recommend financial allocations among States and Territories based on the National Strategic Plan and Profiles;

Transcription

1 APPROACHES TO RE-FORMING THE VET SYSTEM: A SNAPSHOT 1. LOADING THE FILM Legislation formally establishing the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament in December, This legislation was the result of an agreement between the Commonwealth and State Governments in July, 1992, to continue the development of the nation's vocational education and training (VET) system by building upon both the public and private components of existing state-based systems. The ANTA legislation (Australian National Training Authority Act, 1992) provides for the establishment of a five member ANTA Board, and the Authority reports through the Board to a Ministerial Council. This Council is made up of each State and Territory Minister (one vote each) plus the Commonwealth Minister (two votes plus one casting vote). For the purposes of funding, ANTA is a Statutory Authority under Commonwealth legislation, with funding for its operation being Commonwealth-sourced. The core functions of the new Authority are to: develop, monitor and update a National Strategic Plan, in conjunction with industry and the States and Territories, for approval by the Ministerial Council; work with the States and Territories in developing State Training Profiles which reflect regional responses to planning parameters derived from the National Strategic Plan; recommend financial allocations among States and Territories based on the National Strategic Plan and Profiles; monitor and evaluate outcomes; develop long term plans for the Australian vocational education and training sector and propose initiatives to governments; undertake work on vocational education and training policy as referred to it by the Ministerial Council; and administer national programs as required. Underpinning these functions is a need to undertake appropriate research activities. The scope of influence of this new system is considerable, and

2 while no national agreement has yet been reached, it is probable that, to a greater or lesser extent, it will ultimately include most of the following: the TAFE Sector; the non-tafe training activities of government such as those conducted by industrial training agencies; the vocational activities of the Adult and Community Education sector; various miscellaneous public providers such as the Adult Migrant English Service in NSW; the vocational strands of post-compulsory schooling conducted in schools; university programs at sub-degree level which are vocationally intended; private VET providers; and work-place initiated "on-the-job" and "off-the-job" training. While ANTA is to come into official operation on 1 January, 1994, it has already commenced its activities, with the States having agreed their State Training Profiles for 1994; demonstrated their maintenance of effort for 1992 and provided estimates of it for 1993 and 1994; participated in a number of workshops in conjunction with ANTA; and made input to a wide variety of policy and planning aspects of the national system, e.g., reviews of the National Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABs) and the National Projects for Indeed, if the level of activity were to be taken as a guide to progress, the new National Vocational Education and Training System (NVET System) would appear to have commenced with a flying start. Of course, there is still a long way to go. The formation of new national systems in the educational sphere is not an everyday occurrence, and for the vocational education and training sector in Australia, this national focus via the Australian National Training Authority is a "first". The new NVET System has precipitated a need for change among the States. The ANTA legislation requires them to set up State Training Agencies that support, and are integrated into, a national framework of policy formulation, profiling, resource allocation and planning. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the

3 various approaches the States have used in bringing about the new NVET System, and to make some observations on the assumptions they have made in bringing it into being. It is rare that researchers get the opportunity to "live" through important developments of new systems and arrangements of the magnitude that the establishment of the new NVET System represents. It is the intention of this researcher to examine developments as they unfold through a series of "snapshots" that attempt to record progress over time. Future snapshots might be taken at the conclusion of ANTA's first Strategic Plan for the NVET System and after the first full year of its official operation. Set out below is the first "snapshot" taken after some fourteen months of activity, culminating with the end of the first round of development of State Training Profiles. 2. TAKING THE SNAPSHOT It has already been indicated in the previous section of this paper that the target is a moving one and that the new NVET System is in its infancy. Obtaining information that would assist in the preparation of a snapshot of the progress the new NVET System has already made required a number of approaches and these are outlined below. a) Review of Legislation, Literature, Publications and Position Papers - In large part, the educational literature is silent on matters relating to the new NVET System. This silence was expected, as time has been insufficient for evaluation and/or other critical analysis. The major source of published information, then, has been newspaper articles, position papers released by State Governments, ANTA publications themselves, and the legislation upon which it is founded. There has also been a number of speeches made at a variety of conferences and seminars in which the training market and/or new arrangements for the VET Sector have been focal points. A listing of these is provided in the References section of this paper. The legislation establishing the Australian National Training Authority is in two parts. The former relates to the Authority, its powers, Board, etc., and the latter -the Schedule to the Act - consists of the agreement signed by States/Territories and the Federal Minister in July, ANTA's powers and the agreed actions of the States/Territories to give effect to the new NVET System are set out clearly, but the actual interpretation placed upon particular sections will only come from their use over time. b) Identification of Major Themes - Many issues and themes

