Many professions with skills shortages require a VET qualification gained from TAFE or another registered training organisation (RTO), such as builders and other trade apprenticeships.

A $1.3bn scheme to get more people into apprenticeships will also be reviewed after data revealed half of apprentices that undertook the scheme's offer dropped out.

The Interim report also says only half of NSW TAFE students complete their training.

The NSW VET Review Interim Report has seven recommendations that aim to boost vocational education enrolments to address the state's worsening skills shortage.

1. The NSW government should clarify TAFE's role and purpose through a TAFE NSW Charter
2. TAFE should develop and implement a revised operating model that aligns educational delivery with industry needs, prioritises local engagement and enhances support for teachers
3. TAFE should work with the NSW Department of Education to pilot self-accreditation processes across selected qualifications
4. The government should streamline and increase funding
5. The government should review the TAFE advisory board, advisory bodies and the NSW Skills Board Act 2013
6. The government should prioritise expanding the VET trainer workforce and converting casual staff to permanent roles
7. The government should audit existing TAFE infrastructure and assess whether its age, condition and location are suitable

The Interim report recommended changes to be immediately implemented, with the final report, to be released mid-year, to recommend longer term reforms.

The TAFE NSW Charter

The most immediate recommendation is the proposed TAFE NSW Charter, which NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said the government has already begun working on.

The Charter would clearly outline outcome expectations of TAFE through clarifying its role, purpose, agreed measures of success, ways of working, governance and values – all of which is currently undefined.

No clear overarching reason for existing, the report says, has left TAFEs operating in a less effective way, with no medium to long term enrolment or growth goals.

The Charter would also clearly communicate that TAFEs should be industry aligned to meet workforce needs – and local, to serve the needs of regional and remote communities particularly.

Funding overhaul

A lack of funding certainty has prevented medium and long term goal making efforts for TAFEs, the review found.

The current Smart and Skilled program, which subsidises in-demand qualifications for students up to a Certificate III, has actual costs that are significantly higher than its predicted costs.

The review found since the implementation of that program in 2015, TAFE pushed itself into a market competing with private RTOs and other skills institutions, whilst still attempting to meet its equity and access goals.

Trying to "play every role" has left the skills trainer falling short in most areas, the report says, on top of the burden of funding 70 per cent of courses under the Smart and Skilled scheme.

Private RTOs can opt-out of offering qualifications that cost more than their actual cost, whereas the public TAFE is a 'last resort', and has to offer that skill course for free.

'TAFE NSW estimates losses on several high-enrolment qualifications due to the mismatch between Smart and Skilled prices and its actual costs of delivery,' the report said.

“It cost us $28,000 at a minimum to put a trainee through over two years and the only funding we’re eligible for is $5,000 through Smart and Skilled. So every time we sign up a trainee, it’s a financial loss to our company," a primary industries roundtable member said.

TAFE also has to negotiate funding agreements with the state's education department every year, preventing the skills provider from planning long term or creating goals.

The review recommends TAFE be removed from the contestable funding market, and Smart and Skilled program costs are reviewed and managed through the proposed charter.

The report also says both TAFE NSW and the NSW government should up their funding commitments in the 2024-25 budget, and adopt a 'direct appropriation' funding model, where a lump sum of money is set aside to take care of TAFE costs.

Better trainer conditions

The NSW Teachers Federation said funding certainty is key to improving TAFE outcomes, and called for changes to appear in the 2024/25 budget so trainers can reap its benefits from 2025, not mid-way through 2026.

"Our students can’t wait and nor can our communities. The skill shortage is getting worse and threatening critical national priorities such as in construction, nursing and the clean energy transition," deputy president Amber Flohm said.

"The NSW economy needs a revamped, revitalised TAFE."

The federation also called for an end to significant administrative burdens – currently a full-time TAFE trainer spends one hour on admin for every hour spent in the classroom.

VET trainers and teachers should also be put on permanent full-time contracts more often than not, the review says.

