FEDERATION University head Professor Duncan Bentley has welcomed the development of the National Skills Agreement, or NSA, which will bring together TAFE and higher education programs.<\/p>\n
The NSA is a five-year agreement between the Commonwealth, state, and territory governments that\u2019s seeking to strengthen vocational education and training, with the aim of meeting Australia\u2019s skill shortages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will succeed because it brings together all the players from unions and employers to providers and governments,\u201d said Mr Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also focuses on the needs of each region and, through vehicles such as Free TAFE, adapts to the particular needs of each economic region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting localised needs is one the reasons behind Federation University\u2019s establishment of the first wind turbine apprenticeship in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are different providers catering to different employer needs in our respective regions,\u201d said Mr Bentley.<\/p>\n
He also said the change is long overdue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn persevering with a binary post-secondary education system, Australia has also failed to keep up,\u201d Mr Bentley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTAFE is state and higher education is Federal. The system tries to stop you doing both.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet most school leavers do not care what level the qualification is, they want what is needed to get their dream job.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mr Bentley, the NSA is a step in the right direction to encouraging more Australians to take up higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe joint efforts by employers and education providers, with strong union support and government funding, are a vital step to incentivise a joined-up approach to skills and training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sends a powerful, positive and aspirational message to those at school and those thinking of upskilling to a new career.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt last, we are seeing the development of an Australian framework to help turbocharge our skills and training capability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FEDERATION University head Professor Duncan Bentley has welcomed the development of the National Skills Agreement, or NSA, which will bring together TAFE and higher education programs. The NSA is a five-year agreement between the Commonwealth, state, and territory governments that\u2019s seeking to strengthen vocational education and training, with the aim of meeting Australia\u2019s skill shortages. […]<\/p>\n