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This inquiry was established on 28 May 2020 to inquire into and report on the future development of the New South Wales (NSW) tertiary education sector. The Department of Education considers that the term 'tertiary education' includes universities, non-university higher education providers, and vocational education and training (VET) providers. This inquiry has focused on the role of universities and non-university higher education providers, including the challenges facing the sector. However, the committee notes that TAFE NSW and private providers of higher education and VET are significant contributors to the tertiary education sector.

In particular, the inquiry has examined the impact on NSW of: (1) tertiary education's economic development role, especially university campuses and Country University Centres (CUCs) in regional NSW; (2) the mission of NSW universities with a particular focus on the role of universities to serve specific geographic communities; (3) the post-[COVID-19] pandemic return of foreign student numbers and the financial sustainability and risk management strategies of NSW tertiary education institutions; (4) the quality of university teaching and research, including the extent and impact of insecure employment in the sector; (5) levels of integration of the tertiary education sector with industry; (7) the quality of campus life and student freedom of expression; (7) foreign political interference within the NSW tertiary education sector; (8) the current levels of coordination and/or support provided to NSW universities by the NSW Government; (9) the recent experience with online learning and lessons for the further development of alternative models of tertiary education service delivery; (10) the appropriateness of current NSW legislation regulating, oversighting and enabling tertiary education; and (11) any other related matters. The report makes 39 recommendations based on the outcomes of the inquiry.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

The purpose of this case study was to pilot the creation of a virtual learning community for a selected group of middle managers within NSW Health. Middle managers in this context include individuals who occupy positions immediately below Senior Executive Service level and who typically would be accountable for an operational service function. The underlying rationale was to explore this mode of delivery, and, in the process, ascertain future requirements for effective online learning. The aim was to develop appropriate solutions for implementing a flexible management development strategy which would fulfil the leadership skills and ongoing career development needs of middle managers.

The Australian Flexible Learning (AFL) Framework products and services have enabled the registered training organisation (RTO) to achieve the following outcomes: to experience an online virtual learning community as a form of flexible learning for developing management/leadership capabilities; to commence the process of formulating an e-learning strategy to support an evolving management development program; to develop a clearer understanding of the issues involved in online learning, in particular facilitation skills, design issues, content and learner support infrastructure and collaborative networks; and to improve integration of organisational change processes with future directions in learning and development, and in particular management development strategy. Show less

This plan sets out the strategic directions and priorities of the community services and health industries in New South Wales (NSW) for vocational education and training (VET) over the three years 2001-2003. The contents of the plan include: an industry overview; an overview of the Community Services and Health Industry Training Advisory Body (CSHITAB); successful industry training outcomes over the last 12 months; and the training future for the industry. Show less

The political and scholarly interest in skill formation and vocational education and training(VET) has grown apace in the last couple of decades. Across the advanced economies of Western nations, the political parties of both left and right have embraced skill acquisition as a powerful and necessary mechanism for addressing problems as diverse as high unemployment, international competitiveness, social disadvantage and poverty. A new wave of scholarship, following the earlier work of human capital theorists and the flexible specialisation/post-Fordist literature, has emerged to assess changes in VET, the different policy models and their progress in living up to the ambitious hopes invested in VET and skill formation. This paper reviews some of the major recent theoretical and empirical studies on the nexus between skill formation and economic/labour market performance. It is not designed to be a comprehensive literature review but an exploratory study of the insights emerging from key texts. This paper is being circulated alongside other working papers on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) material and a review of the major French studies in the field, to enable interested parties to share in the findings.

Working paper for the research project ‘The changing nature of work - vocational education and training to enable individuals and communities to meet the challenges of the changing nature of work’. Publications from this project are indexed from TD/NSW 68.10 to TD/NSW 68.15.