Although NSW TAFE offers above average wages compared to other states, part-time contracts and admin burden have dulled the appeal of the profession.

The review found between 20-50 hours of NSW Education and Authority Standards (NESA) accreditation admin per week is deterring teacher applicants, along with too much of a focus on compliance training instead of valuing current and competent industry knowledge.

Declining infrastructure

Stakeholders that wrote to the review said even if they wanted to offer TAFE's full suite of qualifications, they don't have the facilities to.

Old equipment, a lack of digital learning resources (despite the Covid-19 pandemic) and low digital literacy in students have undermined student experience and lowered staff morale, the review found.

Most TAFEs are still using digital infrastructure that has not been upgraded since its implementation in 2009, the report says, reflecting the gap between VET infrastructure and industry needs, especially in regional and rural areas.

"The issues currently faced by TAFE around its infrastructure and assets are also reflected in NSW public high schools that offer VET to their students," the review said.

"Participants noted that this limits the ability of schools to offer VET to their students, even if they have the workforce to deliver it."

A lack of long-term vision stemming from funding uncertainty has allowed infrastructure to continue to decline, with no upgrade plans in sight.

The review recommended the NSW government conduct an audit of existing public school and TAFE VET facilities, and increase the quality of those facilities to deliver learning needs.

It also said the government should consider aligning tertiary education infrastructure announcements, such as Regional University Study Hubs, with VET needs.

Indigenous participation missing

The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), that represents independent RTOs, said the final report should place a greater emphasis on Indigenous participation in VET studies.

“ITECA looks forward to working with the New South Wales Government to enhance the role of skills training in supporting Indigenous Australians not just into a job, but into a career,” ITECA chief executive Troy Williams said.

"ITECA is also committed to ensuring that the final report includes robust recommendations on improving access to skills training for students from remote, rural, and regional News South Wales."

The review mentioned the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in TAFE, because it acts as a pathway for learners who face general barriers to education.

The review acknowledged funding is not the only reason Indigenous students don't sign up for VET studies, and recommended the appointment of specialist support staff for Indigenous students.

It also said Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations should be consulted on Indigenous issues.

Minister Whan said the report offers the changes required for TAFE to flourish.

“The NSW Labor Government knows that to address the critical shortage of skilled workers, NSW needs a strong and sustainable vocational training system," he said.

“Over the next decade, NSW will need thousands of skilled professionals across healthcare, hospitality, construction, and burgeoning sectors like renewable energy.

“This report underscores the pivotal role of TAFE NSW in helping meet the skills needs of the NSW economy.”

Those with a secondary school teacher qualification will be excused from having to obtain a full Certificate IV in training and assessment.

People with specialised industry expertise will be able to assist VET teachers without having to get more training, and people working towards a Certificate IV or diploma in training and assessment will be able to deliver training and contribute to assessment under supervision.

All these changes are due to begin this month.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O'Connor said the decision will improve the capability of TAFEs and VET colleges that are currently experiencing worsening skills shortages.

Vocational education pathways produce managers, technicians and trades workers, community and personal service workers and machinery operators; all of which are currently in shortage.

“[This is] a commonsense measure to increase the number of vocational education and training teachers, trainers, and assessors in classrooms, who are the foundation for our efforts to solve the worst skills shortage in decades," minister O'Connor said.

“These changes, while not a silver bullet, are an important part of a raft of measures we are introducing to bolster the VET teaching workforce and improve the standard of training delivery across the sector."

The Australian Education Union (AEU) president Correna Haythorpe told Campus Review it is too early to know what impact the decision would have on the current teacher shortage in primary and high schools.

The most recent Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) report found 91 per cent of total employment growth in the year to May 2023 was in occupations that require post-school qualifications.

However, the report revealed over half of total employment growth over the year was in skill level two to four occupations (a bachelor's degree is skill level 5), where vocational education and training (VET) qualifications are the primary pathway.

