Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations

Inquiry into the Role of Institutes of TAFE
Submissions

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Submission 50

Casey Institute of Technical and Further Education

Director and Chief Executive

Charles Wilkins

Preface

This paper is Casey Institute of TAFE's response to the House of Representative's Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training's inquiry into the appropriate roles of Institutes of Technical and Further Education. The paper argues that TAFE has evolved in such a way that it provides a strength to Australia's education and training systems in that its diversity of offerings, capacity to forge co-operative partnerships with other education sectors and its flexibility have resulted in a capacity to service Australia's economic and policy imperatives.

 

1. Appropriate Roles of Institutes of TAFE

TAFE was initially established to fill a perceived gap in access to technical and further education. This role was originally interpreted as a response to "social justice" policy initiatives to provide a bridge for people who did not have the skills or knowledge to obtain a job which demanded skills training, the academic background to attain higher education goals, or the desire to pursue a university education.

This broad charter has resulted in a diversity, across the entire nation, in approaches to regional and local challenges. Different access needs have challenged Institutes to respond creatively to delivery options which change as rapidly as the client base changes. The TAFE system has been characterised by a dynamism which is unique in Australia's education system. Unlike other education sectors, age is not an important discriminatory factor in TAFE's client base. TAFE is not restricted to a hierarchical or lock-step approach to education and training. Thus, the system services people representing age groups from under 19 to over 50, often in the same training cohorts, though the majority of clients would probably be classified as "adult" learners. The individuals who access TAFE services demand skills appropriate to a range of learning needs, from basic literacy and numeracy through to practical work based skills for university graduates. These services are not always, nor should they necessarily be provided in other sectors.

This diversity has resulted in a system where each Institute, whilst adhering to a common value of and general philosophy towards education and training centred on adult learning and vocational goals is an independent entity, able to respond to demands of community, government or industry much more efficiently and responsively than sectors which have a more rigid charter based on a need to foster general education and academic skills.

The broad sweep of TAFE's original charter has resulted in the evolution of a system which is able to take on a multiplicity of roles. These roles are cemented by a community and social obligation to enhance and maximise the taxpayer's investment in education and training by providing interfaces between secondary education and employment, between employment and university education and, increasingly, between university education and the workplace. TAFE is also the provider of "second chance" education and training as well as a lynchpin for "lifelong learning". The diversity of approaches and skills needed to fulfill these responsibilities is a strength of the system and allows Australia a breadth of choice and expertise to be drawn upon to service its human capital needs which is outside the traditional primary, secondary, tertiary approach underpinning education in the past. The TAFE system is, in fact, an investment in the future, when the "information revolution" will demand the diversity, responsiveness and flexibility which is becoming typical of TAFE during the 1990s.

The TAFE system has accepted an economic responsibility to provide its services, not only to the individual through Government's human capital investment, but also to provide similar services to industry, as a consultancy, or as a deliverer of specific training on a fee for service basis. The concept of access to further education and training has evolved to include not only individuals consuming government human capital investment, but to also accommodate employers' and industry groups' needs as well.

Similarly, TAFE has evolved to undertake an important policy implementation role, responding to labour market policy initiatives and associated needs to improve productivity to compete in an increasingly complex international environment.

The role of TAFE Institute's, through their diversity of programs and access to a wide base of teaching and training resources, has become a system to one which is able to cater for a broad range of learning and training needs, as determined by public demand, government policy, industry needs and economic necessity.

The diversity inherent in the TAFE system distinguishes it from the University or secondary systems which are committed to providing the general academic needs of people or in the cases of university, the vocational needs of highly specialised professions.

In fact, an important role of TAFE is to provide links between these sectors and employment. TAFE, through alliances with secondary colleges, private providers universities and employers is able to provide seamless pathways from traditional education to employment or "work readiness". TAFE is able to provide support, via double awards * (1) to university graduates seeking practical qualifications. It is able to undertake a role in supporting Vocational Education and Training in schools. It is able to provide "seamless" links between all sectors via competency based training, recognition of prior learning and articulation pathways.

TAFE's market focus is on consumer choice, based on responding to the education and training needs according to client demands of those people, institutions, employers or industries who wish to gain access to TAFE services. The original "access" focus, articulated in the Kangan * (2) report, has evolved so that TAFE has developed, and continues to develop, a culture where responsiveness and flexibility is encouraged and is emerging as its major focus. "Access" is no longer restricted to individuals in a region.

