The ACTT submission makes recommendations to the Board of Vocational Education and Training regarding the NSW Smart & Skilled policy. It addresses increasing VET participation, targeting VET to business and industry needs, and the role of TAFE NSW. Key recommendations include maintaining or increasing funding for TAFE to ensure quality training, balancing contestable and public funding, keeping course fees accessible, and improving pathways, support services and completion rates for disadvantaged learners.

1. Submission
Smart & Skilled:
making NSW number one
ACTT – Association of Concerned
TAFE Teachers
Lee Frost, Don Gilhooly, Alex Strachan, Dorothy Tsang, Paul Vourloumis

2. Introduction
• The members of ACTT wish to submit the
following submission and recommendations to
the Board of Vocational Education and Training
regarding the NSW Smart & Skilled policy. The
issues to be addressed are:
• Increase participation in VET
• Target VET to business, industry and regional
needs
• Role and function of TAFE NSW as the public
provider
• Greater choice for individuals & employers

3. Increase participation in VET
1.1 How can we engage more of the working age population in vocational
education and training?
• By ensuring standards of private RTO’s are as high as TAFE to
maintain quality of training that is not compromised by market
forces.
• By ensuring courses result in a high proportion of job outcomes.
Contestable funding in Victorian VET led to a 1000% increase in
enrolments in courses for Fitness Instructors since 2008.
• By ensuring NSW TAFE is adequately funded to continue to
provide high quality vocational education and training.

4. TAFE NSW has a high satisfaction
factor in relation to private RTO’s
A survey cited in the Smart & Skilled discussion
paper states:
• 89 per cent of TAFE NSW graduates were
satisfied with the quality of the training they
had received.
• 87 per cent of training participants who receive
government- funded training with private
training providers in New South Wales were
satisfied with the quality of training. (NSW DEC
2011)

5. 1.3 How can we improve training and job
outcomes for disadvantaged learners?
• By maintaining reductions in course fees for
financially disadvantaged learners.
• By increasing subsidised foundation services
such as Literacy and Numeracy and IT
support within or prior to commencement of
training.

6. 1.5 How can we encourage more people to complete
higher-level qualifications?
• Lower-level qualifications need to be valued and
not discouraged as they often underpin
knowledge and skills, they scaffold learning for
successful completions in higher-level
qualifications.
• Costs for higher-level qualifications need to be
affordable. Proposed VET FEE-HELP needs to be
flexible and non-restrictive to lifelong learning.

7. 1.7 To what extent could a training entitlement
increase training participation and meet the future
skill needs of individuals, businesses, regions and
our economy?
• A training entitlement is transferable Federal
Government subsidised funding for VET
students for their first CIII.
• Whilst successful completion of a CIII may
increase participation and meet skills needs
by young learners, changing industry
demands may necessitate retraining. This
precludes those who already have CIII or
higher to access subsidised funding.

8. 1.11 Should student loans be available for government-
funded vocational qualifications? If so, what should they
look like?
• Student loans should not be used as an
excuse to raise the course fees of VET to
unreasonable levels.
• Care must be taken to not exclude learners
from skilling down or sideways. Lifelong
learning is not always linear.

9. Paul

10. Target VET to business, industry and
regional needs
2.1 What is the best way to ensure that the
government's funds for VET flow to areas that
maximise economic benefits for our businesses
and the state?
• We suggest that lowering fees will increase
enrolments. The effect of this allows more
opportunity for jobs.
• Skills needs need to be identified early.

11. Target VET to business, industry and
regional needs
2.2 How can we maximise VET opportunities to
meet the needs of our regions?
• TAFE NSW Riverina suggest graduates
satisfaction with the training received promoted
more funding for the institution which increases
skill levels creating a beneficial cycle.
• Flexible distance based learning such as TAFE
OTEN should be enhanced and have funding
support to better service regional areas e.g.
Increased IT resources.

12. Target VET to business, industry and
regional needs
• 2.3 How can our VET system adapt and be
responsive to meet the changing needs of
business and industry and changes in the
economy?
• Facilitate increased consultation with industry.
• Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) explain
how authentic information from industry is
important. The significance of this information
can provide a waypoint to finding where future
funding can be spent.

