industry & research
campusreview.com.au
Shake it up
Is it time for disruption in
tertiary education?
By Megan Lilly
A
ustralia is facing an increasingly
troubling mismatch between what
students and employers need, and
what the education sector is offering.
The tertiary education sector – both
university and VET – has delivered many
benefits to individuals, industry and the
wider community. But these benefits are
not enough to respond to the demands of
today’s rapidly changing economy.
The need for change is increasingly
clear. Major disruption in industry through
digitalisation is a natural trigger for major
disruption in education and training. The
‘age of urgency’ is changing industry
boundaries, changing the skills composition
of the workforce, transforming some jobs
by introducing new tasks, lessening other
jobs and creating totally new ones. The most
valuable skills across all occupations are
becoming those that complement rather
than compete with automation, those with
distinctively human traits.
Today’s workers cannot expect their jobs
to stand still. All Australians will need to reskill
more often throughout their lives, and the
tertiary education sector will need to be
ready to help them. The slower the tertiary
sector is to change, the more Australia’s
productivity is compromised. We can already
see misalignment between the pipeline of
tertiary education graduates, and the types
(and levels) of skills that industry needs. The
greatest shortages are among trades workers
and technicians, followed by professionals.
This is not a challenge that universities or
VET providers can meet alone. The highest
projected jobs growth areas call for skill levels
that are developed in both the university and
VET sectors.
There are some promising signs of action.
Many higher education and VET providers
are responding with a range of initiatives that
increase the speed of course development,
and increase the flexibility in the length of
programs, delivery approaches and settings.
Yet tinkering at the edges of existing
institutional structures is not enough.
The tertiary education system can only
be strengthened by moving beyond the
traditional divide between university and VET,
and changing how students navigate all parts
of the tertiary education sector.
Imagine a future where students were not
locked into a rigid university or VET course.
Imagine if students could shape their own
units and modules from both university
and VET, study when and where they want,
and integrate their institutional learning with
experiences in the workplace.
Now imagine industry matching this
flexibility and speed, and working with tertiary
education providers to radically change the
connections between the tertiary sector
and employers. Co-locations, co-design,
work-integrated and work-based learning,
and collaborative research must all become
the norm, so we can better link learning with
current industry practice and skill needs.
The benefits of workplace learning are
well known, including the link to productivity.
Employers value graduates who have a solid
base of workplace learning before they
enter the labour market. Apprenticeships
and traineeships are the most structured
kind of workplace learning, but many other
models are possible – and necessary. Work
placements as part of university courses, or
emerging higher apprenticeship-type models
across occupational areas (both in university
and VET), are obvious ways to bring the
worlds of work and study closer together.
Given the urgency, what is standing
in the way? One barrier is the difficulty
of moving between university and VET,
hindered by complex credit transfer
arrangements, and inequitable funding.
More equitable funding and loan
arrangements are essential, particularly for VET
students, most of whom must pay high upfront
fees that make study prohibitive. Differences
in perception are another barrier. The value
of VET is still not widely recognised, despite
industry calling for more VET skills.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has
recognised that VET is just as good as
university, but these will remain empty words
unless the imbalances between university
and VET are addressed. The current review of
the Australian Qualifications Framework has
the potential to address many issues in the
tertiary education sector, such as elevating the
value of VET, enabling greater mobility across
the sector and through the labour market,
and providing a more contemporary suite of
qualifications.
The government’s response to the AQF
review will be critical in determining the
future of tertiary education in Australia. This
All Australians will need
to reskill more often throughout
their lives, and the tertiary
education sector will need to be
ready to help them.
is not just an abstract exercise in redesigning
a framework, but a review with significant
potential impact on the lives and livelihoods
of Australia’s VET and university students, and
the employers whose productivity depends
on their skills.
Success will depend on viewing tertiary
education as one vibrant, diverse sector.
Australia cannot afford to bolster either part
of the tertiary education system alone, while
allowing the other to founder. Until VET
and higher education are regarded as two
parts of a combined response to Australia’s
skills needs, we will lose the opportunity to
capably equip learners for Australia’s future. ■
Megan Lilly is the head of workforce
development at the Australian Industry
Group.
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