TAFE's focus now constitutes learning and training partnerships with a diverse range of clients including:

students
universities through two way articulation and double awards
industry groups
individual employers
Australian National Training Authority and State Training Authorities
Department of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs
National Council for Vocational and Educational Research and Australian Council forEducational Research
secondary colleges
private providers
national and international customers.

The diversity of program profiles allows TAFE to respond to client needs within local, national and global contexts. The notion of "access" has evolved from access to individuals in a discreet region to access to include employers, industries, international and national clients and institutions.

Because of the economic imperatives facing Australia, as highlighted by governments

• and industry, it is essential that TAFE continues to focus on:
• cost efficient delivery of training and education to a diversity of clients to improve their employability in a changing world
• apprenticeships/traineeships related to current and future industry needs
• language and literacy skills from basic levels to the higher levels needed for university studies
• pre-apprentice to advanced diploma and associate degree training and education
• second chance education and training
• responsiveness to consumer choice, from individuals to employers.

Government demands a responsiveness to local and national policy imperatives related to the expanding training market and the implementation of user choice principles. TAFE's focus on diversity is a strength within the VET system in that a variety of client groups are able to access a range of training solutions in response to the changing needs of work.

Recent research commissioned by Casey Institute of TAFE has revealed:

• TAFE customers are very positive about the variety of TAFE provision
• TAFE Institutes rate highly in their relevance to the work place whereas universities rate highest on academic reputation
• 61%of people intending to undertake vocational training would choose TAFE as their first choice because of variety, location, and cost of courses
• TAFE is able to meet the high demand for part-time and short courses
• TAFE is able to cater for a broad range of intended career paths.

These data support the contention that TAFE's current focus is in line with current customer expectation and customers perceive that TAFE provides these services.

Customers also value in their training:

• up to date facilities
• good reputation in industry
• high relevance to the workplace
• reasonable fees
• handy location
• convenient class-times

and perceive TAFE as providing these services.

 

2. The Extent that TAFE Roles should Overlap with Universities

There is no doubt that there will be some overlap in a user choice market. TAFE's traditional domain of preparing people for work or further education has been seen as a field of opportunity for universities who have begun to compete in this arena. This competition is healthy and does not contradict TAFE's role in providing a seamless approach to education and training. TAFE is developing as a catalyst for training, as opposed to professional education, and provides a link between the secondary sector, the private sector and the university sector. TAFE is an avenue to the acquisition of skills which improve employment opportunities as opposed to universities, which are providing skills and knowledge for a narrow segment of professional employment. TAFE is not a second choice, second class system for people who wanted to attend university. TAFE in an avenue to jobs, and this is supported by data which indicates that the mobility between universities and TAFE reflects that the trend is university to TAFE to employment, not the other way around. Both sectors add employable value to a student. Some students choose university, some choose TAFE, some choose both options, TAFE is best positioned to provide this "seamless" transition between sectors.

Whereas the universities have a high commitment to the "professions", TAFE has a high commitment to trades and para professional and the broad based industry sector. Thus TAFE has focused upon catering for that large cohort of post secondary students who do not, cannot, or do not need to, meet university entrance requirements.

However, globalisation is resulting in a potential area for overlap. TAFE is currently at a disadvantage in overseas markets because it does not offer technical degrees. This is an area where competition and co-operation between the TAFE and university sectors could emerge.

Currently, TAFE's relationships with universities tend to be based on articulation agreements and the conduct of double awards where students achieve a TAFE and a university qualification. These arrangements only represent a minor portion of each sector's current operations.

There is a fundamental difference between the way each sector develops curriculum which will probably maintain this balance. In TAFE, curriculum is driven by: industry determined competencies; responsiveness to immediate and rapidly changing needs; flexibility and diversity. The university curriculum is driven by academic standards and in increasing levels of rigour and excellence in the research skills required in clearly defined disciplines.

This fundamental difference is reflected in TAFE Institute's ability to align its strategic plans with government economic and social planning and to offer "part-time" "short term" training. TAFE has the potential to offer week-end services, on the job training - 24 hours a day, 12 months of the year. This is possible because TAFE is able to respond to training needs, whereas the university sector is obliged to perpetuate knowledge skills which have their roots in rigorous discipline, research, synthesis and analysis based on complex concepts and traditional and emerging academic methodologies.

