The Productivity Commission has released its research report on the Australia's Vocational Education and Training (VET) workforce, finding that there are significant shortcomings which need to be addressed.

 

The report found that  up to 40 per cent of TAFE sector workers who work as trainers and/or assessors do not have the necessary minimum educational qualification for VET practitioners.

 

It noted that to address deficiencies within the workforce, the VET sector requires:

  • more trainers and assessors with industry skills in demand;
  • greater attention to meeting changing contemporary skills needs; and
  • a wider base of the VET workforce that has at least basic educational capabilities.

 

The report also found that while a diverse range of public and private VET providers meets many of the expectations of students and significant segments of industry, some industry sectors, such as aged care, disability care and early childhood development, are concerned about the skills of VET workers assessed as competent by some Registered Training Organisations.

 

The Commission identified a number of areas where the VET sector and its workforce could operate more effectively. These include being more responsive to the needs of Indigenous Australians, improving managerial and leadership skills and making greater use of information and communications technologies.

 

The Commission's Deputy Chairman, Mike Woods, said that current capability gaps will be exacerbated by demands placed on the VET sector by future demographic, social, economic, and technological changes.

 

“One important reform is that all VET trainers and assessors should have an educational qualification that is relevant to their role. The Commission is recommending improvements in the design, delivery and assessment of their main entry level qualification.”

 

Mr Woods added that “a greater amount of well designed and targeted professional development is also needed. In particular, a number of VET trainers and assessors who have been in VET for many years need to refresh their industry skills.”

 

The report notes that existing industrial relations arrangements in TAFE make it difficult for individual institutions to respond flexibly to emerging demand pressures, such as in the resources sector and in human services. The Commission recommends that individual TAFEs be allowed to recruit, pay and manage their staff in ways that meet their particular business goals.

 

The Vocational Education and Training Workforce research report is the first in a suite of three Commission studies covering the workforces of VET, Early Childhood Development and Schools.  It is available at http://www.pc.gov.au