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Date:      March 2024

Author:  Tom Karmel

Following the release of the Australian Universities Accord final report Tom Karmel presents a personal response.  He questions where does VET fit into all of this, are we thinking correctly about ‘equity’ and comments on funding issues and governance.  The paper was referred to in The Australian in March, 2024.  

Discussion paper

Download - The Australian Universities Accord - a personal response (PDF-163kb)

Date: December 2022

Author: Tom Karmel, Mackenzie Research Institute

A scholarship program allowing students to undertake applied tertiary studies in Australia would provide not only diplomatic but also economic benefits, both for Australia and the Pacific countries which are the target of the program. It is widely accepted that the Colombo plan which operated from the mid-1950s until the 1970s allowing students from south-east Asian countries to obtain a scholarship to study in Australia and, on completion, return home has been one of Australia’s most successful soft power initiatives. The New Colombo plan, introduced in 2013, enables university graduates to undertake internships in a diverse range of countries, again designed to build links internationally.

Discussion paper

Download - Feedback on priority issues for the Review of Australia’s Higher Education System – A scholarship program for the Pacific (PDF- 227kb)

Date: September 2022

Author: Tom Karmel, Mackenzie Research Institute

We have seen the extent of provision of government funded diplomas decline very significantly. If health and education are excluded, the number of government funded diploma commencements has declined by around 50% between 2004 and 2020. This parallels the expansion of higher education. There is a fundamental confusion between qualifications and the institutions which deliver them and the qualification classifications that separate VET and higher education. Each sector has a different regulatory body with quite different ways of operating as well as funding arrangements which reflect history rather than logic. There is a need for a new type of tertiary institution and it would be VET, with its emphasis on training for the labour market, that would underpin this new institution.

Discussion paper

Download - Why VET needs to offer degrees? (PDF-192kb)

Date: May 2021

Author: Tom Karmel, Mackenzie Research Institute

A response to the Productivity Commission's Review of the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development which was published on 21 January 2021.

Download - National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development Review - a reflection (PDF - 259kb)

Date: February 2021

Author: Tom Karmel, Mackenzie Research Institute

This paper provides commentary on two recent Victorian government reports: Review into Vocational and Applied Learning Pathways in Senior Secondary Schooling by John Firth and Skills for Victoria’s Growing Economy Review by Jenny Macklin.

The need for structural reform in VET upper secondary education and the wider VET sector is reinforced by these reports. Both are important contributors to assisting with Victoria’s economy and there is a lot to like in each of them. There is evidence of extensive consultation. Each offers strong support for disadvantaged students, development of collaborative approaches, raising the esteem and status of vocational education, improving teaching, broadening curriculum, strengthening core skills and establishing a transparent basis to underpin government subsidies. However, neither proposes structural arrangements that are likely to create substantial and meaningful change.

Download breaking or maintaining silos in vocational education (PDF-156kb)

Date: September 2020

Author: Bruce Mackenzie, Mackenzie Research Institute

In recent years around 50% of school leavers who do not progress on to university have preferred to enter low-skilled, precarious employment rather than look to Vocational Education and Training (VET). Such low-skilled jobs at least gave this vulnerable group some disposable income and helped them stay engaged with the community rather than becoming unemployed and left to deal with the associated stresses and social alienation. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that due to the pandemic even low-skilled jobs are going to be hotly contested.

This paper proposes the development of a Diploma of Professional Studies in the high priority areas identified by government. Diploma students would also be eligible for a stipend that is equivalent to the Youth Allowance if they study full time. Research shows that studying full time provides students with the best chance of successfully completing their studies. The diploma would use the existing VET curriculum and package it in a way that allows students to exit the course at different stages with an employable qualification.

Download - A Vocational Education response to the pandemic (PDF - 291kb)

Date: March 2020

Author: Bruce Mackenzie, Mackenzie Research Institute

The VET Reform Roadmap was released recently by Council of Australian Governments (COAG) following consultation with senior skills officials. The VET Reform Roadmap includes a detailed plan to ensure that VET qualifications meet the skill needs of the economy, productivity and growth, and support social inclusion through foundation literacy, numeracy and digital educational opportunities. The VET Reform Roadmap has also identified some issues in the sector that are concerning, such as inconsistency of VET assessment and hence authenticity of some qualifications.

There is no discussion, however, about the links between upper secondary education and VET. For year 11 and 12 students, VET is a declining proposition. Whether completers or non-completers, if students do not go to university, their primary destination is into low paid temporary jobs. If a key purpose of VET reform is to overcome disadvantage and strengthen occupational relevance, its greatest challenge is in reforming VET lower level qualifications.

Download The VET roadmap - Opinion piece (PDF - 93kb)

Date: December 2019

Author: Bruce Mackenzie, Mackenzie Research Institute

The reinstatement of the University College as a category in Australia’s tertiary education provider framework affords an opportunity to internationalise our university system, improve student access and success and create course and institutional diversity. Despite the best efforts of government, access and academic success in our universities for equity groups and non-traditional students has been underwhelming.

High performing economies in the OECD have ensured that the status of VET as a partner in tertiary education is maintained. To achieve this, they have diversified the university sector to provide unimpeded access to applied education within a university. They have created a parallel university system, in part to ensure that the intermediate skilled workforce is maintained and strengthened.

If we are to renovate our skilled workforce that in turn means raising the status of VET and providing improved university opportunities for Australian students, then a revised University College model is an important component.

A revised model could be a vital tool in enhancing social cohesion and economic growth in Australia. The University College should not emphasise research as a priority. They would be designed to embrace technical vocational applied education in a variety of fields such as manufacturing, technology, teaching, human resources, business, construction and health. They would preference teaching over research but engage in applied research in conjunction with the needs of industry. They would have strong industry and community partnerships.

Download the discussion paper (PDF - 421kb)

Date: November 2019

Author: Bruce Mackenzie, Mackenzie Research Institute

The Review of the Higher Education Category Standards claims to be a review rationalising underutilised and inefficient categories. It does not acknowledge that tertiary education and provider categories are vital instruments for state and Federal governments to stimulate economic and social policy.

By requiring all universities to be research universities it reduces Australia’s capacity to revitalise its tertiary arrangements and limits the capacity of governments to stimulate economic and social reform. In a benchmarking exercise, the Review sought to internationalise itself by referring to higher education systems in 17 countries. In over 70 per cent of these countries, the key distinguishing feature was that they ran parallel university systems. That is, some were research-focused universities and others were applied/professional universities with strong links to industry and the community.

Based on the weight of international evidence, the Review had the opportunity to create a parallel university system focused on improving access and equity, strengthening industry and community linkages, improving the status and opportunities for VET systems and students, and strengthening our skilled and paraprofessional workforce. This strategy could have been a tonic to an economy that is teetering on recession.

Download Provider Category Standards. Higher Education Review (PDF - 112kb)