VET & TAFE
Reach and re-creation
Regional TAFE institute’ s plans for growth and adaptation give energetic new meaning to‘ a little R & R’. By Kerry Penton
My institute has 19 campuses spread across 154,000 square kilometres and I’ m passionate about engaging local people to hear firsthand the issues affecting regional communities. This year, I’ ve implemented a program of working from each campus for a day to connect directly to our regionalbased students and staff to gain an appreciation of local issues and the effects government policy and institute decisions have on them.
During one of my visits to a smaller campus, I dropped into a class to say hello and a student approached me. She could see from my name badge that I worked for Riverina Institute but had no idea of my role there. She had heard that there are some changes planned for TAFE for next year and wanted to know what this meant for her because she’ s hoping to continue her study in 2015. I asked her what she wanted to get out of her study next year and she told me that she wants a qualification that will lead to a job and if she has to pay higher fees, she wants to feel she is getting value for money.
Not for the first time, it struck me that the VET reforms can seem quite bewildering to our current and potential students. It’ s clear we have a responsibility to decode these changes for our customers and provide services in a sustainable way that unambiguously matches with their individual aspirations.
As a regional training provider, we face the same challenges as our metropolitan counterparts: a VET reform agenda that is driving change; the opening up of the training market; changing funding models at both a state and federal level; and the requirement to meet the needs of individual students.
On top of these issues, however, regional TAFE providers also face a set of obstacles specific to our circumstances. For example, we are always challenged by the tyranny of distance. The three-day tour I face to visit one of my distant campuses is just one example of this. Riverina Institute is almost 1000 kilometres wide and encompasses 30 local government areas. Most of the campuses are more than an hour’ s drive apart. Students cannot easily switch from one to another.
Tackling and responding to a training demand from thin markets is a major issue for regional institutes. In many communities, the population is stagnant or in decline and this is more pronounced in the under-40 age group. Economic forces and climatic conditions have made many businesses unable to employ apprentices or new entrant workers. These factors, along with others, make it difficult to form a viable cohort in many courses using traditional delivery methods.
Most regional TAFE institutes have a large and ageing asset base that in many cases doesn’ t align with current training demand. With an asset base comes a community expectation of service. If there’ s a campus in a town, it follows that programs will be delivered from that campus. The challenge for us is to maintain our assets and upgrade them where necessary to ensure that the programs we offer are directly aligned to employment opportunities.
Our history also carries an expectation of service. Last year, TAFE NSW conducted market research and found that TAFE has 97 per cent brand recognition and 96 per cent of people consider its services valuable. Brand recognition is a wonderful thing, but it is born out of entrenched ideas and past experiences about the role of TAFE and the services we provide.
We’ re also taking on challenges from significant changes in the agricultural economy. The implications of the Murray- Darling Basin Plan and the emergence of new industries in the region, such as cotton, walnuts, hazelnuts and oil seed have led to changes in water use, production costs and technology that
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