The Productivity Commission is to embark on a review of the effectiveness of the national agreement that ensures vocational education and training (VET) across Australia meets its goals and targets.
The Commission is to review the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD) in a project expected to take 12 months.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Michaelia Cash said the review was part of a wider plan for the Productivity Commission to undertake independent reviews of nationally significant sector-wide agreements with States and Territories.
“The Government is committed to continue the hard work of reforming the sector, providing better quality courses, and better outcomes for trainees and employers,” Senator Cash said.
She said the Commission is to examine how Governments can better coordinate their support for VET, options for improving funding and pricing arrangements and how to ensure that Government investment in VET produced the best returns for the community.
She said strengthening the VET sector would see all Australians have the skills they needed to succeed in a changing workplace with businesses having a pipeline of qualified workers to help them grow and prosper.
Senator Cash said the review would complement the Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow package aimed at skills and job creation announced in the 2019-20 Budget.
She said the Productivity Commission is to produce an interim report by 31 March next year and a final report by the end of 2020.
More information about the review, including the Commission’s terms of reference, can be accessed at this PS News link.
