MORE than 65,000 NSW students have started their Higher School Certificate exams. Their final step before launching into the next stage of their lives. While their immediate decision-making may be clouded by thoughts of sun, sand and post-school frivolities, their next challenge will be to find a career pathway to help them train for a rewarding job.
At this time, employers across the State will be planning their workloads for next year, assessing their workforce, and thinking about the search for eager young people keen to become skilled apprentices and trainees.
It is these students we will rely on to build the roads, engineer new apps and work in areas to roll out the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The way these students learn the skills of the future is rapidly changing thanks to advancements in technology that is changing the way we work and connect with each other.
Before technology took control of our lives, we traditionally envisaged a teacher in a classroom talking to a group of students. That has been the model for over 100 years.
Vocational education and training providers like TAFE continue to provide students with the skills for a lasting career but we need to deliver more choice and flexible training opportunities to help to lift trade and apprentice completion rates from around 52 per cent to 65 per cent.
TAFE is a fantastic learning hub that skills students and connects them to jobs but has an overgrown asset base that is disconnected from the modern economy. The feedback from students and industry is they clearly want a blended learning environment that better reflects their working environment and lifestyle requirements.
The reality is the physical infrastructure governments have developed over decades is being underutilised by changes to technology that is influencing the way we teach and learn. Some courses are now offering students the choice to learn online or at a construction site, which provides them on the job training and more flexibility.
Currently, TAFE has a large and complex asset pool with nearly 2,000 buildings within 129 campuses, across 10 regions throughout NSW.
Delivering better services in vocational education and training is a key platform the NSW Government was re-elected to implement.
As part of this commitment, our Rebuilding NSW plan tasked TAFE to prepare a health check audit of our current infrastructure to ensure we are delivering value for money to taxpayers and implementing the most modern training services.
The audit ensures our assets keep pace with the ongoing changes to workforce demand and presents us with an opportunity to invest in new training services. This investment will provide better services for students to get the skills and a job for their future.
To sit and do nothing, will leave us behind as a state and a nation. We have to keep pace with the changing job landscape and continue delivering a flexible learning environment that students want and industry needs.
Our state is in a great position. We have a thriving economy. We have a booming construction industry. What we need is a modern, flexible and blended learning environment to build the skilled workforce of the future.
- JOHN BARILARO, Minister for Regional Development, Skills and Small Business.
