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Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

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market as it allocates its funding of around $65 million per annum. Building on <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong>ACT Skills Commission, which drew in industry <strong>and</strong> government figures, <strong>the</strong>re are strongarguments to be made that this should be <strong>the</strong> area of <strong>the</strong> ACTPS most closely attuned to <strong>the</strong>needs of business <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> economy. It is also worth noting COAG’s agreement to NationalRegulation of <strong>the</strong> VET Sector will both encourage competition in <strong>the</strong> VET market as well assee ongoing work in relation to regulation of that market <strong>and</strong> providers in it conducted at anational level.There is also scope for <strong>the</strong>re to be greater alignment within <strong>the</strong> ACTPS as an employer withregard to training <strong>and</strong> workforce strategies to respond to skills gaps <strong>and</strong> needs, <strong>and</strong> moreeffectively target expenditure on VET of ACT Government funding.As part of <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong> ACT Tertiary Taskforce, consideration is being given to <strong>the</strong> benefitsof establishing a Tertiary Council with strong stakeholder representation from industry <strong>and</strong>business, education providers, government, <strong>and</strong> community, in order to provide a frameworkfor planning, communication <strong>and</strong> interaction between stakeholders in <strong>the</strong> areas of collaborative<strong>and</strong> strategic interest. This proposed council should be considered in <strong>the</strong> context of <strong>the</strong> reviewof such bodies proposed at Chapter 3.In directing this purchasing of VET, <strong>the</strong> Economic Development <strong>Directorate</strong> will need to keepin mind:Functions<strong>the</strong> disconnect between <strong>the</strong> policy objectives <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> delivery of <strong>the</strong>se objectives could beovercome if <strong>the</strong>re was a greater underst<strong>and</strong>ing by <strong>the</strong> ACT public service of how <strong>the</strong> trainingsystem effectively operates. One issue often cited by ACPET members is <strong>the</strong> timing in whichfunding is announced. Preparation time is a prerequisite for delivering quality training <strong>and</strong>education. Accordingly <strong>the</strong> ACT public service should be aware that when <strong>the</strong>y developparameters for government funded contracts that <strong>the</strong>re needs to be an appropriate time frame forRTOs to be able to develop resources, engage staff, prepare facilities <strong>and</strong> importantly to fit wi<strong>the</strong>ducation <strong>and</strong> training that has already been committed to <strong>and</strong> planned. 240The merits of <strong>the</strong> Victorian model should be assessed where universities sit in <strong>the</strong> innovation<strong>and</strong> industry portfolio ra<strong>the</strong>r than education, to reflect <strong>the</strong> economic contribution that educationplays in <strong>the</strong> knowledge economy. The position where <strong>the</strong> University of Canberra is a netcontributor to ACT Government finances sends <strong>the</strong> wrong signal about Government educationpriorities. 241Business support programsCoordinator-GeneralEconomic Development240 Submission No.7.241 Submission No.26.Administrative Arrangements Changes: 199

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