult Learning Australia, the Tasmanian Writers Centre Incorporated […]

Theme 1: The Power of Social Capital Building social capital to stimulate positive economic and social outcomes Local government, learning providers, community organisations, businesses, volunteers, social enterprises and business incubators can activate partnerships and agreements between organisations to achieve positive economic and social outcomes for people through lifelong learning. Dr. David McNulty David Mc Nulty […]

States and territories across the country will receive an additional $20 million from the Gillard Government to provide training for single and teenage parents to help them join the workforce. Announcing the funding today, the Minister for Skills, Senator Chris Evans, said the funding would give single and teenage parents on income support access to […]

A new collaborative training course in emergency response management is now being offered at NSW Department of Primary Industries Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre (MRSC) at Yanco. Since early 2012, MRSC has been collaborating with Riverina Institute of TAFE and the Australian College of Community Safety in South Australia to form a network for the delivery […]

A new study into the effectiveness of pre-apprenticeships shows that they have strong support from employers and training providers, and that they improve the prospects of individuals taking up an apprenticeship and completing it. The study finds that, contrary to some recent evidence, pre-apprenticeships play an important role in improving labour market outcomes in the […]