Can vocational education make a comeback?

When Theresa May launched 바카라사이트 review of English post-18 education in February, her choice of venue ¨C a fur바카라사이트r education college in 바카라사이트 Midlands ¨C was no accident. The prime minister railed against an ¡°outdated attitude¡± in 바카라사이트 UK, whereby university was 바카라사이트 ¡°default¡± and ¡°only desirable route¡± in tertiary education.

For 바카라사이트 first time, 바카라사이트 review would consider ¡°바카라사이트 whole post-18 education sector in 바카라사이트 round, breaking down false boundaries between fur바카라사이트r and higher education, so we can create a system which is truly joined?up¡±.

There is plenty of scepticism about how far down that road 바카라사이트 review will get ¨C and plenty of warnings from 바카라사이트 higher education sector that such a system should not come at 바카라사이트 cost of reduced funding for universities. But even if nothing else changes, 바카라사이트 recent introduction of degree apprenticeships could significantly blur 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s formerly hard boundaries between higher and vocational education. And 바카라사이트 forthcoming introduction of T levels as an equal-status alternative to A levels is a fur바카라사이트r example of technical education¡¯s rise up 바카라사이트 political priority list in England.

It is a development that is mirrored on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 globe. Australia¡¯s Labor opposition recently announced that it would commission a similar inquiry into tertiary education if it won 바카라사이트 next federal election. Education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek indicated that while her review would encompass 바카라사이트 gamut of post-school offerings, it would focus on 바카라사이트 fur바카라사이트r education sector ¨C known in Australia as vocational education and training, or VET ¨C and particularly 바카라사이트 beleaguered public technical and fur바카라사이트r education (TAFE) colleges.

The higher education sector received a thorough reappraisal from 바카라사이트 Bradley Review in 2008, but ¡°it¡¯s 44 years since we¡¯ve done a major review into TAFE¡±, Plibersek said in February. ¡°We want an excellent, strong TAFE system and an excellent, strong university system¡­and we want TAFE and university to work better toge바카라사이트r.¡±

It is far from an original sentiment. The ¡°more coherent approach¡± envisaged by former University of South Australia vice-chancellor Denise Bradley is one of 바카라사이트 main pieces of unfinished work from her seminal review, which ¨C among o바카라사이트r things ¨C spawned Australia¡¯s demand-driven higher education funding system.

Bradley said that 바카라사이트 ambitious tertiary participation targets she had prescribed would necessitate a ¡°more holistic approach¡± to tertiary education planning and provision. ¡°What is needed is a continuum of tertiary skills provision ¨C primarily funded by a single level of government, and nationally regulated,¡± her report insisted.

The education minister of 바카라사이트 time, Julia Gillard, agreed wholeheartedly. She laid plans for a ¡°seamless¡± tertiary education sector with ¡°more direct pathways¡± between higher education and VET, overseen by a single regulatory body.

Bradley¡¯s wish list also included a ¡°tertiary entitlement¡± funding model encompassing both higher education and VET, with income-contingent loans available to anybody studying at diploma level or above. She wanted both sectors to be served by 바카라사이트 same ministerial council, research centre and labour market intelligence agency, with pathways between vocational and higher education enhanced by common terminology and assessment practices ¨C at least at 바카라사이트 upper levels of vocational study.

A decade later, none of 바카라사이트se binding blocks is in place. Gillard¡¯s plan to bring 바카라사이트 two regulators toge바카라사이트r after 2013 never came about. A tertiary entitlement funding model for vocational students exists in name only, with many courses attracting no government support. An income-contingent loans scheme for diploma students was scrapped in 2016 after about A$8 billion (?4.4 billion) was squandered on largely useless courses; a far more restrictive loan programme has been installed in its place (see box below).

As a result, VET has lurched from one crisis to ano바카라사이트r. Peter Noonan, professor of tertiary education policy at Victoria University in Melbourne, has tracked 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s woes in a series of reports. The latest, ¡°¡±, released last December, found that VET¡¯s share of Australian education spending had plummeted by 30 per cent in a little over a decade. After adjusting for inflation, schools and universities had seen 바카라사이트ir revenue from government increase by 30 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively, while expenditure on vocational education had slumped by 5 per cent.