VET courses have commonly been thought of as a 'second option' to university degrees, even though graduates from both can obtain the same jobs, but university graduates are often left with more debt.

Independent registered training organisations (RTOs), who also provide VET training along with TAFEs, have taken a hit to their reputation thanks to a few bad eggs, the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia chief executive Troy Williams said.

December's new migration plan slammed private "bottom end" colleges and "shonky operators", that 'enrol' predominantly international students in a university with a high reputation, only to later transfer them to a dodgy institution.

The plan, meant to lower the amount of international students coming into Australia after a record 510,000 were enrolled last year, committed to a private college shakeup through student visa reforms.

"ITECA believes the language in the migration strategy concerning quality in the international skills training sector is unhelpful and paints an inaccurate picture of the sector as a whole," Mr Williams said.

"There is a real risk that it will diminish Australia’s reputation as a high-quality provider of skills training to international students."

The independent vocational training body welcomed this month's VET reforms.

"[This is] a constructive step towards addressing shortages of trainers and assessors, particularly for providers that deliver VET In Schools programs," Mr Williams said.

“ITECA is looking forward to a further conversation with the Australian government about other ways to support high quality independent RTOs attract and retain staff."

Former Federal Court judge Justice Iain Ross and former senior public servant Lisa Paul will lead the Apprenticeships Incentive ­System review that will investigate why half of enrolled apprentices don't complete their training.

The probe will also consider if the system is improving the take-up and completion of apprenticeships and traineeships, as well as the effects of cost-of-living pressures.

Additionally, it will look at whether the system is creating a training environment that encourages women, people with disability, Indigenous Australians, and people in regional, rural and remote communities into apprenticeships and traineeships.

Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor said getting the best outcomes for apprentices and trainees was vital to ensuring Australia has the skills the economy needs.

“We know that almost half of all apprentices don’t complete their training; addressing the completion rate is not just vitally important for individuals and employers, but also for the Australian economy,” Mr O’Connor said.

The Apprenticeships Incentive System, worth $1.3bn over five years, was introduced under the Morrison government in 2022.

The initiative has two phases; a wage subsidy for employers of apprentices in priority occupations until June 2024, when a $4000 hiring incentive for employers would take over.

Lack of trade interest in South Australia

South Australia recorded a concerning drop in the number of people starting engineering, information technology, and science technician apprenticeships – skills that will be needed for the state’s defence sector.

Latest figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research show just 65 people took up an apprenticeship in those areas in the June 2023 quarter, down from 215 the previous year.

Across SA’s training sector, there was a 60 per cent drop across all apprenticeship and trainee commencements, the largest drop in the nation.

Questioned about the figures in parliament, Training and Skills Minister Blair Boyer called the training system “exceptionally inefficient”.

“It is about one in two who make it through from commencement to completion,” he said.

Opposition education spokesman John Gardener said apprenticeship and traineeship commencements were “going backwards” under the Labor government.

However, the state government has accused the opposition of “cherry picking” figures that do not reflect the whole picture.

Written submissions to the review will be accepted until May 15.

Early childhood care, plumbing, nursing and electrotechnology courses have received the strongest interest, and a pathology collection course has recorded a 16 per cent increase in enrolments.

Priority student groups also enrolled, including: people with a disability (9 per cent), women in non-traditional fields (30 per cent), First Nations students (5 per cent), veterans (13 per cent) and students speaking a language other than English at home (11 per cent).

The five-year long National Skills Agreement commences this month, which will use Commonwealth and state government funds to increase the number of skilled workers in Australia through VET and TAFE.

The SA government has said it's priorities include boosting the health and early childhood care systems and building a defence workforce for AUKUS.

Education Minister Blair Boyer last week announced a new outside-of-school-hours care free TAFE course for early childhood carers, to upskill workers so they can receive a higher pay rate.

TAFE SA chief executive David Coltman said he is thrilled to see TAFE enrolments going up.

