Page 1828 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 2 May 2012
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MR HARGREAVES: Minister, what will be the impact on the training providers in the ACT?
DR BOURKE: In regard to private training providers, I believe that the commonwealth government’s stated outcomes about transparency and efficiency will also have to be considered. I believe that these particular outcomes will have a big impact on the training sector but I think that ultimately they will help to ensure that training funding is going where it is needed.
I welcome reforms that provide for better measurement of total VET activity, like the introduction of a unique student identifier and better government-to-government information sharing. This is the type of reform around information sharing that helps drive rigorous policy development that helps properly target funding where it is needed and that will, hopefully, maximise our productivity and prosperity in the long term.
I am aware of concerns about the commonwealth’s reform agenda and market-style corporate agenda effect. I am determined to see that we will never witness in the ACT a situation like that in Victoria, where VET sector reforms have stalled and run into deep problems.
Students, current and future, will also be happy to know that the slated transparency improvements look to be a big step forward, hopefully helping students make the informed choice about where they want to undertake their training.
Unlike those opposite, this government is committed to positioning Canberra’s public training sector, including of course CIT, to thrive in this complex and changing training environment. As I have said previously, we must make sure that the CIT can continually deliver the best training to students. CIT must be able to meet the needs and expectations of both the local industry and the community. With the national partnership’s focus on a national training entitlement, this gives a great opportunity for the CIT to build on the work that they are doing for equity groups in our community.
I really think this is a great opportunity to build on the care and support CIT provides for disadvantaged students, like the excellent alternative year 12 certificate pathways courses.
MR DOSZPOT: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, with reference to the vocational education sector, Mr Barr, your predecessor in the education portfolio, said that the option of retaining the status quo for the CIT was not an option, yet yesterday you chose that as exactly your option. How do you explain the backflip that has occurred as opposed to what Mr Barr was saying?
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