In his recent speech to the National Press Club Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that “working through the National Cabinet in 2021 this will be a year of generational change in our skills and vocational education sector”. During the Q&A, he also spoke about workforce challenges and skills, saying skills shortages are going to be “one of the biggest, if not the biggest single economic challenge we have in this country”.

The Government is committed to improving Australia’s skills systems and the VET sector. Outlined below is an update on some other key activities to progress this agenda.

Progress Towards a New National Skills Agreement

The Australian, state and territory governments have signed a Heads of Agreement for Skills Reform which supports the development of a new National Skills Agreement, to be finalised by August 2021.

On 21 January 2021 the Productivity Commission released its review of the current National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD). The review has not found evidence of a VET system in crisis, but that a new round of reform for the VET system is needed to deliver a more productive workforce for Australia. Read the Productivity Commission’s review here.

Audit on Australian Skills Quality Authority’s Effectiveness

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is examining the effectiveness of the Australian Skills Quality Authority’s (ASQA’s) planning and implementation of reform to the regulation of the VET sector. The audit is examining the following criteria:

• Does ASQA’s strategic planning effectively address the requirements for reform?
• Is ASQA effectively transitioning to the proposed regulatory approach?
• Has ASQA effectively engaged with the VET sector about its transition to the proposed regulatory approach?

The ANAO is welcoming contributions to this audit until Sunday 28 March 2021. Read more.