How Australia can turn the digital skills deficit into an opportunity

Economics consulting firm AlphaBeta has estimated that 3.7 million Australian employees will need training in digital skills in the next year in order to cope with the changes in their jobs due to the pandemic.

That’s a daunting figure, 29% of the workforce, especially as we face an acute shortage of people with the skills and experience to drive digital transformation projects in everything from healthcare and financial services to manufacturing and the public sector.

But the AlphaBeta research, which was commissioned by cloud partner Amazon Web Services, also suggests there’s plenty of potential to make progress in the short term.

A survey of over 1,000 Australian employees and 300 organisations ranging from small businesses to large enterprises, found both employers and their workers keen to embrace new digital skills, in areas such as cloud computing and cybersecurity.

For more information, please visit How Australia can turn the digital skills deficit into an opportunity – Startup Daily

Australia extends support for Vietnam’s vocational education, training

The Australian Embassy in Vietnam and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) on April 14 launched Australia’s next phase of support for Vietnam’s vocational education and training (VET).

Over the past four years, Aus4Skills strengthened the engagement of Vietnam’s logistics industry in VET to help ensure that students graduate with the skills required by logistics employers.

Since 2017, more than 5,300 Vietnamese vocational students have benefitted from improved teaching quality in colleges supported by Aus4Skills. Enrolments in logistics courses in these colleges have increased eight-fold. Graduates from these colleges are in higher demand due to their job readiness.

This next phase of support, valued up to 13.8 million AUD (10.26 million USD) commenced in 2021 and will see this successful model extended over four years (2021-2025). The programme is designed to help Vietnam upskill its workforce – a crucial ingredient for Vietnam to meet its ambitious 2045 target of being a high-income country. This work will focus on the logistics sector. Logistics is a priority for Vietnam as it is expected to contribute 8-10 percent of GDP by 2025. It is also a sector Australia has considerable experience in.

For more information, please visit Australia extends support for Vietnam’s vocational education, training | Society | Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus)

Experts to support ASQA regulatory efforts, strategic vision

The government has established a new national advisory council to support the best practice regulation of Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Peter Costantini will chair the new council, comprised of members professor Valerie Braithwaite, Renee Hindmarsh, Dr Grant Klinkum, Adrienne Nieuwenhuis, Neil Quarmby, and Dr Don Zoellner.

The expert Vocational Education and Training Regulator Advisory Council will back the work of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). It has been set up in response to a recommendation from the rapid review of ASQA’s governance, culture and regulatory practice two years ago.

ASQA CEO Saxon Rice issued a statement this month explaining the new members had been appointed for their governance, regulation, industry engagement, and education and training expertise.

“ASQA’s purpose is to ensure quality VET so that students, employers, governments, and the community have confidence in the integrity of national qualifications issued by training providers.

“Our overarching goal is to move from input and compliance controls, to a focus on self-assurance and excellence in training outcomes,” Rice said.

ASQA’s current governance arrangements were introduced under law reforms in 2020 and included the formation of an advisory council comprising experts from regulatory practice, sector and business engagement, and education and training.

The council is expected to help the agency with continuous governance practice improvement and provide high-level ongoing expert advice for ASQA’s strategic objectives and approach to regulation.

“The advisory council presents a valuable source of strategic advice to ASQA as a regulator and signals our commitment to learning from the expertise of others as we continue to build and maintain the confidence and trust of those we regulate and the broader community,” Rice said.

For more information, please visit Experts to support ASQA regulatory efforts, strategic vision