TAFE
Domestic partners, global focus
When institutions in our VET sector collaborate to win international projects, the results include not only stronger local institutions but also the delivery of social and economic benefits to other nations. By John Maddock
Partnerships as a means of obtaining international business have not, until recently, been a major focus of the VET sector. With the current examination and realignment, however, I think it is a focus that all TAFEs should consider as a means of maintaining revenue. In particular, I think it is important to recognise that collaboration with other Australian VET providers and offshore industry will be an important part of winning overseas business and strengthening the sector as a whole.
In the current climate, international work needs to be a cornerstone of the VET sector’ s mission and activity. The Australian VET sector needs to develop a reputation as the leading nation in vocational education and as the training specialist that other nations come to. We need to diversify through development( aid) projects, extended campuses and select industry consultancy projects, to increase the number of students undertaking Australian qualifications offshore.
And to compete on a global scale, we must, as providers, collaborate with each other, to bring the best possible bid to the market.
Aid projects are one way that Australian VET providers can develop international partnerships with other Australian providers and with overseas industry. By establishing consortiums with local providers, VET providers can develop a stronger case to win projects, by each provider bringing its unique specialty. Box Hill Institute, where I am CEO, in a consortium with Sunshine Coast TAFE and GRM International( the APTC Contract Management Consortium), has won two consecutive bids to establish and continue the Australian Pacific Training College( APTC). The APTC is an Australian government aid program, established in 2007, to deliver a range of Australian qualifications to Pacific islanders. The campuses in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands are designed to assist people living in the Pacific region to gain Australianstandard skills and qualifications for a wide range of vocational careers in the Pacific – careers where skilled employees are in high demand.
This type of consortium, with our onshore partners working together to win offshore projects, is the way of the future for the VET sector.
Industry projects make up another offshore area where the VET sector can collaborate to win work. For example, by working with international operations, Box Hill Institute has established an international presence, sometimes on its own but more often with partners, whether they are extended campus partners( established colleges which we operate within to provide Australian training qualifications) or government departments, to provide the skills needed for a nation’ s workforce development. These relationships have leveraged Box Hill’ s domestic programs, teaching methods and resources to international markets, targeting many regions, offering a broad variety of services and pursuing a diverse range of clients, which has contributed to rapid initial growth.
Our Macau operations are a good example of the international enterprise workforce development projects that can be won on the international market. Venetian Macau contracted Box Hill Institute to provide project manager support to manage the pre-opening training project for their extension property, Sands Cotai Central Phase 1, a resort
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