key deliberations of the mctee meeting of 9 june 2010

Ministers of the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment made a further step forward towards the introduction of national regulation and quality arrangements for the VET sector.

Ministers agreed in-principle to a draft Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for Regulatory Reform in VET and drafting instructions for legislation to support National VET Regulation, with Victoria’s and Western Australia’s agreement subject to further work on the interactions between the national regulator and those two states.

Ministers also agreed to establish the National Standards Council for Vocational Education and Training which is encompassed under the IGA. Ministers also agreed that the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) will continue operations until the new regulatory arrangements are fully implemented and for AUQA to take a more risk based approach to its program of audits leading up to the establishment of TEQSA.

The Ministerial Council agreed that the Joint Committee on International Education would undertake a national assessment of the implications of market changes in international education and report back to MCTEE out-of-session by the end of July 2010.

In December 2009, COAG agreed, in principle, to the introduction of a Unique Student Identifier for the VET system. Minsters agreed to release a consultation paper seeking feedback on implementation options, targeted to national training providers and peak bodies, government and industry advisory bodies, student bodies and other interested parties. Ministers also noted progress towards the establishment of an expert reference group to assist in the development of a comprehensive business case to support the implementation of a USI for VET which could be integrated with the other education sectors over time.

SKILLS FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PACKAGE

The Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, and the Minister for Employment Participation, Senator the Hon Mark Arbib, provided Ministers with a presentation on the $660 million Skills for Sustainable Growth Package, a key feature of the recent Federal Budget. The presentation outlined the key reform areas in the Package and highlighted those areas where State and Territory involvement in implementing the package would be critical.

The Package includes three elements, namely the Skills for Recovery element which will focus on providing further support for training as the economy recovers, A Better Training System for the future which will focus on reform in the training system, including a focus on improving quality and transparency, and a Foundation Skills package of measures including enhancements to the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program and the development of a cohesive National Foundation Skills Strategy.