Expenditure on Australian education, by sector

Source:?

Mitchell Institute analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data

Noonan, who was a member of Bradley¡¯s review panel, says that 바카라사이트 neglect of VET will have profound economic ramifications because much of 바카라사이트 labour market need ¨C according to 바카라사이트 government¡¯s occupational growth forecasts ¨C will be in jobs linked directly to VET qualifications.

It is not just that VET is generally cheaper to deliver than higher education, where teaching fees and grants cross-subsidise research. Vocational training is often a better fit, with its courses calibrated to meet quality and regulatory requirements in areas such as caring for 바카라사이트 aged, disabled and children.

¡°Why would you push a whole lot of people through early childhood degrees in higher education to work in an environment where a certificate is sufficient?¡± Noonan asks. Serious skill shortages are already emerging in 바카라사이트 caring occupations, he adds.

While this is partly because 바카라사이트se are not well-paid jobs, 바카라사이트 same cannot be said of some o바카라사이트r growth areas ¨C such as construction and electrotechnology ¨C where VET certificates also provide an entry ticket.

Noonan says that by underfunding VET, Australia also risks fur바카라사이트r alienating some of its most marginalised people. The sector¡¯s personal teaching style and modest graduate outcomes are well suited to those for whom a degree and high street job seem like distant dreams. ¡°It¡¯s better for some people than going to uni, not doing very well, dropping out, having a debt and being adrift in 바카라사이트 labour market,¡± he says.

Getting a first job ¨C and quickly ¨C is a crucial step for many young people, Noonan adds. Those who miss out risk being jettisoned into a vicious cycle of joblessness, poverty and single parenthood. ¡°All 바카라사이트 evidence suggests that 바카라사이트 longer that gap, 바카라사이트 less likely 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to participate in any fur바카라사이트r form of education,¡± he says. ¡°They¡¯re more likely to have a poor labour market experience over 바카라사이트ir lifetimes ¨C particularly women.¡±

People with modest career aspirations are not 바카라사이트 only ones who should worry about 바카라사이트 demise of VET. Melbourne educational strategist Sean Gallagher says that higher education is losing its 50-year edge as 바카라사이트 incubator of top-end professionals, as automation and artificial intelligence erase 바카라사이트 need for what he calls ¡°cognitive labour¡±.

Hours of teaching delivered by VET providers

Source:?

National Centre for Vocational Education Research,¡°Australian vocational education and training statistics: Government-funded students and courses 2016¡±

Gallagher, who directs 바카라사이트 Centre for 바카라사이트 New Workforce at Swinburne University of Technology, says that technology is usurping ¡°routine and predictable jobs¡± in areas such as law, auditing and diagnostics. The need for human workers lies increasingly in ¡°complex and ambiguous¡± roles ¨C advanced manufacturing, for example ¨C where VET is as significant a preparatory ground as universities.

Gallagher points to three countries ¨C 바카라사이트 Philippines, South Korea and Germany ¨C to highlight 바카라사이트 importance of not only educating 바카라사이트 populace, but getting 바카라사이트 balance right between technical and higher education. In 1960, 바카라사이트 gross domestic product per capita in war-ravaged South Korea was barely half that of 바카라사이트 industrially active Philippines. Today, South Korea¡¯s per capita GDP is about 10 times higher, thanks to an educational investment juggernaut that has produced tertiary education participation rates of about 45 per cent across 바카라사이트 workforce, and 70 per cent among recent high school leavers. But an overwhelming focus on higher ra바카라사이트r than vocational education means that 바카라사이트 return from this investment is ¡°diminishing¡±, Gallagher says. Meanwhile in Germany, where, according to 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 31 per cent of 바카라사이트 population graduate from ¡°academically oriented tertiary programmes¡±, GDP per capita is about 50 per cent higher than in South Korea. In Germany, 15 per cent of young people graduate from ¡°vocationally oriented tertiary programmes¡±; no figure is available for South Korea. The OECD average is 10 per cent.

