An independent reviewer of Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector has revealed some of his findings so far, including the role Government funding plays in the sector.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review the independent reviewer, former New Zealand Minister for Skills, Steven Joyce (pictured), said one of the key recommendations of his review would be to address what he saw as a bias against vocational education in favour of universities.
Mr Joyce said he was surprised by the lack of information on VET pathways being provided to school leavers.
He said confusion over funding was also of significance and that performance-related funding was likely to be a recommendation of the review.
He said the current financing arrangements created “strange incentives” that encouraged people to “study things that might not be in their long-term interest”.
Mr Joyce said training packages were not responsive to industry needs and one way to improve this would be to make Government spending relate to outcomes such as student retention, graduation rates and “long-term employment destinations”.
“In New Zealand we put a bit of work into outcomes measures and how they inform future funding,” Mr Joyce said.
“We want to encourage the sector to be responsive. We want to focus on employment outcomes,” he said.
The review continues with further consultations this month and a report to the Government in March.
