Andrew Norton leaves Grattan as he arrived – calling ‘em as he sees ‘em

Yesterday was Mr Norton’s last at the Grattan Institute and he marked the occasion with a farewell analysis (on his own web-page), on re-skilling and training, in which he suggested that we are not life-long learning just yet. This, he suggested, might be because jobs are not changing as fast as assumed.

It was standard Norton, an evidence rich, sceptical examination of the orthodoxy, typical of the reports he wrote over the years for Grattan, many with Ittima Cherastidtham.

“I do not know which of these explanations, or others I have not considered, might be right. But there are some surprising trends in this data, which need watching and further exploration,” Mr Norton concluded, typically, yesterday.

CMM has no clue what he will do next but very much hopes it will involve him analysing HE and VET data and exploring what it means for Australia. Norton is too big a thinker to lose.