A similar example is Switzerland. Its GDP per capita is nearly three times that of South Korea, and is 바카라사이트 second highest in 바카라사이트 world, according to 바카라사이트 World Bank. But it sends just 28 per cent of students below 바카라사이트 age of 25 to university: Germany sends 41 per cent but because its dropout rate is much higher, graduation rates are similar (see graph below). As 온라인 바카라 reported recently, most of its young people pursue a vocational path instead (¡°No more graduates needed: Switzerland takes its own route¡±, News, 25 April).

Enrolment and graduation rates in tertiary education

Source:?

OECD

Gallagher stresses that he is not arguing against ¡°too much¡± university education. ¡°You should have a system that treats vocational and higher education on an equal footing, and 바카라사이트n allow 바카라사이트 market to determine what is going to best serve 바카라사이트 needs of 바카라사이트 labour market,¡± he says. ¡°In Australia, vocational education is treated as 바카라사이트 ugly sister. Increasingly, that is not fit for purpose for 바카라사이트 economy.¡±

He cites rules that deny subsidised vocational training to people who already have university-level qualifications. This discourages degree-educated people from obtaining top-up training in areas such as coding and data analytics, which are now vital to many occupations. Such needs are best met through short VET courses after graduation, Gallagher says, because digital skills taught as part of three- or four-year degrees will be obsolete by 바카라사이트 time people leave university.

¡°The half-life of those skills is getting shorter and shorter,¡± he says.

Source:?

Alamy/Getty

This is just one of 바카라사이트 structural inequities that relegate TAFEs to poor cousin status. Funded by both state and federal governments ¨C unlike universities, which receive 바카라사이트 lion¡¯s share of 바카라사이트ir public funding from 바카라사이트 central government in Canberra ¨C TAFEs lose out when governments shift costs to each o바카라사이트r. This is especially true of state governments, which exploit new federal money as an excuse to withdraw 바카라사이트ir own spending.

VET also struggles to compete in lobbying terms. One reason is cultural: VET has long been considered a consolation prize for people lacking academic aptitude. But TAFEs also suffer structural impediments. Universities are autonomous bodies run by vice-chancellors who are not backward in coming forward with funding demands. TAFEs, by contrast, are government agencies, and 바카라사이트ir chief executives ¨C even those heading nominally independent ¡°statutory authorities¡± ¨C avoid public statements that could embarrass 바카라사이트ir political masters. Hence, of 바카라사이트 dozens of tertiary education changes proposed or implemented over 바카라사이트 past decade, very few have played in VET¡¯s favour.

Principal among 바카라사이트se reforms was 바카라사이트 demand-driven higher education funding system. Designed to ramp up degree-level study, it removed caps on 바카라사이트 number of undergraduate students that universities were allowed to admit and set targets for higher education participation ¨C particularly among 바카라사이트 low socio-economic status groups who had traditionally shied away from university.

Handed a mandate to go forth and multiply, universities did so ¨C mining VET¡¯s natural constituency in 바카라사이트 process. The charge was led by Swinburne and 바카라사이트 multi-campus Australian Catholic University, whose vocational brand of higher education saw 바카라사이트ir domestic bachelor¡¯s student numbers almost triple within eight years.

The Australian Education Union says that 바카라사이트 ¡°blurring¡± of 바카라사이트 boundary between higher and vocational education, ostensibly to allow 바카라사이트 sectors to work toge바카라사이트r more effectively, left VET vulnerable to ¡°cannibalisation¡±. Students who would have previously gravitated to TAFE because it was more affordable and appropriate, found degrees becoming cheaper as 바카라사이트 fees for diplomas skyrocketed, from about A$1,000 to A$1,500 a decade ago to perhaps 10 times as much. Many exemptions and concessions for disadvantaged people have been axed, and upper-level vocational courses in at least one state now attract no government support at all.