4 relating to the establishment of the new NVET System had been aired in the discussions leading up to the signing of the agreement by Ministers. A critical aspect of these was the definition of the role of ANTA, with the States/Territories arguing that it be non-operational, and that it not be a simple transposition of the operational aspects of the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). To this end, the legislation strongly emphasises the policy, planning, resource allocation and profiling roles of ANTA. Given the intention to establish a new NVET System and the requirement under the ANTA legislation for the States to pass complementary legislation to set up their own State Training Agencies, it was not unexpected that most of the identifiable themes, to date, relate to these two major thrusts. The themes include: the unifying nature of ANTA and the new NVET System; the approaches to consultation used by the States and Territories to establish their State Training Agencies; legislative activities related to the establishment of State Training Agencies and their functions; the degree of separation of operational from nonoperational activities; the nomenclature used for State Training Agencies; and ongoing commitment by all parties to the NVET System. c) Some Questions of Key Players - Key players in the new NVET System were identified and questioned about the above themes. Many assisted by providing documentation of their activities where such information was in the public domain but not readily accessible through data bases, etc. As individual States and Territories had different approaches to the themes and these needed to be explored to tease out their implications, questions were kept general in nature. Where necessary, prompts were used to explore particular issues in more depth. Questions were asked of personnel in every State/Territory. d) Compilation of Findings - The findings from this research activity are discussed below under each of the identified major themes. It is important to re-iterate that, between the time of researching this paper and delivering it, the scene will have changed as more and more of the developments in the new NVET

5 System come on stream. All too often, however, approaches that review new developments, such as the one that is the subject of this paper, focus on the outputs and outcomes of the initiative at some more distant time, with only scant attention being focused on the early developmental processes themselves. 3. DEVELOPING THE SNAPSHOT The findings from the "snapshot" approach described above are dealt with below under each of the major themes that were identified. Unifying Nature of ANTA and the NVET System - A fundamental role of ANTA in the new NVET System is to encourage the development of a national view on all aspects of vocational education and training, as well as promoting close co-operation between the States and Territories in their activities. To date, ANTA has adopted a highly consultative approach to the issues it has had to progress and although, at times, the States and Territories have had very limited time available to respond, they have remained strongly supportive of it. The approach has enabled a considerable amount of formal and informal liaison to take place between ANTA and the States/Territories and between the States and Territories themselves. This has served to help the development of a more national view on issues confronting the VET Sector and to form stronger relationship between staff in VET authorities at the State and Territory level. Indeed, while it is still only early days, there appears to be a keenness among the States and Territories to embark on joint and co-operative projects in new areas that was missing in former arrangements. An important challenge for ANTA, of course, is to ensure that it maintains sufficient flexibility in its funding and project arrangements to allow a continuation of the level of goodwill and interest currently being shown by parties to the new NVET System. Consulting on the Establishment of State Training Agencies - A condition of the ANTA legislation is that the States and Territories must nominate an agency within each of their boundaries to become the recognised State Training Agency. For some States and Territories - Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory - this was a simple matter, as such agencies were already in existence at the time the ANTA agreement was signed. For the remaining States and Territory, however, not only was the designation of such an agency required, but there was also considerable debate as to what role and functions the agency should have, as well as how existing structural arrangements among providers in the States should be modified to accommodate it.

