Page 3358 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
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tertiary education and research sector currently valued at $3.2 billion per annum. Initial findings also show that even more Canberra jobs—as many as 19,000—are tied to this sector’s growth. At any one time, there are over 40,000 students studying at Canberra’s higher education institutions and 20,000 studying in tertiary education. Considering the number of jobs their studies support, about one in every nine residents in Canberra are either working directly in the sector or participating as a student.
Moreover, the tertiary education and research sector is vital to linking Canberra with the global economy. Of Canberra’s students, 17,000 are from overseas. Year after year, they attract friends, family and new researchers to Canberra, to add vibrancy to our city as well as adding a significant boost to our tourism industry. Last year Canberra’s international education exports increased by 24 per cent, contributing $879 million to Canberra’s economy, making education Canberra’s largest export. Then there is the relationship that the sector has with our business community. All of our key economic sectors that drive Canberra’s growth and diversification—defence, space, cyber, agricultural science, healthy and active living, and tourism—depend on our growing tertiary education and research sector.
The ACT is fortunate to have such wonderful tertiary and vocational education institutions on our doorstep. We welcome the opportunity to work together through our strong relationship with the institutions, both on a one-on-one basis and through the ACT Vice-Chancellors Forum. Chaired by the Chief Minister, the forum provides high-level oversight by the leaders of the ACT’s tertiary education institutions to collaborate to grow the sector, attract investment, diversify Canberra’s economy and create even more jobs. As a result of discussions at the forum, we have a clear investment attraction framework and have positioned our new $9.75 million priority investment program to attract investment into our key sector areas.
The government is dedicated to ensuring that Canberra has an innovative, high-performing and safe VET sector that supports all Canberrans to realise their potential. For this financial year, across the VET and higher education sector, my key priorities include continuing to act as a champion of the sector across the ACT government and externally. This includes seeking out and harnessing opportunities for research and innovation that are right on our doorstep, through our proximity to the great tertiary institutions that Canberra boasts. In particular, over the coming year I look forward to a much greater focus on health and medical research.
I also intend to establish policies that do not merely respond to the growth of the sector but look ahead to address and mitigate any challenges and opportunities from that growth. We will continue to implement the government’s international education strategy: Canberra, Australia’s education capital. We will support training in areas of highest needs, to best provide the skills needed by industry, students and the ACT economy. We will continue to achieve the best training outcomes for the ACT and deliver on agreed national priorities and work to ensure that all parties, including the commonwealth government, demonstrate their commitment to the skills and training sector.
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