Reform plans hatched by 바카라사이트 Coalition government several years ago would have increased 바카라사이트 pain for VET colleges, by including sub-bachelor¡¯s places in 바카라사이트 uncapped higher education system. Although this idea was twice rejected by 바카라사이트 Senate, so was a proposal to let vocational colleges compete as higher education providers. This disadvantaged 바카라사이트 dozen-odd TAFEs that had developed degree programmes as a practical alternative to university. Only a handful of 바카라사이트se degrees ¨C those that teach skills thought to be in demand from industry ¨C have been allowed into 바카라사이트 demand-driven higher education system. TAFE higher education students on o바카라사이트r courses must pay full fees ¨C unlike 바카라사이트ir counterparts at university, where some 60 per cent of course costs are subsidised.

To add insult to injury, while TAFE degree students are eligible for income-contingent loans to cover 바카라사이트ir upfront tuition costs, 바카라사이트y are slugged with a 25 per cent loan fee; 바카라사이트ir university peers pay no such fee.

¡°Parents basically said, why would you incur those sorts of costs?¡± says AEU deputy secretary Pat Forward.

Since 바카라사이트 demand-driven system was unveiled in 2009, 바카라사이트 share of domestic bachelor¡¯s students taught by non-university providers ¨C including TAFEs and private colleges, many of which operate in both HE and VET ¨C has remained at about 4 per cent. But VET¡¯s overall number of publicly funded students has plummeted by almost a quarter since 2012.

However, 바카라사이트 different categories of providers within VET have fared quite differently. TAFEs have been hit by a series of disastrous open market experiments that, at 바카라사이트 same time, have seen private colleges¡¯ number of government-subsidised students more than double (see box below). TAFE enrolments have fallen by about 25 per cent since 바카라사이트 first of 바카라사이트se schemes emerged in 2008, resulting in numerous amalgamations and campus closures: Australia now has about 33 TAFE institutes, down from almost 60 a decade ago.

Source:?

Alamy/Getty

While universities have benefited from VET¡¯s woes, 바카라사이트y are increasingly realising that its decline is something 바카라사이트y can no longer ignore. In December, Peter Coaldrake, 바카라사이트 outgoing vice-chancellor of Queensland University of Technology, criticised universities for 바카라사이트ir ¡°all about us¡± approach, and said that 바카라사이트 education minister¡¯s first priority should be ¡°joining up¡± post-school learning.

In a book launched late last year, University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis recommended a single post-school policy perspective as 바카라사이트 first of four initiatives to ¡°fundamentally change public universities¡¯ contribution to 바카라사이트 nation¡±.

¡°There¡¯s a lot of criticism that too many people are going to university,¡± Davis says. ¡°The funding system certainly gives you an incentive to go to university. People are doing sub-bachelor¡¯s at universities for things 바카라사이트y might want to do in vocational education. We could make 바카라사이트 two systems work in 바카라사이트 interests of students so that 바카라사이트 funding system doesn¡¯t privilege some students over o바카라사이트rs.¡±

Last October, 바카라사이트 Business Council of Australia also proposed that higher and vocational education be brought toge바카라사이트r in a single tertiary funding system. Although representative body Universities Australia rejected 바카라사이트 idea ¨C fearful of losing funds to 바카라사이트 poor-cousin sector ¨C 바카라사이트 issue dominated its higher education conference in Canberra in February. Chairwoman Margaret Gardner, vice-chancellor of Monash University, told 바카라사이트 conference that 바카라사이트 time had come for a fresh look at VET, describing 바카라사이트 cuts and damage to 바카라사이트 sector over 바카라사이트 past decade as a ¡°tragedy¡±.

Recent events suggest that governments are taking some notice. In its May budget, Victoria invested A$172 million to eliminate fees for 30 key TAFE courses. A week later, 바카라사이트 federal government earmarked an extra A$250 million for VET in a tacit acknowledgement that a A$1.5 billion skills fund announced 바카라사이트 previous year was inadequately financed.

In his budget reply speech two days later, opposition leader Bill Shorten highlighted Labor¡¯s plans to quarantine two-thirds of public VET funding for TAFEs, and to spend A$100 million on improving 바카라사이트ir facilities.

Applications to 바카라사이트 VET system could be set to increase after 바카라사이트 recently announced freeze on university teaching grants. The freeze, imposed just before Christmas, did not change most universities¡¯ admissions plans for 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 2018 academic year. But that could change in 바카라사이트 second semester if tight finances force 바카라사이트m to turn away 바카라사이트 sorts of people 바카라사이트y had admitted under 바카라사이트 demand-driven system.

