These students say they are “in limbo” as Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, which oversees immigration, refuses to provide a clear timeline of when students can expect to hear the outcome of their applications.

Alokita, an Indian student, received an offer to study aerospace engineering at UNSW Canberra in September 2020 and was due to begin her PhD in February 2021. Her visa has been “under assessment” since she submitted the application at the beginning of October 2020 and she says when she asks for updates from the DHA, she only ever receives “generic” responses.

Alokita says the university has been “very supportive” and has already let her defer her place five times due to the delay, but it will not allow any further deferments – if her visa is not accepted by June, she will lose her scholarship and PhD place.

“Every day I wake up in a hope to get a conclusion, a direction, and a fixed course of action but every day I am faced with the same uncertainties,” Alokita said, adding that the last two years have been “filled with insane amounts of stress”.

UNSW Canberra did not respond to requests for comment.

For more information, please click here.

The health and welfare workforces deliver various services through Australia’s private and public organisations. However, there is an imbalance in the system as the extent of services delivered is way lesser than what is actually needed, primarily due to workforce crisis.

The accurate picture of the healthcare workforce crisis in Australia was revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the period, the biggest challenge was not the supply of medicine or equipment but the availability of a skilled workforce.

However, the bitter truth is that the workforce crisis has not been caused by the pandemic; it has merely been exposed and worsened by COVID-19 onslaught.

For more information, please click here.

There is a narrative that has been around for a while tagging technical/vocational education as a last resort after one fails to advance in formal education. The other was that it’s the cheaper option if one failed to raise the tuition for instance to finish high school or to join university or if one had dropped out of school. This type of education has often been categorised as an option for intellectually inferior students and associated with “unpopular” blue-collar employment. The perception has been deeply ingrained in people that parents regarded their children as failures and in disappointment ‘dumped’ them into the technical/vocational schools.

For more information, please click here.

International students continue to shun Australia

Late last year, the Morrison Government announced reforms to visa arrangements to ensure a “rapid return of international students”.

The reforms included:

• granting a two year Temporary Graduate visa to Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector graduates; and
• extending the temporary graduate visa from two to three years for masters by coursework graduates.

According to the latest arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), released yesterday, student arrivals have failed to rebound, with only 28,290 arriving in the three months to March 2022.

For more information, please click here.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that from July 31st all visitors will be able to enter the country, and that international students will be able to apply for visas.

She said the reopening was part of a package of measures to support economic recovery and to fill labour shortages in the country.

Working holiday visas have been open since March and the country opened to fully vaccinated visitors from visa waiver countries at the beginning of this month. A special cohort of 5,000 international students who will be able to enter earlier than full reopening is underway. As recently reported, Education New Zealand advised agencies that some places in the cohort are still available for English language and private tertiary education.

The latest announcement from the Prime Minister means that the international education sector will be fully reopen from July 31st.

Commenting on the recommencement of student visa processing, Grant McPherson, Chief Executive of Education New Zealand , said in a statement that it was a “welcome step forward and sends a strong signal that New Zealand is fully reopening to the world”.

“This announcement brings much-needed certainty for our existing and prospective international students after an anxious and stressful two years stranded outside the country because of border restrictions,” said Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara Chief Executive Chris Whelan.

For more information, please click here.

“Where London leads; I have no doubt the rest of the country will follow,” was the message from Chris Skidmore, former minister of state for universities, speaking to representatives from 25 of London’s higher education institutions at a roundtable event in Westminster this week.

The event, organised by London Higher and Oxford International Education Group, included insight from IDP Connect and Nous Group and signalled the start of a renewed effort from stakeholders in the English capital to re-establish “brand London” in the face of strong global competition from the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Skidmore, speaking via video link from Brussels as part of a UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, warned against the UK standing still in setting new international recruitment targets.

“Last year, the Department published an update to the international education strategy, reaffirming a commitment to reaching the milestones mentioned; yet it lacked any new ambitions or policy innovations,” he said.

