The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) represents independent providers in the higher education, vocational education and training sectors. It has entered into a new agreement with TAFE SA that is designed to foster collaboration bet ween independent and pubic providers of vocational education and training (VET) and TAFE SA to support students get the skills they need to support a growing economy.
The agreement will see ITECA and TAFE SA working together through joint policy priorities, professional development initiatives, closer liaison regarding the scope of delivery offered by providers and access for independent providers to publicly owned resources.
"This is an important agreement that signals the intent of the ITECA membership and TAFE SA to provide the workforce with the skills that the South Australian workforce will need into the future," said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
Beyond looking at what type of training is most needed, the agreement also paves the way for independent providers to use TAFE SA's facilities to support the provision of courses.
"This innovative agreement will enable all education and training providers, both public and independent.
to complement each other ensuring maximum benefit from the expertise and resources available in the VET sector. As a result, South Australia will obtain greater value from the increased use of taxpayer -funded facilities with benefits going to those in training." Mr Williams said.
The South Australia n Education Minister, John Gardne r MP, said that this agreement is an important step that ensures government and industry are working together to deliver the workforce South Australia needs in the future.
"South Australian students and employers are the biggest winners from this announcement, which will see both organisations strive to better coordinate course offerings and ensure the needs of industry across the state are being met," Minister Gardner said.
The ITECA State Of The Sector Report shows that in 2019 there were of the VET students resident in South Australia, 134,700 were with an independent Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and 52,1200 with TAFE SA.
"Th ese student numbers highlight the importance of th e relationship between the ITECA membership and TAFE SA in suppo rting the training and reskilling of South Australia. It's an agreement that serves as a model for what can be achieved nationally when independent providers and the public TAFE system look at the student needs and develop collaborative approaches that pu ts them first," Mr Williams said.