6 States and Territories adopted two basic approaches to their consultations. The first approach was to prepare a discussion paper and to invite comment from existing and new stakeholders. This approach was adopted largely by South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. It had the advantage of being quick and relatively easy to administer. It drew criticism from stakeholders, however, because it provided only limited opportunity for input. The second approach, used largely by New South Wales, was to consult widely amongst industry and the community through a series of public meetings which were widely publicised. Invitations to attend these meetings were sent to a large range of potential stakeholders. The outcomes of this approach were incorporated into a report to the State Government. While the consultation approach took longer than the discussion paper approach, it attracted very little criticism and because of its "clean sheet of paper" attitude, left most participants with the feeling that they had been able to play a role in shaping the new system. The public meetings and discussion, however, have created an expectation among the community that new arrangements for VET will be introduced when the Government has concluded its deliberations on the report. Tasmania chose to use a combination of both approaches, public meetings being used to gather feedback about the arrangements proposed in a discussion paper. In Western Australia, the existing arrangements at the time of signing the ANTA agreement were problematic. The Western Australian State Employment and Skills Development Authority (SESDA) had legislative authority to plan and make policy for the VET sector but had no control over resources, the bulk of which went to the State TAFE Authority. Coupled with a change in government, arrangements for VET operations in the State have been reviewed and a formal announcement is pending. The different approaches on consultation used by the States mean that, in terms of consultation with stakeholders, and their feeling of being part of the new VET development, some of the new State Training Agencies have managed an earlier start than others. The degree of "ownership" of the new arrangements appears to be potentially greater among stakeholders in some States than in others. Legislative Activities to Establish State Training Agencies - The ANTA legislation requires States and Territories to pass complementary legislation to bring their State Training Agencies into existence. For those States and Territories where Agencies were already in existence, this merely required the passage of

7 amendments to existing legislation. For other States and Territories, legislation is contemplated, but in all probability will not be enacted until At this stage, then, it is impossible to record exactly what functions all of the States and Territories have accorded their State Training Agencies. Of particular interest is the extent to which the Agencies have been given functions over and above those necessary for them to respond to the ANTA legislation. Bearing these circumstances in mind, the following table represents an attempt to capture the situation at September, It has been constructed using available information from discussion papers, publications, reports and legislation. In the case of NSW and the ACT, deliberations on the functions of their State Training Agencies have yet to be concluded and announced formally. The information presented for these States in the table, therefore, is indicative only, and may well change before final announcements are made. Areas in which the functions of State Training Agencies might extend beyond those set out in the ANTA legislation include industrial relations, employment and unemployment, administrative and representational structures for VET within States and Territories, fee setting, dealing specifically with identified groups, overseas promotion/marketing of VET, and financial accountability arrangements. Clearly, from the information available, States and Territories have given/plan to give their Training Agencies relatively comprehensive functions. In conjunction with making them the peak agency for VET in each State and Territory, these functions should ensure that they can undertake their tasks with a minimum of legislative impediment. An interesting facet of the current and/or proposed State and Territory legislation is that there is virtually no mention made of the State Training Agencies working with one another in the new NVET System. Furthermore, no provision is made in any of the legislation, including the ANTA legislation, for interaction between the Boards of State Training Agencies. The development of a national view within the System might be enhanced considerably if such arrangements were more formalised, possibly through legislation. INSERT EXCEL CHART HERE