The UK national target of 600,000 international students attending British universities (and generating an annual education export market of £35 billion) was reached 10 years ahead of schedule, due, in part, to the reinstated policy lever of a post-study work visa in 2021, but also due to border closures and travel disruption for competitor destinations during the pandemic.

For more information, please click here.

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

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)

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

Building a safer and more sustainable future with apprenticeships and technical education

A major report into how world class skills training will support the construction industry to boost safety, sustainability, and the mental health of its workforce has been unveiled today.

The findings of the Construction Route Review have been published by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

A major report into how world class skills training will support the construction industry to boost safety, sustainability, and the mental health of its workforce has been unveiled today.

For more information, please visit Building a safer and more sustainable future with apprenticeships and technical education – FE News

Technical and Vocational Education Market To Eyewitness Huge Growth: 2022, Regional Development Status, New Platforms and Advance Technologies by 2028

The research reports on the “Technical and Vocational Education Market” report give a detailed overview of the factors affecting the global scope of business. Information in the global Technical and Vocational Education market report provides forecast data for future market growth in global demand and supply. The report initially provides a basic overview of the segments, market dynamics, applications, and technologies in which the report explores the key market players. The report provides an in-depth analysis of market size, share, manufacturing trends, overall revenue, gross revenue, and profit margin to accurately forecast and provide expert information on the market trends.

Get a Sample PDF of this Report with Graphs and Charts at: stratagemmarketinsights.com/sample

For more information, please visit Technical and Vocational Education Market To Eyewitness Huge Growth: 2022, Regional Development Status, New Platforms and Advance Technologies by 2028

Worldskills support youth to thrive

A comprehensive study commissioned by Worldskills Australia explores the views and attitudes of over 400 young apprentices, trainees, VET students and their mentors. The survey is to better understand what motivates them and discover how Worldskills can further encourage young people to consider pursuing a vocational skill.

Amid significant and well-publicised labour shortages, a precarious economic situation and declines in the number of people completing VET courses, it is clear Australia needs to embrace a new approach. Striving for excellence will not only support individual growth, but also organisational, industrial and national growth.

Chief amongst the reports’ findings was that 87.5 per cent of respondents attributed their involvement in the WorldSkills program motivated them to finish their current education. It also found the program helped change the perception of VET amongst secondary students and their family and friends.

The report is the first instalment in an impact project, which aims to capture and clarify the extrinsic value WorldSkills Australia brings to Australia’s skills development environment.

The full report can be accessed here: Supporting Our Youth to Thrive report.

For more information, please visit Worldskills support youth to thrive – Australasian Paint & Panel

The government has unveiled a plan to invest $900 million on Australia’s research infrastructure

The Australian Government has announced the introduction of the 2021 National Research Infrastructure (NRI) Roadmap, which will invest $900 million over five years in tools, technology, and skills to bolster Australia’s worldwide competitiveness in research.

Acting Education and Youth Minister Stuart Robert stated that ensuring funding certainty for research and innovation would strengthen Australia’s comparative edge, notably through our National Manufacturing Priorities.

For more information, please visit Morrison Government launches roadmap to $900 million spend on Australia’s research infrastructure | Ministers’ Media Centre (dese.gov.au)

Australian Skills Classification 2.0 released

The Australian Skills Classification helps define the skills that underpin jobs in Australia.

As employers, workers, education providers and policy makers recognise that skills are the real currency of the labour market, the Australian Skills Classification can play a pivotal part in enabling new skills-based approaches to workforce and talent strategies, learning and development, and policy.

The Classification identifies three types of skills for every occupation: specialist tasks, technology tools and core competencies. Similar specialist tasks are grouped together into skills clusters, which are further grouped into skills cluster families.

For more information, please visit Australian Skills Classification | National Skills Commission

Advisory Group for VET Reforms

The Commonwealth, with all State and Territory Governments, are together progressing a program of significant structural reform of the VET system to improve efficiency, transparency and confidence in the sector and ensure Australians have access to high quality and relevant training.

The Advisory Group for VET Reforms has been established in the context of the skills reform agenda, and broader reforms to the tertiary system, to provide advice to Senior Officials on matters relating to Industry Engagement, Qualifications Reform and Quality Reforms.