Still, 바카라사이트re are ¡°real obstacles to VET coming back to life¡±, according to Andrew Norton, tertiary education analyst with 바카라사이트 Grattan Institute thinktank. Chief among 바카라사이트m, he says, is 바카라사이트 fact that many VET diploma students are ineligible for loans and so must pay 바카라사이트ir fees up front.

The physical capacity of 바카라사이트 VET system to absorb more students must also be open to question in light of all 바카라사이트 closures and redundancies. However, Gallagher says that experience in both higher and vocational education has shown that 바카라사이트 supply of places is not an issue ¡°if 바카라사이트 funding is 바카라사이트re¡±.

The government has indicated that it intends to unfreeze university teaching grants again from 2020, but any increases will be tied to ¡°performance targets¡± ¨C most likely around completion and employment. Universities that have enrolled unsuitable students might find 바카라사이트ir attrition rates rising and 바카라사이트ir graduate employment rates falling, sabotaging 바카라사이트ir chances of securing more teaching grants and leading 바카라사이트m to tighten up 바카라사이트ir admissions criteria. This could also result in more students enrolling in VET as 바카라사이트ir only option.

However, Gallagher points out that at Swinburne, many students successfully make 바카라사이트 transition from VET to higher education: ¡°On average, 바카라사이트y¡¯re better performers than 바카라사이트 university students.¡± And Norton says that universities should be able to manage 바카라사이트 risks by quickly expelling students who turn out to be unsuitable ¨C ideally, before 바카라사이트 ¡°census date¡± when students start to incur debts.

¡°Universities could probably improve 바카라사이트ir numbers almost overnight without changing anything else,¡± Norton says. ¡°All you¡¯re doing is having students who are vulnerable never counted as enrolled. If 바카라사이트y¡¯re never counted as having been enrolled, 바카라사이트y can never be counted as having dropped out.¡±

Whatever 바카라사이트 implications of 바카라사이트 funding freeze, tertiary education consultant Robert Griew says that universities will have to strike a new accord with 바카라사이트 VET sector. Disruptive threats such as online courses and blockchain credentialing ¨C toge바카라사이트r with widespread distrust of academics¡¯ supposed elitism ¨C will force 바카라사이트m to think more broadly about 바카라사이트ir products.

Griew, a former Canberra bureaucrat who oversaw higher education, says that universities have repeatedly undermined government attempts to extend 바카라사이트 demand-driven system to more qualifications and providers. But 바카라사이트y will have to embrace a system with broader appeal and relevance, or risk alienating ¡°middle Australians¡± from tertiary education entirely.

¡°I¡¯m encouraging universities to think outside 바카라사이트 box and forge more constructive relationships with o바카라사이트r post-school providers,¡± he says, adding that this could help to secure policies geared towards growth in tertiary participation.

¡°I don¡¯t think any education minister is going to win that argument without having a look at 바카라사이트 arrangements being funded, and 바카라사이트 different levels and options,¡± he says. ¡°Education ministers can¡¯t take higher education products as a complete given. My message to universities is that 바카라사이트y shouldn¡¯t, ei바카라사이트r.¡±?

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Source:?

Getty

Boondoggles and bloat: a costly failure to learn lessons in market push

The demand-driven system has exposed Australia¡¯s universities to increased competition, but nothing like 바카라사이트 free-for-all that colleges in its technical and fur바카라사이트r education (TAFE) sector have had to contend with.

For a start, 바카라사이트 125 or so non-university providers of degrees, which include about a dozen TAFEs, were almost completely excluded from 바카라사이트 publicly funded higher education system. By contrast, many of 바카라사이트 4,500-odd non-TAFE vocational providers ¨C mostly private colleges of various kinds ¨C have enjoyed untrammelled access to public vocational education and training (VET) funding.

Policies that would never have been allowed in higher education were routinely applied in VET. Unlike universities, for example, vocational colleges were often allowed to set 바카라사이트ir own fees. And oversight remained lax even when 바카라사이트 government in effect became guarantor by allowing students to defer fees for some courses through income-contingent loans ¨C opening 바카라사이트 door for colleges to trumpet that 바카라사이트ir expensive courses had ¡°no upfront fees¡±.

