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CSU ’ s Wagga Wagga campus . Photo : AAP / Michael Frogley
A change of focus
How are unis set up to respond to the new jobs and skills agenda ?
By Martin Betts
When a new Albanese government was elected in May , we entered winter with a pre-occupation with pandemic recovery , forthcoming economic uncertainty , and universities hoping for a change in support from government .
Little more than 100 days later , we have entered spring with a review of the ARC about to start , a cancellation of ERA , 20,000 new student places , and jobs and skills being top of everyone ’ s mind .
The particular focus on rebuilding the VET sector and freeing up of TAFE places is clear for all to see .
The new policy priority is undoubtedly one focused on accessibility to higher education and meeting skills and jobs needs by engaging relatively underrepresented members of the community .
How does this apply to our variety of universities and how well placed are leaders in each , to change to respond ?
The 10-year strategy that the University of Queensland published in the summer of 2021 had a clear commitment to increasing access from equity groups as one of its pillars . This has been reenergised recently with the Queensland Commitment pledging opportunity for all Queenslanders to overcome personal , financial and geographical barriers to education .
That will call for new ways of doing things in St Lucia that will require agility among leaders . And it will have ramifications for regional universities in the state .
And now the University of Sydney has released its own 10-year strategy with a priority in attracting disadvantaged students including through scholarships of up to $ 25,000 over the course of their degree . That will call for quite a change in culture to bring about .
Since the recent announcement that the Australian Government will fund 20,000 additional university places from 2023 , the Group of 8 and other metropolitan universities have been quickly positioning themselves to bid for the lion ’ s share . The places will be allocated to students from low-socio economic status ( SES ) backgrounds , rural and remote areas , First Nations people , first-in-family students and people with disabilities .
But around 28 per cent of the Australian population live in regional , rural and remote areas . It is a significant but all-toooften overlooked segment of the nation that suffers from the disparity in services and investment in comparison to their metropolitan cousins .
According to the National Skills Commission , regional employers can only fill 57 per cent of their vacancies , compared to 63 per cent in the cities .
Regionally based employers of all sizes and descriptions are reporting extreme challenges in finding suitable qualified and trained staff . Skilled workers in health , education , engineering , business and IT are desperately needed .
Most regional universities ’ students come from regional areas and a high
proportion – around 75 per cent at Charles Sturt – go on to work in regional areas after graduation .
If UQ and Sydney do attract a greater proportion of regional and remote students , this may worsen where the most acute worker shortages are rather than make it better . For this reason , regional universities are essential in addressing critical and chronic skills shortages in regional Australia and need to strongly articulate this case .
Regional universities have long led the way in making higher education accessible for disadvantaged demographics and have a need and opportunity to lead their institutions to take advantage of these changes of policy now .
In 2021 , Charles Sturt ’ s student participation rates for low SES ( 20.7 per cent of all students ), First Nations ( 3.4 per cent ) and regional , rural and remote Australians ( 51 per cent ) were amongst the highest in the Australian university sector .
The last segment of students is especially telling in the context of the recent Jobs and Skills Summit . Regional students want to study in the communities where they live . Upon graduation , regional communities need their skills in country towns and communities , not siphoned away to the cities . This is how to build the much-needed skilled labour force regional Australia needs .
It demands skills of agility , managing complexity and repositioning in leaders . Such leaders have often been selected up until now because of their prowess in their academic disciplines . They now need leadership development to innovate and lead change .
And it calls for building a culture open to innovation across whole university communities led by leaders who can manage complexity . Such a dynamic has long been the norm in the public service and the corporate world . We are learning of it becoming the new normal for higher education too .
Drawing on leaders and leadership skills from the public service and corporate worlds and applying them effectively in our universities is going to be more important as one season and policy setting migrates into the next . ■
Emeritus Professor Martin Betts is co-founder of HEDx .
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