For more information, please visit Advisory Group for VET Reforms – Terms of Reference, March 2022.pdf (skillsreform.gov.au)

National Workforce Strategy

The National Workforce Strategy provides a framework for Government to work with to ensure sector-specific workforce plans are data-driven, enable and equip Australians to take up available work, remove barriers to participation, activate industry to drive change, and use migration to complement the domestic workforce.

For more information, please visit National Workforce Strategy – Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Australian Government (dese.gov.au)

New guide will help course owners apply for course accreditation

ASQA has published a new guide to help course owners understand what they need to do when applying for course accreditation.

The new guide will help course owners:

• interpret and apply the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework in the course documentation
• better understand the requirements for accreditation by providing detailed explanations and example content.

ASQA recommends this new guide to anyone considering applying for accreditation of a new course.

For more information, please visit New guide will help course owners apply for course accreditation | Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)

How COVID-19 caused a global learning crisis

In McKinsey and Company’s latest report on unfinished learning, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and well-being, and identify potential considerations for school systems as they support students in recovery and beyond.

For more information, please visit How COVID-19 caused a global learning crisis | McKinsey

National Microcredentials Framework

DESE has undertaken extensive consultation with the wider tertiary sector to develop the National Microcredentials Framework. The framework’s goal is to provide greater clarity and understanding within the tertiary education sector and amongst learners as to the value and recognition of microcredentials.

The framework should also encourage transparency, consistency and objectivity in the sector around credit recognition arrangements and the portability of microcredentials.

For more information, please visit National Microcredentials Framework – Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Australian Government (dese.gov.au)

How colleges and universities are reimagining remote learning

Just two years ago, universities around the world closed their campuses at the pandemic’s onset, and embarked on a never-before-tried experiment: delivering education 100 percent remotely. The results have been mixed, especially in low- and middle-income countries, but universities everywhere agree that online classes are a permanent feature.

The question is how to do it most effectively, yielding the best results for the students, the university, and local employers.

University leaders in emerging markets acknowledge that the role of the private sector in higher education has grown greatly in the last two years from both supply and demand perspectives: first, universities are providers of online options, and second, they are listening to employers seeking graduates with skills that match jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated trends toward online learning, these leaders have said, but it also has broadened the types of people who want targeted skills training to prepare them for jobs of the future.

For more information, please visit What is the most effective way to learn virtually? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Just two years ago, universities around the world closed their campuses at the pandemic’s onset, and embarked on a never-before-tried experiment: delivering education 100 percent remotely. The results have been mixed, especially in low- and middle-income countries, but universities everywhere agree that online classes are a permanent feature.

The question is how to do it most effectively, yielding the best results for the students, the university, and local employers.

University leaders in emerging markets acknowledge that the role of the private sector in higher education has grown greatly in the last two years from both supply and demand perspectives: first, universities are providers of online options, and second, they are listening to employers seeking graduates with skills that match jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated trends toward online learning, these leaders have said, but it also has broadened the types of people who want targeted skills training to prepare them for jobs of the future.

For more information, please visit What is the most effective way to learn virtually? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

DESE has undertaken extensive consultation with the wider tertiary sector to develop the National Microcredentials Framework. The framework’s goal is to provide greater clarity and understanding within the tertiary education sector and amongst learners as to the value and recognition of microcredentials.

The framework should also encourage transparency, consistency and objectivity in the sector around credit recognition arrangements and the portability of microcredentials.

For more information, please visit National Microcredentials Framework – Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Australian Government (dese.gov.au)

In McKinsey and Company’s latest report on unfinished learning, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and well-being, and identify potential considerations for school systems as they support students in recovery and beyond.

For more information, please visit How COVID-19 caused a global learning crisis | McKinsey

ASQA has published a new guide to help course owners understand what they need to do when applying for course accreditation.

The new guide will help course owners:

• interpret and apply the Standards for VET Accredited Courses 2021 and the Australian Qualifications Framework in the course documentation
• better understand the requirements for accreditation by providing detailed explanations and example content.

ASQA recommends this new guide to anyone considering applying for accreditation of a new course.

