The Productivity Commission has completed its review of the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD) and has sent its report to the Government.
The report recommends that NAWSD be replaced with a new principles-based agreement with capacity for Governments to get a better return from their investments in vocational education and training (VET).
It said a new round of reform for the VET system was needed to deliver a more productive workforce for Australia.
Commenting on the report, Commissioner, Jonathan Coppel (pictured) said Governments had stepped back from some of the NASWD’s policy aspirations.
“Targets have not been met and the performance framework has not held Governments to account,” Mr Coppel said.
“The guiding principle for the review is to strengthen the focus of the VET system on meeting the needs of its users — students and employers.
He said the Commission recommended changes to make the next intergovernmental agreement more effective and improve accountability for the $6.4 billion spent each year.
His fellow Commissioner, Malcolm Roberts said almost half of Government funding was distributed as subsidies to training providers.
“These subsidies should be based on the efficient costs of delivering courses,” Mr Roberts said.
“Having hundreds of different subsidy rates is confusing and ineffective; subsidy rates should be simplified.”
He said more courses, including Certificate IV courses, should be eligible for loans, with the emphasis on courses which delivered genuine results for students.
“Too many VET students do not complete their courses. Governments can support students — especially apprentices — to complete their training through better matching of students and courses, more support during training and timely employer incentives,” Mr Roberts said.
The Commission’s 518-page final review of NASWD can be accessed at this PS News link. A 60-page Overview is available at this link.
