Are we about to embark on a new age of evidence-based policy, asks Robin Ryan. April’s AVETRA conference once again met the high standard of organisation and quality content that has been established in recent years. As in any good ...

Having built a profound asset in international education, universities now need to think even more creatively about the future, says Daryl Le Grew. Whichever way you look at it, the performance of Australian universities in international education is stellar. Creating ...

The English language competency of staff as well as students represents a significant challenge to universities, says Judy Nagy. The recently released good practice principles for English language proficiency for international students in Australian universities are an important contribution to ...

The federal government has no immediate plans to review the funding arrangements under its $2 billion Productivity Places Program (PPP), despite mounting evidence the scheme isn’t qualifying people in key skill shortage areas because the rates it offers are too ...

Will Victorian TAFE institutes flourish or flounder in the more competitive environment after 30 June, asks John Mithcell. There is considerable interest around the VET sector about how well TAFE institutes in Victoria are preparing for the implementation of the ...

Other countries are increasing their investment in basic research capacity to attract inwards investment, as well as to capture the broader benefits that flow from university research. Ian Chubb argues there is the need for a new policy setting for ...

Unions want businesses to have more say on how VET funding is spent – including the right to spend it themselves. And business wants governments to avoid unnecessary handouts to companies and to give more money to public training providers, ...

On a quirky US website called Wisegeek, the tortured ritual of the performance review/appraisal/work plan (let’s call it the PR) is seen as a continuation of an assessment culture that occurs in high schools. “These early experiences of being graded ...

Is it possible for training providers to craft effective strategies amid the current economic turbulence, asks John Mitchell. Chief executives of training providers broadly agree that this is the most tumultuous period VET has ever experienced. Typically they point out ...

Australia won’t fix its skills system by simply throwing lots of money at it, according to an alliance of unions, business and specialist training organisations which has called for VET providers to be funded more realistically. The National Skills Policy ...