"With the support of state and federal governments, we have over 4,500 additional fee-free TAFE places for the next three years, and it has been wonderful to hear the stories of many new students who have been able to enrol in study thanks to this initiative," he said.

"We’re working closely with industry to ensure we’re delivering training that is relevant and addresses in-demand skills, with our training also aligning with the state government’s priority sectors to ensure we’re meeting future workforce needs."

Whether staff and students experience these objectives is a different story, particularly when it comes to be feeling ‘seen’ or that they matter.

Evidence from staff and student engagement data, alongside reported experience and participation patterns, suggests they don't.

Yet there is hope and anticipation as universities implement new policies that aim to double the number of graduates by 2050, with most of the growth projected to come from equity groups.

Many are looking to the Accord, believing their ideas and hopes are reflected in the frameworks and proposals made in the interim report.

However, some question whether the assumption of growth and participation coming from equity cohorts is realistic.

It’s one thing to make a plan, but it’s the outcome that matters, and there's plenty of research and expertise than can help shed light on what results we can expect.

Research shows that student poverty is an almost impossible barrier to student equity in Australia.

Financial support, particularly in rural and regional areas, can limit the possibility of university attendance and restrict timely degree completion.

This is despite Australia’s world-leading HECS/HELP system and attempts to support learners through university scholarship programs.

Research also shows that pathways within an integrated tertiary system are critical for learners from equity groups who transition to higher education completions. 

Barriers to transitioning between VET and HE suit our institutions more than our learners.

Recognising competencies and skills acquired from prior learning is key to making such a transition more manageable.

The traditional model requiring learners to spend time studying in prescribed ways can prove inequitable to time-poor and time-inflexible equity groups.

Research shows that the complex diversity informs participation by equity groups of our student cohorts.

The assumption that study is straightforward for students aged 18-24 from secure and well-resourced backgrounds is unrealistic.

Suppose the aim is to make higher education qualifications attainable for equity cohorts. In that case, we must make students with complexity in their make-up and circumstances feel they are seen and matter.

Research also shows students with persistence are more capable of successfully transitioning into employment and lifelong learning.

It is great to have a plan for growth in equity groups graduating from tertiary education over the next 30 years. Seeing so many complex ideas about achieving this goal is also excellent.

We now need to monitor outcomes as we implement some of them. 

If the student support measures we put in place become overly bureaucratic and generate unintended consequences, we should acknowledge that.

We need our learning environments to be safe spaces for students and staff, monitoring outcomes as we grow equity graduate numbers with skills needed for future work.

We must place our learners with lived experience at the centre of our plans, caring more about them than we do about university world rankings.

To do this will require a significant shift in the culture, governance and leadership in tertiary education. 

We must empower our universities to design, implement and monitor diversity policies and strategies, empowering diverse groups to participate actively.

We discuss many of these issues in the upcoming HEDx podcast, available Wednesday.

The Universities Accord recommended the concept of a National Skills Passport in its interim report to Education Minister Jason Clare in June.

Progression of the Skills Passport to business case is a direct result of the Employment White Paper, released by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on September 25.

The proposed Skills Passport is expected to act as a digital record-keeping platform, similar to ‘My Health Record’ but for formal tertiary qualifications.

Dr Darryn Snell, associate professor of management at RMIT, has acknowledged the potential usefulness of a Skills Passport but believes the current proposal is limited.

“[The Skills Passport] appears to only capture formal qualifications, which limits its utility,” Dr Snell said. 

Dr Snell argues that one of the challenges facing the National Skills Passport is capturing skills acquired through less formal avenues.

“Increasingly many employers are not interested in supporting full qualifications (for example retail, hospitality and disability care) but want workers who are 'job ready',” Dr Snell said.   

“In some cases, employees have received quality training from employers but have no way to demonstrate those skills, resulting in employers assuming they are 'unskilled' and providing them training which is unnecessary. 

