By CLAIRE FIELD

It’s not only HE where there are big issues to address

As the dust settles on the election a number of sector leaders have started articulating what they think (or would like) the new government’s policies to deliver, particularly in higher education. Much less has been said in VET where Labor’s election policies were more detailed.

It was against this background that I spoke recently with Erica Smith and Andrew Norton.

Professor Norton unpacked the three key weaknesses of the Job-Ready Graduates reforms:

* the size of the debt some students will incur and the length of time they will carry the debt

* the costs to government of running the HELP scheme, and

* the economics of over-enrolment, which is likely to become a significant issue as the “Costello baby boom” prepares for university.

He also raised significant questions about research funding and argued eloquently that “there needs to be more ‘normal’ jobs in higher education” i.e. far fewer short-term contracts and much wider use of standard employment practices.

Professor Smith argued that beyond the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia and the planned shift of government funding from private providers to TAFE, a number of other VET reforms are needed. One which was not on my radar is the need to address the growing lack of full-time VET places in regional areas. She makes the case that TAFE cutbacks in the regions combined with the emphasis on traditional “male” trades has left some regional students, who in previous years would have gone to study at TAFE, now with university as their only post-school option.

She also pointed out some of the potential challenges with “fee-free TAFE” including:

* the impact on student decision making (will students choose courses simply because they are fee-free, not because they have a passion for the occupation they lead to?), and

* the marginal costs involved, particularly when additional students may come with much higher support needs than traditional TAFE students.

With education minister Jason Clare set to establish an Australian Universities Accord and skills and training minister Brendan O’Connor promising a “shift away from “ ‘hard-hat’ rhetoric” and committing to a white paper reform process in VET, it is to be expected that Professor Smith and Professor Norton’s ideas will be part of the mix.

Claire Field spoke with Andrew Norton and Erica Prof. Smith on the latest episode of the ‘What now? What next?’ podcast. Listen for free online.