13. Lee

14. Role and function of TAFE NSW as the
public provider
• 3.1 What should the role of TAFE NSW be in the context of
a broader entitlement to training in our vocational
education and training system?
• TAFE's role as the primary VET provider in NSW should be
supported by government in order to maintain standards
in course development and delivery.
• In 2010 TAFE delivered more than 70% of all flexible
Vocational Education and Training in Australia. It has the
infrastructure, reputation, history and the resources to
further develop its role in VET provision. (NSW Adult
Literacy and Numeracy Council, 2011).

15. Role and function of TAFE NSW as the
public provider
• 3.2 How should TAFE NSW be better utilized to meet the
future skill needs of our workforce?
• TAFE should develop stronger links to schools and
universities by providing clearer pathways for vocational
and professional training.
• TAFE has an extensive syllabus that has been
maintained, adapted and changed according to market
and industry needs.
• Training reforms need to support existing staff to develop
resources and facilities that can adapt to the changing job
market demands, and in line with the NSW 2021 plan.

16. Dorothy

17. Greater choice for individuals and
employers
4.1 Type of information that is needed by
individuals and employers to inform their choice
of VET:
• TAFE NSW works with employers in their
workplace.
• Provides most placement support to students
training in the workplace.

18. Greater choice for individuals and
employers
• 4.2 To assure the quality of VET in the context of greater
choice, we can
• Increased emphasis on teachers’ accountability in their classroom
delivery.
• Maintain or update quality educational facilities or flexible
learning options.
• Close collaboration with local community, industry and other
stakeholders.
• Alternative career pathways available to students to encourage
appropriate training choices.

19. Don

20. Improve VET completion rates
• 5.1How can we improve vocational education
and training completion rates?
• Offer more ‘Gap’ training for basic.
• Greater levels of support for students
learning.
• Value the participation as well as the
completion.

21. Improve VET completion rates
• 5.3 How can we improve completions for
apprentices and trainees?
• Comprehensive careers advice in & out of
school.
• Integration of some courses into school
curriculum.
• Value NSW VET relatively high completion
rate & do not compromise it by wholesale
introduction of contestable funding.

22. NSW VET has one of the highest
completion rates in Australia. 34%
compared to 27% nationally (NSW DEC 2011)

23. NSW has a relative low share of
contestable funding for VET at 19.6%
compared with 21.7 % nationally (NSW DEC 2011)

24. Recommendations
• To increase participation in VET the government must increase or
at least maintain funding for TAFE for it to continue providing
premium Vocational Education and Training.
Value add what we have - TAFE.
• Contestable funding needs to be in line with skills needs and
additional to current funding model so facilitating reform.
Flexibility is allowed for.
• Keep course fees accessible for learners with careful introduction
of an entitlement system and student loans for higher-level
training or lowering fees to stepping up qualifications from
previous completions.

25. Recommendations
• Increase subsidised foundation services such as Literacy
and Numeracy and IT support within or prior to
commencement of training.
• Proposed VET FEE-HELP needs to be flexible and non-
restrictive to lifelong learning.
• ACTT suggest that lowering fees will increase enrolments.
• Facilitate increased consultation with industry, big & small

26. Recommendations
• Maintain or update quality educational facilities and/or flexible
learning options, give TAFE the ability to be flexible.
• Comprehensive careers advice in & out of school.
• Value NSW VET relatively high completion rate & do not
compromise it by wholesale introduction of contestable funding.
• Value the participation as well as the completion.
Do we wish for a society built on a co-operative model or a
competitive model?

27. References:
• Australian Council for Private Education and Training 2011, Smart and Skilled Submission, viewed 3
April 2012 https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/forms_documents/.../org_acpet.pdf
• Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2012, Skills for all Australians:
National reforms to skill more Australians and achieve a more competitive and dynamic
economy, viewed 24 April 2012 http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Pages/SkillsforallAustralians.aspx
• NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council 2011, Submission to: Smart and Skilled: making NSW
number one, Accessed 24 April 2012.
http://www.nswalnc.uts.edu.au/doc/SmartSkillALNCSub2011.pdf
• NSW Department of Education and Communities 2011, Smart and skilled: making NSW number
one, Discussion paper, viewed 2nd April 2012
https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/vet/skills_reform/index.html
• Trounson, A. 2011, ‘Boom for private providors’, The Australian, Higher Education, 17 August
2011, viewed 28 April 2012 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/boom-for-private-
providers/story-e6frgcjx-1226116237059