Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak briefly on the report Shared vision, equal pathways and I start by thanking the chair, the deputy chair, my fellow colleagues and the brilliant secretariat of the employment, education and training committee. This is an area of policy which has been very dear to me for over 20 years as a former director of the National Careers Institute Advisory Board and after working in senior policy roles in vocational education at both the state and federal level.

As the report demonstrates, Australia's vocational education system is one of the world's most admired, not only for its diversity, flexibility and metropolitan and regional reach but especially for its provision of skills on which this country, and especially my electorate of Flinders, relies for its economic growth: building and construction; engineering and electrical; and nursing, aged care and child care, among others. Without vocational education, this country would be in a right mess.

But, as we heard from witnesses, what distinguishes vocational education from higher education in the main is that it is industry driven, taught where possible by practitioners in their field. We met many of these practitioners during the inquiry. In previous coalition governments, we focused on that industry leadership by creating Australian technical colleges, introducing scholarships for apprentices, providing toolkits to trades apprentices to get them on their way, and providing incentives to encourage employers and, as they were known back then, group training providers. Today, where this ethos of industry engagement and relevance still exists, it is almost by mistake, not by design.

Through this inquiry we had the most extraordinary stories from schools like St Columban's College in Caboolture in the member for Longman's electorate, where vocational education is celebrated and valued, whatever the career ambition and academic capability of the student. We also learned that where there is a blend of offerings, both public and private vocational education working together, the community benefits, as was demonstrated so greatly when the committee heard from the Frankston Mornington Peninsula Local Learning and Employment Network; Nepean Industry Edge Training, which provides flexible and affordable training across the entire care industry and supplies so many of our aged-care organisations; and the Advance Community College located in Rosebud, which works in partnership with Chisholm TAFE just next door to get young people ready for TAFE-level training. Private vocational education is an important and necessary part of our educational landscape, and this report fails to highlight justly how much of an important role it plays.

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