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The utilitarian spirit of Australian education has meant that since the nineteenth century the notion of tertiary education has embraced all post-school learning, delivered in sandstone universities or working men's institutes or on the job. This is not the definition the peak bodies TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Directors Australia (TDA) and Universities Australia (UA) proposed in late April. They see: "Tertiary" education qualifications as those at diploma level and above, including where these qualifications may embed pathways from the qualification level below. TAFE Directors Australia and Universities Australia say their definition is "generally" consistent with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). At the same time, it is a departure from the understanding of tertiary education that has prevailed in Australia for the past two centuries, which has embraced the entire gamut of adult learning. In their proposal, they are explicit about certificates I and II, which they see as more equivalent to secondary school. They are silent about certificates III and IV, except to suggest these can be a stepping stone to a diploma... but not, it seems, to a degree. Yet the certificate III is a tertiary qualification in its own right, in high demand as the basis on which tradespeople, technicians and others launch their careers. To concentrate attention on higher-level qualifications is not the way to encourage commencements in the trades and to address the demand for skills. In this address, the author argues how all vocational qualifications should be included in the definition of tertiary education. The author is sceptical about a system that concentrates on acquiring higher qualifications to the exclusion of other credentials or indeed unaccredited skills.

The model currently used to represent the impacts of Australia's technical and further education (TAFE) programs implies a one-way flow of impact from TAFE to student to community. It may be argued that TAFE could better serve its clients by developing a social capital-based, two-way, reciprocal dynamic of vocational education and training (VET) planning and development. The evidence from a 5-year research effort encompassing more than 50 whole communities largely supports an integrated rather than segregated model of VET. The research has identified the following needs ("drivers") of the vocational learning experience: community; culture; enterprise; natural resource management; policy; providers; and industry. Vocational policy depends on two factors. The first is identifying vital checkpoints in the process of vocational learning where quality learning can be seen to have occurred. The second is identifying accurate benchmarks for profiling these checkpoints of quality. The solution to meeting these needs and conditions at the local level while juggling the demands of national strategic measures and data requirements lies in adopting a "community capacity inventory" model and resourcing through key performance measures. An integrated model of VET would be fairer and more accurate to all VET stakeholders, be more cost-effective for TAFE, and be better for enterprise and policy outcomes. (Contains 19 references.) (MN)

Adult literacy is a context-dependent, purposeful, and constantly changing phenomenon. What counts for literacy at the end of the 20th century is not what counted for literacy at the beginning of the century. Literacy is the ability to read, use written information, and write appropriately in a range of contexts. Literacy also includes the recognition and meaning of numbers and basic mathematical formulas within texts. Literacy must change over a lifetime. The 1989 national survey of adult literacy in Australia (No Single Measure) broke new ground by adopting a definition of literacy as social practice. The most recent evidence of the extent of literacy and numeracy difficulties experienced by Australia's population comes from the 1996 Survey of Aspects of Literacy (SAL) (n=9,302). By conducting the SAL, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) became part of the International Adult Literacy Survey. According to the ABS survey, the percentages of Australians with very poor, poor, moderate, and good/very good literacy skills are 19%, 26%, 35%, and 17%, respectively. The decision to base literacy programs on a remedial or developmental approach will depend on how literacy is defined. The ABS survey also showed a clear link between literacy and work. (Contains 32 references.) (MN)

The Group of Eight (Go8) applauds the government's intention to comprehensively reform the skilled migration program, and it welcomes the opportunity to submit this response to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Points Test Discussion Paper. The Go8 has argued for some time that it is inappropriate to link international education to the skilled migration program. Educational decisions should not be driven by the availability of extra points for studying in Australia nor for undertaking courses with narrowly defined occupational ends. Rather, the level and quality of educational qualifications should underpin the new skilled migration program so that the government, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, can better meet Australia's short, medium and long term human capital needs. This paper provides the Go8's response to specific questions raised by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in its 15 February paper.

This paper was presented at the Professional Historians Association (NSW) Islands of History conference held on Norfolk Island in July 2010. It argues that the reliance on overseas workers to address skills shortages has been present ever since the first white settlement of Australia, which has, in turn, shaped attitudes to the governance of vocational education, in particular the notion of an industry-led system. The paper then suggests some areas for primary historical research. (Contains 4 footnotes.)

This paper was presented to a meeting of the Wellington Exchange, an international group of higher education officials, in December 2008. One of the topics of the meeting was around the issue of possible skills shortages emerging as a result of demographic trends, with the ageing of the population of developed countries. The paper argues that this is not an issue about which we need to be alarmist. There is little evidence of impending skills shortages. This is not to say that there will be no skills shortages in specific areas. In any case, the business cycle could have a much more dramatic effect on the demand for skills than demographic trends. (Contains 5 tables, 8 figures, and 3 footnotes.) [This work has been produced on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments.]