Dr Snell recommends the Skills Passport recognise informal but credible types of training.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has suggested that the Skills Passport could build on the current  National Credentials Platform (NCP) infrastructure, providing a digital platform for students to compile and share their tertiary qualifications, micro credentials and skills.

The concept of a Skills Passport is already in practice in Singapore using their MySkillsFuture online government portal.

Benefit to employers

Arguments in favour of the Skills Passport say it could help employers better match skilled workers to business needs and ensure staff have the right skills for the job.

The online record would also confirm the legitimacy of a job seeker’s qualifications and track lifelong learning and skills development obtained through micro-credentials.

“A National Skills Passport could make it easier for employees to demonstrate the skills they have, and for employers to have confidence that employees have the skills they need,” Mr Clare said.

The Business Council of Australia and the Council of Small Business endorsed the proposed Skills Passport in its submission to the 2022 Jobs and Skills Summit.

Benefit to job seekers

In terms of applying for jobs, a Skills Passport could make it easier for job seekers to demonstrate a portfolio of their verified qualifications and skills.

The digital platform would provide a secure repository of all qualifications and could be added to throughout a person’s lifetime as they upskill and reskill to meet Australia’s evolving skills requirements.

“For more and more workers in the future, their education won’t finish when they graduate school or complete their apprenticeship – they’ll need to continue to re-train, renew and re-skill,” Mr Chalmers said.

“Our goal is to make it easier for workers to have their qualifications recognised and easier for employers to find the well-trained, highly-qualified workers they need. 

Universities Australia endorse the Skills Passport

Universities Australia (UA), the peak body for Australia’s higher education sector, welcomed the plan to progress a National Skills Passport.

“Australia’s changing labour market needs more highly skilled workers, which is why we need to be doing more to recognise the skills of people and make it easier for them to up-skill and retrain to drive workforce growth,” UA chief Catriona Jackson said.

“A national skills passport will help in this regard, particularly if it builds on the existing qualifications recognition infrastructure that universities and other tertiary providers already use.”

Christine Nixon AO delivered a Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System (Nixon Review) to address allegations against Registered Migration Agents (RMA) exploiting Australia’s visa system.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil asked Ms Nixon ⁠– the first female chief commissioner in any Australian state police force – to undertake the inquiry after investigations identified the misuse of ‘concurrent enrolments’.

Concurrent study allowed students to hold concurrent enrolments either at university or across institutions, creating a loophole in Australian immigration laws.

The federal government announced in August that the loophole was closed by eliminating the concurrent study function for international students effective immediately.

“International education is our fourth largest export – it’s essential that we maintain our global reputation for quality education," Ms O'Neil said.

Our government has no tolerance for people who exploit students.”

What is ‘the loophole’?

The loophole allowed education providers and RMAs to shift international students, who had been in the country for less than six months, to new providers that facilitate work instead of study.

According to the Nixon Review, a network of corrupt RMAs and education agents have likely been obtaining visas by enrolling non-genuine students in tertiary studies.

International student numbers have exploded back to pre-pandemic levels, with a record of 851,625 temporary student or graduate visas issued, up 87 per cent compared to last year’s 456,552.

The Nixon Review estimates that three-quarters of international students utilise a RMA when researching and enrolling in Australian universities.

Most RMAs providing prospective international students with Australian visa and study support are based overseas.

“Australia gains social, cultural and skilled workforce benefits from international education  … earning $40.3bn and supporting around 250,000 Australian jobs prior to the Covid-10 pandemic in 2019, some education providers and their agents are exploiting Australia’s visa system,” according to the Nixon Review.

“The party is over, the rorts and loopholes that have plagued this system will be shut down.” Ms O’Neil said.

Currently, overseas migration agents are not required to register with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA).

The two principal regulators, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) for higher education and ASQA for VET, also play no part in supervising overseas agents. 

Instead, education providers are responsible for self-monitoring and ensuring the providers they work with aren’t engaging in false or misleading conduct.

“It is clear that gaps and weaknesses in Australia’s visa system are allowing this to happen,” the review stated.