For more information, please visit New guide will help course owners apply for course accreditation | Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)

The National Workforce Strategy provides a framework for Government to work with to ensure sector-specific workforce plans are data-driven, enable and equip Australians to take up available work, remove barriers to participation, activate industry to drive change, and use migration to complement the domestic workforce.

For more information, please visit National Workforce Strategy – Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Australian Government (dese.gov.au)

The Commonwealth, with all State and Territory Governments, are together progressing a program of significant structural reform of the VET system to improve efficiency, transparency and confidence in the sector and ensure Australians have access to high quality and relevant training.

The Advisory Group for VET Reforms has been established in the context of the skills reform agenda, and broader reforms to the tertiary system, to provide advice to Senior Officials on matters relating to Industry Engagement, Qualifications Reform and Quality Reforms.

For more information, please visit Advisory Group for VET Reforms – Terms of Reference, March 2022.pdf (skillsreform.gov.au)

The Australian Skills Classification helps define the skills that underpin jobs in Australia.

As employers, workers, education providers and policy makers recognise that skills are the real currency of the labour market, the Australian Skills Classification can play a pivotal part in enabling new skills-based approaches to workforce and talent strategies, learning and development, and policy.

The Classification identifies three types of skills for every occupation: specialist tasks, technology tools and core competencies. Similar specialist tasks are grouped together into skills clusters, which are further grouped into skills cluster families.

For more information, please visit Australian Skills Classification | National Skills Commission

The Australian Government has announced the introduction of the 2021 National Research Infrastructure (NRI) Roadmap, which will invest $900 million over five years in tools, technology, and skills to bolster Australia’s worldwide competitiveness in research.

Acting Education and Youth Minister Stuart Robert stated that ensuring funding certainty for research and innovation would strengthen Australia’s comparative edge, notably through our National Manufacturing Priorities.

For more information, please visit Morrison Government launches roadmap to $900 million spend on Australia’s research infrastructure | Ministers’ Media Centre (dese.gov.au)

A comprehensive study commissioned by Worldskills Australia explores the views and attitudes of over 400 young apprentices, trainees, VET students and their mentors. The survey is to better understand what motivates them and discover how Worldskills can further encourage young people to consider pursuing a vocational skill.

Amid significant and well-publicised labour shortages, a precarious economic situation and declines in the number of people completing VET courses, it is clear Australia needs to embrace a new approach. Striving for excellence will not only support individual growth, but also organisational, industrial and national growth.

Chief amongst the reports’ findings was that 87.5 per cent of respondents attributed their involvement in the WorldSkills program motivated them to finish their current education. It also found the program helped change the perception of VET amongst secondary students and their family and friends.

The report is the first instalment in an impact project, which aims to capture and clarify the extrinsic value WorldSkills Australia brings to Australia’s skills development environment.

The full report can be accessed here: Supporting Our Youth to Thrive report.

For more information, please visit Worldskills support youth to thrive – Australasian Paint & Panel

The research reports on the “Technical and Vocational Education Market” report give a detailed overview of the factors affecting the global scope of business. Information in the global Technical and Vocational Education market report provides forecast data for future market growth in global demand and supply. The report initially provides a basic overview of the segments, market dynamics, applications, and technologies in which the report explores the key market players. The report provides an in-depth analysis of market size, share, manufacturing trends, overall revenue, gross revenue, and profit margin to accurately forecast and provide expert information on the market trends.

Get a Sample PDF of this Report with Graphs and Charts at: stratagemmarketinsights.com/sample

For more information, please visit Technical and Vocational Education Market To Eyewitness Huge Growth: 2022, Regional Development Status, New Platforms and Advance Technologies by 2028

A major report into how world class skills training will support the construction industry to boost safety, sustainability, and the mental health of its workforce has been unveiled today.

The findings of the Construction Route Review have been published by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

A major report into how world class skills training will support the construction industry to boost safety, sustainability, and the mental health of its workforce has been unveiled today.

For more information, please visit Building a safer and more sustainable future with apprenticeships and technical education – FE News

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

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)

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