TAFE
Success with overseas students
TAFE NSW- Sydney Institute is the inaugural winner of the Australian International Training Provider of the Year award. Director David Riordan shares his insights into globalisation for education.
The impact of globalisation is threaded throughout the fabric of our daily lives as the world becomes increasingly connected economically, socially and culturally.
Employers today report difficulties in finding graduates with the right skills, knowledge and attitudes to work in global organisations. Sydney Institute has implemented a strategic approach to ensure that our graduates are absolutely job ready for the global workforce.
We have built on our 122 year history of successful outcomes for individuals, industry and community to forge a reputation as a public provider of international education.
Our globalisation success is underpinned by our operational experience over the past 25 years in the international market where we now have 56 per cent market share of international students in TAFE NSW.
We have more than 3700 international enrolments from across 75 countries with a significant proportion of students from Asia and the emerging South American market. The institute offers a broad range of programs from certificates to degrees for international students including 132 vocational programs and ten English language programs.
The globalisation approach is based on four pillars: building effective global partnerships; leading practice in training with a focus on the international market; building staff capability; and identifying student and community needs.
In recent years we have hosted delegations and study tours from China, Korea, Thailand, India, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Saudi Arabia.
Global partnerships
The institute pursues partnerships with training providers and industry all over the world. These partnerships enrich the experiences of our students at all stages of their learning journey.
Two key partners are the Korean Information Vocational Technology College in Southern Korea for the provision of an articulation pathway program into the final year of an Advanced Diploma at Sydney Institute and the Khoi Viet Tourism and Hospitality School in Vietnam for the delivery of English language and hospitality programs. The institute is currently refining models that can be replicated in other countries.
Sydney is a popular gateway to Australia and we regularly host global visits from many governments and educational institutions. In recent years we have hosted delegations and study tours from China, Korea, Thailand, India, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Saudi Arabia.
We also hosted visits from the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister and the Nepalese Minister for Education to discuss partnerships in curriculum development and teacher training.
The institute strengthens its global links through membership of RC-2020, an international alliance of some of the world’ s largest urban community and vocational colleges. In March 2013, we are hosting the RC-2020 conference, which will bring together CEOs from member institutes in countries across the world including Saudi Arabia, US, Canada and the UK.
Our global partnerships enable us to offer our students overseas opportunities to enrich their learning in a different country. For example, our students have engaged in study tours ranging from six months to two weeks exchange programs and two-week study tours in Denmark, Singapore, UK and Japan.
Our students have also travelled overseas as volunteers. In July 2012, some participated in a
30 | Issue 2 2013