Public recognises and backs need for post-school studies reform

The Business Council of Australia’s vision is for a country where everyone has the chance to fulfil their potential.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott. Picture: AAP.

The Business Council of Australia’s vision is for a country where every Australian has the chance to fulfil their potential, and our post-secondary education and skills system is the key to that opportunity.

It was my opportunity when I finished my schooling and it changed my life. The importance of the education I received at this very institution (University of NSW) cannot be overstated.

I was the first person in my ­extended family to go to univer­sity. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. It gave me an inquiring mind. It gave me the capacity for critical thinking and analysis. It gave me a global perspective which, for a young person from a housing commission estate who had never travelled, was nothing short of profound.

Our post-secondary system needs to be ready to move beyond the school-to-work transition and support all workers through the transitions they’ll encounter across their working lives.

Some universities are already capitalising on this change.

For example, the University of New England has introduced short, bespoke courses because its market research told it that “many working adults are simply not able to commit to a full degree”. They want flexible study options to help them capitalise on and move with a fast-changing world.

The BCA’s reform paper calls for a post-secondary education and skills system that:

● Places the learner at the centre of the system (monopolies are the opposite of learner-centred).

● Maintains the unique characteristics of both the vocational education and training sector and the higher education sector.

● Has a single funding model that is sector-neutral and is made up of an income contingent loan and a subsidy.

The funding model is central to our vision, as we all know that funding drives behaviour.

At the centre of our funding model would be a lifelong skills account that undergraduates and workers could use to complete a qualification or pick up a couple of subjects or modules so they can upskill or re-skill.

The account would put VET and higher education on a level playing field by allowing learners to use the account in either sector.

Obviously, some courses cost more than others, and a level playing field is not about paying the same dollar amount. A level playing field is about removing distortions between VET and higher education, distortions such as a loan fee that we have in one sector and not the other.

Reform in Australia always gets bogged down in discussions about money. And the problem with pouring more money into bad structures and systems is we never see the value of those systems.

So we have an opportunity here, and the question is: Do you want to continue fighting ­efficiency dividends or do you want to fix the problems? The ­lifelong skills account is the key to turning lifelong learning into a reality.

We had overwhelming interest in Future-Proof from the media, governments and oppositions, and the public.

While I got positive feedback from some universities, we also received quite strange feedback from others — comments along the lines of not liking what we proposed but not proposing an ­alternative.

But what was really interesting was the response I got from the public. I received letters and emails from parents, workers and people who had worked in the sector saying the country was crying out for a reform such as this. People really care about this and want to see change.

The education sector and the business community share an ­interest in a well-educated and competitive Australia.

Collaboration between business and the education sector is essential in helping Australians move to new ways of learning and working.

And I want to be clear about what I mean by support and ­engagement. It doesn’t mean agreeing with everything we say. That never happens in public ­policy. Support means having an open dialogue about the problems and seeing if we agree on them. Support means having ­respectful intellectual engagement about the ideas and possible solutions.

Reform is difficult and reform is complex, and both the VET and higher education sectors have been through enough bad reform. But difficulty and complexity are not a justification for doing nothing.

Jennifer Westacott is chief executive of the Business Council of Australia. This is an edited extract from Future-Proof: The Future of Australia’s Post-Secondary Education and Skills System, a speech delivered at the University of NSW on November 5.