8 The Separation of Operational and Non-Operational Activities -One of the underpinning conditions of the formation of ANTA has been its separation from operational activities. In negotiations leading up to ANTA's formation, the States and Territories argued strongly that the Authority should concern itself with policy, planning, profiling and resourcing matters, and should leave operational issues to the States. While this has largely been the outcome, final arrangements have yet to be agreed on how the National Programs transferred to ANTA from DEET are to be operated. The States and Territories would see these as being passed to them for administration. At the State and Territory level, the formation of State Training Agencies has resulted in some of them having operational responsibilities along with their policy, planning and resourcing roles, e.g., Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Other State arrangements have a looser connection between the public deliverers and the State Training Agency, and it is far from clear how this relationship will be finally established, both legislatively and practically. Suffice it to say that the States and Territories appear to have adopted different arrangements with respect to the operational role of their State Training Agencies and only time will tell how effective each of them proves to be. Nomenclature - Given that the establishment of a national identity is an important goal of the new NVET System, it might have been expected that some uniformity would emerge in the titles given by States and Territories to their State Training Agencies. The reality is that the States and Territories have elected to pursue a wide range of nomenclature without there being any commonality in approach. For example, the State Training Agency in Victoria is called the Office of Training and Further Education (OTFE); in Queensland it is the Vocational Education, Training and Employment Commission (VETEC); in Tasmania, the proposed title is the Tasmanian Training Authority (TASTA); in New South Wales, a Board of Vocational Education and Training (BVET) is proposed; in Western Australia, as already indicated, it is the State Employment and Skills Development Authority (SESDA); and in the Northern Territory it is the Northern Territory Employment and Training Authority (NTETA). Ongoing Commitment to the new NVET System - Against a background where each State and Territory has a long history of determining policy, planning and resourcing issues for its own VET sector, the action of signing a national agreement for the formation of a new NVET System in which each State has only one vote on a Ministerial Council (with the exception of the Commonwealth Government), represents a major commitment by each of them towards the formation of the new System. While the ANTA

9 legislation provides for the eventuality of States or Territories withdrawing from the agreement or for handing over responsibility for their VET activities to ANTA, no State or Territory has yet indicated any desire to do so. Nor have any openly expressed dissatisfaction with the current set up. Some concern has been expressed, however, with the voting arrangements, which provide for each State and Territory having the same voting power. Some of the large States are concerned that the voting decisions of the smaller States and Territories could bind them to policies with which they do not agree. Such an eventuality has yet to occur and, therefore, it is impossible to gauge what the result of such an occurrence might be. To date, some fourteen months after signing the ANTA agreement, all States and Territories remain committed to supporting the new System, which, in a highly volatile world of ever-changing industrial relations, economic and budgetary cycles, and State and Federal politics, is a good omen for its future. Virtual bi-partisan political support, of course, is a major factor in favour of its survival. 4. VIEWING THE SNAPSHOT The formation of the new NVET System in Australia has the potential to significantly change the previous arrangements and ethos that were in place, a particular emphasis of the new System being its national focus. This paper has argued that, methodologically, one way of understanding how the process of change is being brought about is to monitor it at regular intervals through a series of "snapshots". This is not an easy task when the informational base is limited or inaccessible to the researcher. Reading behind the available evidence, when much of it is either promotional or is seeking ongoing political support and/or "testing the water", is a further major research challenge. Such limitations obviously have an impact on the conclusions that one can draw from the snapshot approach. Over time, the available literature will expand in both quantity and quality. If one were to wait until that occurred, however, much of the currency of existing emotions and tensions that have arisen as a result of the new System's introduction would be lost, and many of the key players would have departed from the scene. A snapshot approach, then, should play an important role in recording developments so that when a longer term appraisal is undertaken, it is imbued with a sense of "here and now", rather than merely one of "was". What the snapshot approach shows us is that the new NVET System has ongoing support from the partners which make it up. Importantly, however, most States and Territories have chosen different paths to reach their destination as a partner in the

10 System, and there would appear to be opportunities available for a greater level of consistency in their approach and its timing. Potential appears to exist in some areas for the further strengthening of a national view on the new System, along with the desirability of using a more standardised nomenclature. These conclusions notwithstanding, most States and Territories have given/propose to give their State Training Agencies a significant range of functions, and coupled with their high level of continuing commitment to the new System, the outcome can only be a positive one for Australia. Perce Butterworth 30 September, 1993 This paper represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the NSW Vocational Education & Training Agency REFERENCES A wide variety of references was used in undertaking the first "snapshot" in this research project. 1. LEGISLATION Australian National Training Authority Act, Commonwealth of Australia, Employment and Training Authority Act, Northern Territory, State Employment and Skills Development Authority Act, Western Australia, Vocational Education and Training Act, Victoria, Vocational Education, Training and Employment Act, Queensland, SPEECHES Beazley, K. 1992, "Education and Labour Market Policies: Defining the Roles", National Press Club, October 19, Moran, T. 1993, "Towards a National Training System", Address to NSW TAFE Principals, May 14, 1993.

