The Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments have today agreed to fundamental reform of the national vocational education and training (VET) system to boost productivity and increase participation.
Reform of the VET sector is vital as the Australian economy undergoes a major economic transformation, with new opportunities arising from the mining boom, our plans for a clean energy future and major infrastructure investments such as the NBN.
A strong VET sector will also help Australians develop the skills that will drive a more productive and dynamic economy.
The reform agenda will be developed and considered by all governments in early 2012. It will look to:
* provide Australians with the opportunity to develop the skills they need to participate fully in the economic life of the nation;
* deliver high quality training that is flexible and demand-driven so that it can respond to the needs of employers;
* ensure our national training system meets the rapidly changing needs of the Australian economy and businesses; and -
* help Australian businesses take up new opportunities emerging in the economy and improve their competitiveness in global markets.
COAG also agreed that reforms to improve the quality of the sector through the newly established Australian Skills Quality Authority will be a priority.
Transparency of the sector will also continue through the implementation of the My Skills website, the introduction of a Unique Student Identifier and greater accessibility to VET data to lift the accountability and performance of the VET system.
The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Workplace Relations, Senator Chris Evans will be consulting extensively with stakeholders to ensure their input is fully considered in the development of the reform agenda.
The Australian Government has shown its commitment to improving and reforming the VET sector by establishing a national regulator and investing more than $10.9 billion over the last three years, including more than $700 million on capital work to improve facilities.
These reforms are already paying dividends with an increase the number of students studying at Diploma level and above has also increased over this period by 40 per cent.