The Nixon Review recommends regulating the onshore and offshore education agents used by Australian education providers and monitoring their compliance with reporting non-attendance by international students.

What’s changing

The federal government has announced the first of many changes to address the manipulation of international education and student visa systems.

In response to the Nixon Review, the federal government will increase the requirements for international students looking to study in Australia, placing high-risk cohorts under "intense scrutiny".

Moving forward, prospective international students must show evidence of $24,505 in savings to support themselves in Australia, a 17 per cent increase on the current levels.

“The Nixon Review identified the need to increase monitoring and compliance in the international education sector and the Government is responding,” Education Minister Jason Clare said.

“The Government will outline further measures to crack down on dodgy and unscrupulous players in the international education sector in the next few days.”

Plans to amend the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act) are also in the works, to strengthen the standards required to become a RMA and prevent cross-ownership of businesses between education providers and agents.

Further changes would also prohibit commissions on student transfers between education providers within Australia, removing incentives for agents and providers to ‘poach’ students.

It reports that nine of the top 10 jobs with the largest increases in employment require a post-school qualification (skill level one to four) or equivalent, with five of those requiring a bachelor's degree (skill level one) or equivalent.

An equivalent to each skill level can be replaced by the number of years of relevant experience that a person has working in that occupation. For instance, skill level one equivalence is five years working in a related role.

Although more jobs need higher qualifications, the report also said that employers value experience over qualifications, with 60 per cent of employers identifying relevant experience as their top priority, and less than 50 per cent reporting qualifications as paramount.

Andrew Norton, professor in the practice of higher education policy at the Australian National University, told Campus Review that most employers actually want both, and this has a negative effect on the pipeline from higher education to the workforce, as it leaves higher-skill level jobs vacant.

"Even if there are strong demands for a profession, sometimes graduates still struggle to find work simply because they don't have any experience," he explained.

The University of New England is attempting to combat this through a fast-tracked two-year bachelor's degree that considers experience in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as up to 66 per cent of the qualification requirements needed to graduate.

According to the report, in the last year 72 per cent of employers said they had difficulty recruiting for higher skilled occupations (level one to three), compared to only 55 per cent who said it was difficult to recruit for lower-skilled occupations (level four to five).

"Often [higher skill level jobs] are more interesting work, less repetitive and more scope for independent judgement," Professor Norton said.

"On the other hand, some people don't do well in the education system, and there is still a need for jobs that don't require any post-school qualification."

Professor Norton said many recent reports also show universities aren't enrolling enough full-time students to meet demand, with many choosing to study part-time or, especially among the mature-aged cohort, go straight into the workforce.

The report revealed over half of total employment growth over the year was in skill level two to four occupations, where vocational education and training (VET) qualifications are the primary pathway.

VET courses have commonly been thought of as a 'second option' to university degrees, even though increasingly graduates from both can obtain the same jobs, but with university graduates often left with more debt.

Government initiatives rolled out this year, such as fee-free TAFE, $330m to ADF technical trade skills and Queensland's Trade to Teach internships , are attempting to ameliorate both the vocational education and high-skills shortages.

The federal government announced a 12-month skills agreement providing $550.1m in 2023, including $493.3m for fee-free TAFE places, which state and territory governments would match.

Under the skills agreement, eligible people could choose from 300 free qualifications, "delivering free TAFE places to train, retrain and upskill Australian workers," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Fee-free TAFE courses align with industry growth sectors, including care, technology and digital, hospitality and tourism, construction, agriculture and sovereign capability.

Most 2023 enrolments were in the care sector, with more than 51,000 students (23.8 per cent) enrolled.

The initiative prioritised placements for equity cohorts, with women taking up the majority of enrolments.

More than 34 per cent of total enrolments were from inner and outer regional locations, and over 20 per cent were current job seekers.

"This is an encouraging sign that Australia is making progress on easing skills shortages still affecting many areas of the economy post-pandemic," Training Minister Brendan O'Connor said.