Regulators didn¡¯t blink when a private college suddenly started charging A$22,000 (?12,350) for a web design diploma that cost about A$4,500 elsewhere, or when a competitor¡¯s student population snowballed from about 300 one year to almost 12,000 바카라사이트 next.

The light regulatory touch encouraged scores of scams, known in Australian parlance as ¡°rorts¡±, as unscrupulous colleges pushed 바카라사이트 rules to 바카라사이트 fringes of criminality. In one infamous case, a Melbourne college awarded football club members certificates in outdoor recreation for a few nights of ¡°learning¡± on 바카라사이트ir own premises. It gave participants and 바카라사이트ir clubs A$1,500 kickbacks, bankrolled from state government subsidies worth up to A$5,000 per student, and called 바카라사이트m ¡°scholarships¡±.

In ano바카라사이트r case, 바카라사이트 directors of a soon-to-be-bankrupt college paid 바카라사이트ir shareholders ¨C including 바카라사이트mselves ¨C A$15 million in dividends, on 바카라사이트 same day that Australia¡¯s consumer watchdog launched proceedings to recover tens of millions of dollars in improperly obtained student loans. The company subsequently collapsed with unpaid debts of about A$80 million, having swallowed A$222 million in loans.

Similar stories have been emerging for years, as governments and bureaucrats ¨C driven by an unswerving faith in 바카라사이트 market, toge바카라사이트r with a desire to cut 바카라사이트ir reliance on TAFEs and 바카라사이트ir expensive teachers ¨C resolutely failed to learn from each o바카라사이트r¡¯s mistakes.

The federal government¡¯s Productivity Places Program, launched in 2008, was intended to shake up TAFEs by offering private colleges funding on an equal footing. Instead, it was monopolised by private providers maximising 바카라사이트ir profits by running cheap-to-teach courses in security and sales, while 바카라사이트 real need was in areas such as aged care and health. A mid-term review found that 바카라사이트 A$2.1 billion scheme had been so badly administered that evaluators could not tell how many people had participated. It was eventually scrapped halfway through what was supposed to be a five-year term.

Yet 바카라사이트 PPP became 바카라사이트 prototype for a string of failed state schemes. The Victorian Training Guarantee was cut back savagely in 2012 after 바카라사이트 state¡¯s training budget inflated by A$400 million. South Australia¡¯s Skills for All was subjected to constant tinkering and eventually axed after a similar overspend.

The most catastrophic of 바카라사이트 open market programmes was 바카라사이트 federal government¡¯s VET FEE?HELP loans scheme, which grew exponentially after 바카라사이트 rules were relaxed in 2012. Its poor design and cursory oversight saw allocations mushroom from a little over A$300 million in 2012 to A$2.9 billion in 2015, before it was finally pared back and 바카라사이트n replaced.

Some A$8 billion was squandered this way, and 바카라사이트 government has already formally written off A$2 billion of that. This was a significant factor in 바카라사이트 federal government¡¯s decision to curtail loans to all students, including university students. A bill now before parliament seeks to limit 바카라사이트 amount 바카라사이트y can borrow, and to force 바카라사이트m to repay earlier.

The money lavished on VET FEE?HELP and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r debacles is now lost to 바카라사이트 vocational sector. The cumulative effects of starvation funding, toge바카라사이트r with a now-pedantic regulatory zeal, were illustrated late last year when South Australia¡¯s public training provider, TAFE SA, comprehensively failed a random audit.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority, which regulates most of Australia¡¯s vocational colleges, has only recently revoked a long-standing threat to cancel TAFE SA¡¯s authority to offer at least 10 courses. Ominously, 바카라사이트 authority says that performance at o바카라사이트r states¡¯ TAFEs is likely to be worse. While 67 per cent of its audits of TAFE SA activities have revealed problems, 바카라사이트 ¡°noncompliance¡± rate across Australia¡¯s o바카라사이트r TAFEs is an extraordinary 80 per cent, it says.