11 Moran, T. 1993, "The Role of ANTA: An Industry-Driven Approach to Training", at the Conference on Future Directions in TAFE, Sydney, June 21, Ramsey, G. 1993, "The New Agenda for TAFE: Implications for Vocational Training", at the Conference on Future Directions in TAFE, Sydney, June 21, Woodburne, G. 1993, "TAFE and Reforms in Vocational Education and Training", at the Conference on Future Directions in TAFE, Sydney, June 21, GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS/DISCUSSION PAPERS Department of Employment, Industrial Relations and Training 1993, Formation of a State Training Agency and the Consultative Arrangements for the Training Program of the Department of Employment, Industrial Relations and Training, Hobart, Tasmania, 17 March, Department of Employment, Industrial Relations and Training 1993, Training for Tomorrow, Hobart, Tasmania, September, Office of the Minister for Education 1993, Review of Education and Training, Perth, Western Australia. Department of Employment and Technical and Further Education 1992, A Vocational Education and Training Authority for South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia. Department of Industrial Relations, Employment, Training and Further Education 1992, NSW Vocational Education and Training Agency Consultation Paper, Sydney, New South Wales. 4. NEWSPAPERS and JOURNALS "ANTA ACT: Measuring Effort", The Australian TAFE Teacher, Third Quarter, 1993, pp Aubert, E. 1992, "Ramsey Signals ANTA Political Problems", Australian Campus Review Weekly, December 10, 1992, p. 5. Aubert, E. 1992, "Vic TAFE's Opposing Uni Influence on ANTA Board", Australian Campus Review Weekly, October 2, 1992, pp. 1-7.

12 Carruthers, F. 1993, "Training Chief to Define Role", The Australian, May 12, 1993, p. 15. Carruthers, F. 1993, "Heed Industry, TAFE Told", The Australian, June 23, 1993, p.19. Clout, J. 1993, "New National Body Aims for More Effective Resource Use", The Financial Review, April 24, 1993, p. 53. Hall, B. 1992, "National Training Authority and Raw Politics", Australian Campus Review Weekly, December 10, 1992, p. 9. Hall, B. 1992, "New Industry Training Body May be Missing Out on Vital Organs", Australian Campus Review Weekly, August 27, 1992, p.7. Hutnyk, J. 1992, "ANTA and Finn: How Much Industry Influence is Too Much?", Australian Campus Review Weekly, October 8, 1992, pp Juddery, B. 1992, "ANTA Passes - With a Caution", Australian Campus Review Weekly, December, 17, 1992, p. 2. Juddery, B. 1992, "ANTA Chief's $170K Training Wage Draws Canberra Query", Australian Campus Review Weekly, May 20, 1993, p. 2. Juddery, B. 1993, "ANTA Autonomy may be Precedent for ARC", Austrailian Campus Review Weekly, September 16, 1993, p. 2. Moran, T. 1993, "ANTA Takes the Helm, Ships the Oars", Austrailian Campus Review Weekly, May 20, 1993, p. 12. Moran, T. 1993, "ANTA Priorities for 1994", The Australian TAFE Teacher, Second Quarter, 1993, pp ANTA PUBLICATIONS Australian National Training Authority 1993, ANTA Priorities for 1994, Brisbane, ANTA. Australian National Training Authority 1993, Guidelines for the Preparation of State Training Profiles, Brisbane, ANTA.