Last Friday, I attended the ITECA's VET Business Summit with over 125 delegates. The program's focus was to provide information and prepare for business opportunities in the training sector.
If you couldn't attend, here is a snapshot of how I found it on the ground:
The first thing is Data. The Data is key to any business, and the Data is telling that Victoria is refocusing on reskilling and upskilling. Victoria's investment in vocational education has risen while the funding for independent providers has declined from 30.1% in 2017 to 22.8% in 2020. At the same time, students showed a better overall satisfaction with private Registered Training Providers than the public TAFE.
ASQA Regulation: ASQA's focus is towards Self Assurance and engaging in continuous improvement. ASQA does not want to force or tell the industry how to comply but want to teach how to comply. It encourages the reporting of the providers that are compromising the quality & delivery of training to create a competitive advantage over the quality providers.
Employers want the training providers to develop skills in the workforce for sustainable and balanced growth. Compared to the higher education provider, the work-based training by RTOs produces the best skills in the workforce. The training providers need to sell the courses that fit the workforce's life purpose. We need to understand how the workforce finds fulfilment.
Finally, the recently established Victorian Skills Authority is working with employers, RTOs, and communities to get the students skilled and employed.
So, all in all, it was an excellent conference for me. There was a lot of value in the sessions to take away, and I hope you enjoyed the snapshot.