“Last year’s Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency conference reaffirmed for me that higher education is much further advanced than VET, in understanding the opportunities and risks from digital disruption”

By CLAIRE FIELD

 In her conference address, Jane Den Hollander summed up the challenge for tertiary education institutions with this quote from Christine Lagarde “All countries need to reinvent their education systems for the digital age. This is not just about adding a few coding lessons.”

Those words crystallised for me the challenge the VET sector faces. The upshot is that on 19 March 2020 I will be hosting a one-day conference in Sydney, Reinventing VET for the digital age. 

 While there are some government initiatives in place which aim to tackle parts of the challenge facing the VET sector (e.g. the Digital Skills Industry Reference Committee) I remain concerned that with the extent of digital disruption emerging across the world, we need to be having a broader conversation.

The conference program involves a series of fireside chats with:

* leaders of TAFE Institutes and private providers who are engaged with digital transformation

* international experts addressing the overseas experience and emerging trends

* senior representatives from ASQA and Skills Service Organisations discussing change in the sector as a result of digital transformation, and

* representatives from global organisations providing digital services to the education sector.

If you’d like an invitation to attend please email [email protected]