Quote:
Originally Posted by John 13
Currently the federal govt is reviewing industrial relations etc. including the tertiary training sector. There have been numerous reviews, white papers etc. produced over the past five decades with the apparent aim of improving TAFE. (this name originating in the early 70s and replacing a hodge podge of state technical education systems in name only)
We have seen the Kelty review (a significant review with a wide ranging terms of reference) and subsequently the introduction of national syllabi, national modules and national units of competence for trade and traineeship training qualifications.
I am posting thread this hoping to engender some responses and opinions from personal experience. Now retired, I spent almost 90% of my time in employment involved in trade and related higher level qualifications education and training both in industry and colleges.
To put it bluntly I am of the opinion that in Australia the apprenticeship system has well and truly reached it's use by date. Many of our formally identified trade qualifications are barely utilized in many workplaces. They survive because of entrenched influence of self interest groups. These represent employer groups as well as private training organisations some unions and state licencing bodies. There are examples of all of these being in cahoots.
I will stop there for the time being.
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I am a current TAFE trainer (not trade) I teach OHS and I disagree with comment about trade qualifications, how else do you determine a level of competence particularly safe work practices if not a 'bit of paper'
Granted there are some 'bits of paper' that are not worth the paper they are written on, generally due to private training providers dumbing down the qualification - to get easy access to Gvmt money
Whilst there are pro's and cons to the TAFE system, it is a good process. ASQA (the Federal governing body of training providers) now rule that all trainers MUST be 'current', in other words the days of TAFE teachers sitting around delivering **** and never going back into industry to keep themselves current are gone. Training providers get audited by ASQA on this very thing
In some States TAFE's compete against each other for clients - there is some merit in this, but generally, particularly in rural areas this is just stupid
Some States (like S.A.) just has a State TAFE system, not individual stand alone TAFE's lile Victoria
And I finally I take exception to you assertion that TAFE's are soley responsible here, most State Governments have set up private training providers to compete with their own owned entity. The current Victorian State Government has shut down hundreds of shonky private training providers for criminal ctivy accessing Gvmt money - to lump TAFE's into that process in very unfair - most times TAFE's are purely the puppets of current Gvmt policy (both State and Federal)