Excerpt from published summary reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

While models of new structures for delivery of vocational education and training continue to evolve in other State systems, the New South Wales government has adopted a system-wide approach for delivery throughout New South Wales. The purpose of this paper is to describe TAFE NSW’s position on institutional governance. Governance is defined in the paper as the way in which organisations are structured to direct and control the actions, policies and functions of the organisation. Show less

The conference had three main themes: focus on learning, partnerships in learning, and the place of the ‘virtual library’ in TAFE NSW. Collected papers are: Anderson, Tim - ‘NSIT on-line: Northern Sydney Institute’s internet service’; Arundell, Lucy - ‘TAFE NSW libraries: a scenario for the future’; Bailey, Evan - ‘Internet use at TAFE Executive Library and Information Service (TELIS)’; Bannister, Marion - ‘Internet use in TAFE NSW libraries’ and ‘The place of the ‘virtual library’ in TAFE NSW’; Booker, Di - ‘Focus on learning: an overview’ (TD/SA 48.32); Diplock, Jane - ‘Opening address’; Hart, Marilyn - ‘Focus on learning: TAFE NSW perspective and implications’; Hill, Lucy - ‘NSIT on-line’; Hogan, John - ‘TAFE students’ home page project’; Jones, Brian - ‘Comments on learning partnerships proposals’ (TD/NSW 49.44); McLean, Neil - ‘Partnerships in learning’ (TD/NSW 49.42); Ronis, Iveta - ‘TAFE NSW on-line library information system 1995’. Show less

This project provides an assessment of the feasibility of developing on-line course delivery for vocational education and training (VET) in the adult and community education (ACE) sector. The project examines the following issues: flexible delivery developments in related educational and training sectors; the capacity and willingness of ACE providers to supply on-line training; and the demand for on-line education from the prospective students/clients of ACE. Show less

Sustainability is a growing concept and a genuine concern for both public and private vocational education and training (VET) organisations. Using [Technical and Further Education New South Wales] TAFE NSW as a case study, this project aimed to highlight the practices in place across TAFE NSW institutes with relation to sustainability and to discover which were most important for successful implementation. The primary objective was to gain an understanding of the impact of the key influencers across different levels of the organisation. The study adopts the definition of the term ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainability education’ as provided by the National VET Sector Sustainability Policy and Action Plan 2009-2012 (National VET Sector Sustainability Action Group and Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education 2009, p.2): ‘interconnectedness of a healthy environment, social justice, equity and economic vitality; and ‘green skills’ for professional, vocational and generic skills required for green jobs and greening existing jobs’.

The paper highlights the following key factors for advancing the sustainability agenda in a VET organisation: (1) for successful implementation of sustainability practices, sustainability needs to be a vision across the organisation; (2) while sustainability needs to be supported by institute leaders, individuals who act as ‘levers’ between leaders and practitioners play an important role in implementing sustainability practices and supporting leaders and practitioners with changes; and (3) by being committed to education and sustainability, an organisation also has the ability to influence how students engage with sustainability.

Excerpts from publication.

As part of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Building Researcher Capacity Scheme, a community of practice scholarship program has been created to encourage a culture of research in vocational education and training (VET) organisations. With the guidance of an experienced mentor, VET practitioners without any formal research experience undertake their own work-based research project. The scholarship also provides participants with an opportunity to have their research peer-reviewed and released by NCVER in VOCEDplus. Show less

This plan sets out the strategic directions and priorities for the construction industry in New South Wales for vocational education and training (VET) over the three years 2000-2002. The contents of the plan include: industry vision for 2002; review of the 1999-2001 VET plan; industry environment and impact of government policies, programs and priorities for VET; skills profile of the industry; industry objectives; industry activity profile; VET strategies and industry recommendations for VET. Show less

The new Vocational Education Commission in Thailand sees TAFE Global drawing on the TAFE NSW infrastructure. TAFE Global, the international arm of TAFE NSW was successful in its bid to provide services to the Thai government in its vocational education reform process. The project could result in the development of strong relationships between Thai and NSW Institutes with staff exchanges, joint ventures and other shared activities anticipated over the next few years. Another international project TAFE Global has been involved with has been the provision of short term training services to three small islands located in the South Pacific - Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga. Because of a local trained personnel shortage, 60 TAFE NSW teachers have participated in conducting over 80 short courses in areas such as power generation, child care, accounting, safe food handling and many others. All courses are customised to meet local requirements in both content, delivery model and structure. Show less