"These shortages affect up to 31 per cent of occupations according to the 2022 Skills Priority List."

TAFE as a 'second option'

National Skills Week 2023 in August this year promoted the importance of skills-based education and highlighting its diverse career pathways.

National Skills Week aimed to dispel the negative perceptions surrounding vocational education and training (VET) as a 'second option' to university degrees and focused on emerging skills and industry needs.

"Parents and students have been led to believe that university education automatically means a better outcome and that TAFE is a study path to fall back on," said National Skills Week chair Brian Wexham.

"Not all lucrative careers require a university degree, which can hold students back from successful and lucrative careers in industries of importance to the Australian economy," Mr Wexham said.

The cost of university compared to TAFE leaves university graduates with higher debts without the promise of higher salaries. 

"People often say to me, 'you know, apprentices don't get paid very much', and I say, 'well actually, they're getting paid to learn'," Mr Wexham said.

The federal government is negotiating with states and territories to deliver a five-year National Skills Agreement and is due to announce the 2024 fee-free places soon.

Wodonga TAFE led the successful bid for the Joint Technical Trades and Training Services contract.

Wodonga TAFE will partner with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to create a National Technical Education Network (NTEN).

The NTEN will deliver over 100 accredited and non-accredited courses in construction, engineering, mechanical, electrical and electronics trades in campuses across Australia.

The program is expected to add up to 250 dedicated personnel in support of the NTEN partnership.

An estimated 2,000 students will benefit from the new training courses each year, allowing prospective, current and former serving ADF members to upskill, reskill and cross-skill closer to home.

The Network of RTOs will build upon existing partnerships to deliver more flexible access to technical trades training to attract, train, retain, and re-train ADF personnel across Australia.

Members of the NTEN will include Wodonga TAFE, South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE), Chisolm Institute, TAFE QLD, University of New England (UNE), National Electrical Communications Association (NCEA), Kangan Institute, Charles Darwin University (CDU), Kinetic IT and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

Each RTO in the NTEN will provide technical trade skills unique to Australia's defence requirements.

Wodonga TAFE will lead the program’s delivery, building on existing contracts with the ADH to deliver technical trade, heavy vehicle, plant machinery and medic training.  

SM TAFE has over 20 years of experience in Western Australia educating ADF personnel as the only training provider in WA to be recognised by the Naval Shipbuilding College.

Chisolm Institute in Dandenong delivers technical trade training to Navy personnel based at HMAS Cerberus in Hastings and is expected to recruit 70 educators and 14 support roles for the program.

TAFE Queensland specialises in training military personnel to transition to civilian life. Queensland is going through extensive refurbishments of defence facilities infrastructure, and TAFE QLD is well positioned to increase the employability of ADF personnel in regional areas.

University of New England provides a fast-tracked two-year bachelor's degree by crediting ADF professional experience towards up to 66 per cent of the qualification requirements.

The NCEA has offices in every state and the ACT and offers training in Electrotechnology IRC skills and apprenticeships for on-the-job skills training.

Victoria's Kangan Institute provides an alternative avenue into the ADF for Australians who haven't completed the pre-requisite studies (year 10 equivalent). The program is delivered on-campus or online for a flexible, self-paced learning experience.

Charles Darwin University partners with the ADF on research projects and Defence Export Controls (DEC), which regulates the export and supply of military and dual-use goods and technologies.

Kinetic IT provides ICT support navigating complex IT environments and improving outcomes for the ADF. Kinetic IT partners with organisations like Soldier On and Defence Families Australia to provide career opportunities.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) supports growth of Australia's defence and aerospace industry through the Sir Lawrence Wackett Defence and Aero Centre.

SM TAFE chief Terry Durant welcomed the partnership, saying the program would support ADF personnel to further develop their technical trade skills “in locations where they work and live.”

The Joint Technical Trades and Training Services contract will commence in November and continue until 2028.