Australia is described as seeing 'the most acute skills shortages in decades'
For the first time since 2019, federal, state, and territory skills and training ministers gathered in person to discuss various significant vocational education and training (VET) reform issues. As a country, Australia is described as seeing “the most acute skills shortages in decades,” and the government took action to have “enhanced engagement” across jurisdictions and with different stakeholders.
Such a decision is key to addressing the workforce’s existing problems, the government said in a media release. Hence, the ministers would plan and act on the following VET policies.
The council noted that September’s summit marked the renewal of a national conversation about a shared vision for Australia’s economy and collaboration on addressing skills and labour shortages. The ministers committed “to work closely and in good faith” on a number of essential initiatives, including immediate financing for 180,000 fee-free TAFE training spaces, including 60,000 additional places in high-demand skill categories.
They also commissioned an “urgent work” to determine what immediate collective action might be taken to relieve labour pressures, drawing on best practices from states and territories. To help more Australians find stable employment, the ministers further agreed to collaborate to increase completion rates for traineeships and apprenticeships.
Jobs and Skills Australia, which will provide independent advice on current, emerging, and future workforce, skills, and training needs, and develop close partnerships with state and territory governments, industry, including unions, employer bodies, and education providers, was discussed by the skills ministers.
The ministers also emphasised that the country would have a clean energy workforce as a priority, in line with the federal government’s commitment to a clean energy future.
A capacity study would take place, which would include a labour market analysis of factors influencing supply and demand for workers in the sector, a gap analysis of skills in-demand for clean energy occupations, a transition analysis to support the transition from “brown” to “green” occupations, and future workforce requirements.
In collaboration with treasurers, the federal cabinet has entrusted the ministers with drafting a new long-term national skills agreement in line with an endorsed vision and guiding principles for long-term reform.
Under the guiding principles, they have committed to collaborative engagement on a wide range of priority reform areas to achieve a VET sector with “TAFE at its heart.” The expected reforms would, in turn, provide “high-quality, responsive, and accessible” education and training to boost productivity and assist workers in obtaining the necessary skills.
Jurisdictions agreed to finalise a 12-month skills agreement to provide 180,000 fee-free TAFE spaces beginning in January 2023. While the longer-term National Skills Agreement, which will begin in 2024, is being prepared, the 12-month skills agreement reinforces TAFE’s central position in the VET sector.
The blueprint will help ensure the long-term viability of the TAFE and VET sector by identifying effective strategies for attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce, competency and career development programs, and succession planning. The meeting stated that the blueprint must be connected to other education workforce policies that are being established.
The ministers also emphasised the government’s “renewed efforts” to ensure that all Australians have access to opportunities to skill and upskill, with a particular emphasis on the participation of women and First Nations Australians, people with disabilities, and young people struggling to enter the labour market.
The ministers will finalise developing a new VET qualification system that will include a framework for micro-credentials while maintaining quality. This will result in qualifications that combine industry specializations with transferable abilities, allowing people to increase their possibilities as labour force demands evolve.
Better acknowledgment of past learning and increased usage of micro-credentials would give learners more flexibility and possibilities to upskill or reskill more rapidly.
“Qualification reform will assist Australians in developing the skills they require now and, in the future, within a high-quality, responsive, and user-friendly VET system,” the media release said.
