TAFE does a better job than it tells us (CMM Monday),with a learned reader pointing to a report by Chandra Shah on transport and logistics industry programmes in the now ended National Workforce Development Fund. In a recent report Dr Shah found that TAFE delivered training for a third less than the private providers employers using the programme preferred.

“This suggests imperfections in the training market, possibly due to information asymmetry,” Dr Shah concluded. Unless it was, “aggressive marketing, which some providers have used in recent years, may also be a factor affecting employers’ decisions.”

Then again, “the flexibility in delivery offered by small private providers may have been a factor influencing employers’ decisions in this regard.”