VET’s charmers have few snakes dancing to their tune. By John Mitchell. Hanging on the wall in my office is a print I purchased long ago of a Michael Leunig cartoon that depicts a character dressed up as a snake ...

Precious little has been reported about how to extend the 50-plus crowd’s  working years and the role VET must play in this effort. By Sally Thompson. Late last year, the Productivity Commission released a report titled An ageing Australia: Preparing ...

The trend towards looking down on mid-level qualifications hurts young people and the economy. By Stuart Middleton. It used to be the practice when starting a career that entry was at the bottom and you learnt the business by working ...

Australia’s bumbling approach to engagement and collaboration conjures up the inept Frank Drebin, only this isn’t a comedy. By JP Viljoen. Taken together, poor policy and inadequate practice constrain the effective use of knowledge in socio-economic development and national innovation. ...

A disturbing ASQA report on training in aged care highlights VET system flaws – shortened courses, invalid assessment and limited work placements – that the regulator must be allowed to fix. By John Mitchell. I remember very clearly making arrangements ...

The hard part for Queensland is confronting adverse challenges as the rate of change accelerates. By Lynne Foley. I speak from deep in the heart of TAFE Queensland reform, as the tough end of merging three TAFE institutes – Brisbane ...

Claims the authority is slow and heavy handed don’t stand up to facts; ‘vague’ standards are to blame for problems. By Chris Robinson. In recent months, a number of stakeholders in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector have taken ...

Rhiannon says the current model sends too much public funding to private training organisations. By Dallas Bastian. The Greens are calling for an immediate end to TAFE cuts and a complete overhaul of the VET funding system following the release ...

Forty years after Kangan, TAFE is still facing many of the same problems; it’s time to break that cycle. By Adrian Marron. Twenty years ago, I assisted a colleague in creating a strategic 10-year vision for our college. Re-reading it ...

Every aspect of the national VET regulator needs a review, starting with its paranoid mindset. By Rohan Cresp. The national vocational education and training regulator – the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) – has a challenging remit. It is responsible, ...