It will take two national bureaucracies to help lifelong learners

The existing federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment is no more, following the Albanese Government’s Administrative Arrangements Order, last night.

A new Department of Employment and Workplace Relations will implement the government’s jobs, skills and training agenda.

This shrinks the old DESE to only education, including early childhood, school and youth affairs, “including youth transitions” (presumably only as far as VET’s front door).

The new DoE will have charge of

* HE policy, programmes and regulation

* research policy, “in relation to universities” and research infrastructure

*research grants

* international education

The department will also manage “research engagement” – which may refer to the research commercialisation strategy the previous government was implementing.

DEWR’s aegis includes;

* co-ordination of labour market research

* skills and voced policy regulation and programmes, including VET in schools

* apprenticeships, training and skills assessment

* “foundation skills” for adults

Energy is gone from what is now the Department of Industry, Science and Resources but it will be a policy powerhouse for research and development, with responsibilities including;

* industry innovation and “technology diffusion

* Industrial R&D, “and commercialisation”

* biotech (ex gene tech regulation)

* science policy

* “science engagement and awareness”

* collaborative research in science and technology”

* co-ordination of science research policy

* international “science engagement”