Thus, there may be some apparent contradiction in TAFE offering degrees, or universities - offering VET programmes, but competition and user choice policies have sanctioned entrepreneurialism in education and training. Consequently, if customer demands result in TAFE initiating a degree program to fill a knowledge, research and training void, this should be allowed to occur. Similarly, if competition forces result in universities being able to derive business from VET offerings, this should also be encouraged. However, given the fundamental differences in curriculum development between the sectors, and

fundamental differences in infrastructures to provide their respective services, it is more likely that the obvious potential for partnership approaches to these "grey" areas will emerge.

Linkages, alliances and articulation between universities and TAFE are an important element to provide added diversity of career and knowledge options and course choices for people who are changing, or deciding, their career aspirations. Restricting these choices to one sector or another is contrary to the rhetoric which surrounds the concept of a "clever country" and "customer choice".

Thus, in keeping with the principles of diversity, it is important that TAFE Institute's and universities are able to maintain the freedom to forge multiple and flexible linkages with each other which will result in a wider range of opportunities for all clients. For example, it should be possible for TAFE and university partnerships to be forged so that specific industry training can occur for a designated industry sector. At the same time, it should also be possible for concurrent partnerships to be forged with different institutions to serve a different industry sector or client group.

The fundamentally different approaches of universities and TAFE Institute's are a public asset which can be drawn together in partnerships to combine the strengths of each sector to provide the best outcomes for students and industry clients. There is nothing to prevent the strengths of integrating the appropriate academic approach of a university with the appropriate adult training approach of a TAFE to provide greater diversity of choice and efficiency of human capital investment.

A significant difference between universities and TAFE is their respective approaches to research. Universities have a huge role to play in theory based and applied research, whereas TAFE is concerned with practical outcomes which provide value added services to their core business. TAFE's involvement tends to focus on elements such as best practices in workplace delivery; consultancy services; flexible learning practices; train the trainer techniques; competency based training methods and integration of modular approaches within the National Framework of Recognition of Training.

The fundamental differences in approaches of TAFE and universities have resulted in emerging management systems that are totally different for each sector of education, not only between universities and TAFE, but also including secondary and private providers.

These fundamental management differences add to, and provide assistance to the maintenance of the diversity of choice that is a strength of the emerging VET system. TAFE management must deal with its core business, universities their core business, private providers' theirs and secondary systems theirs. The diversity and fluidity of TAFE's core business has resulted in TAFE, by necessity, developing sophisticated, flexible management systems to deal with the needs for responsive record keeping and administrative demands; flexible employment arrangements; continuous improvement; devolved organisational arrangements; internal "multi campus" communication and industry and cross-sectional liaison.

Thus, each sector is managing change in different ways. TAFE's multiplicity of roles is a strength in a time of change and TAFE has evolved into the sector which, due to its diversity, is able to support the VET role in secondary colleges, universities and private providers, whilst at the same time providing an "employable outcome" for industry to a wide range of clients. TAFE is in the best position to provide "Work readiness" skills, whether this is in partnership with relevant other sectors, or in its own right. TAFE is in the best position, through its experiences and its efficiencies to address the emerging needs of timely, cost efficient, relevant training and vocational education to a changing workplace.

 

Recommendations:

• that the strength of the diversity of roles played by TAFE is recognised
• that the diversity of roles can contribute positively to emerging policy and economic imperatives
• TAFE has the capacity to co-operate with different sectors, institutes and universities
• on diverse projects and this should be encouraged
• market foreseen may result in TAFE competing with other sectors on some issues and this should be encouraged
• that "monopoly" situations which could emerge in attempting to force rigidity into a
• diverse system should be avoided
• that the significantly different learning and training options offered by the TAFE system to people and organisations which do not require university education is recognised and acknowledged.

Since its inception, TAFE has proved its capacity to evolve, to redefine itself in response to economic and policy imperatives. It is currently redefining itself as a supplier of diverse training services necessary to meet the demands of a changing, global work force. It is emerging as the critical, seamless, link between traditional learning systems and the need for lifelong training and education.

 

Footnotes

(1) Double awards occur when a student undertakes University and TAFE studies concurrently and is awarded a degree and a TAFE qualification upon graduation.

(2) TAFE in Australia: Report on Needs in Technical and Further Education, Australian Committee on Technical and Further Education, Canberra, AGPS 1974.

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