Changes to the Victorian vocational education and training sector are underway. The head of RMIT University's Fashion and Textiles school Keith Cowlishaw explains the impact.
In each state, the vocational education and training sector (VET or TAFE), is administered by the respective state government. Students in the VET sector are essentially judged and assessed on their practice consistent with the prescribed training package.
This differs from higher education degrees, which tend to be informed by critical thinking and analysis.
The national training packages which are designed by the industry – in this case the textiles, clothing and footwear industry – capture a whole raft of qualifications across the industry from textile manufacturing skills to fashion design. These qualifications range from a Certificate I, which is a fairly basic level, right up to an Advanced Diploma, which is quite a sophisticated tertiary level qualification.
In the past, the Victorian government has allocated funding for a certain number of places in each VET sector course. In 2008, Skills Victoria moved away from allocated funding to a more market-oriented approach with no restrictions on places-contestable funding. This new approach to the VET system commenced in June 2009 and 2010 was the first full year of it.
However, there is a catch for a funded place along with higher basic fees, and that is a student with an equivalent or higher qualification than the course they want to undertake will have to pay the full fee.
This could be as high as $12,000 to $15,000 for some courses. If you have a degree and want to do a certificate in another discipline, under the old system you may have received a funded place.
The new system has commenced with the higher qualifications – the Diploma and Advanced Diploma and enrolments in Fashion and Textiles at RMIT have seen some growth. However, it is the first year, and most of the students taken in at this level are 18 or 19-year-old school leavers, with no prior qualification, so the impact of the eligibility criterion was not really a factor.
Next year, though, all the lower level certificates, from one to four, come into the new system. These qualifications are primarily delivered through our industry training for existing workers. Most of the certificate level study is done at Certificate III, and most people in the industry have probably already undertaken some form of Certificate III course.
So an immediate concern is that employees with a higher or equivalent qualification will be required to pay a full fee. What impact will this cost have on enrolments? It is unclear if companies sending staff for additional qualifications will be prepared to pay full fees.
Reform to education
In 2008, the Victorian government unveiled a package of reforms to the Victorian training system, called Securing Jobs for Your Future: Skills for Victoria. Here are the vital points, which are expected to be fully operational for all courses in 2011.
• The program promised to deliver $316 million in extra funding over a four-year period.
• It stated it will provide an additional 172,000 training places, increase direct engagement with business and strengthen partnership with industry.
• It set in place a demand-driven system,
in which a new skills system training provision will be driven by demand from individuals and businesses.
• It said the government will invest $139 million in Skills for Life – the Victorian Training Guarantee, which will make government-subsidised training places available to all eligible Victorians at all levels of skills development.
• For people aged 20 and over, government subsidised places will be available for training at the foundation skills level and for any qualification higher than
the qualifications already held.
• For people from the age of 20 years onwards, the eligibility criteria reflect workforce development priorities.
If a qualification has already been completed, government-subsidised places will be available for accredited training at higher levels. For example, a person holding a Certificate III will be eligible for places at Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma levels. This is designed to encourage progression from lower to higher level qualifications and to help increase the supply of skills at higher levels.