Australia's universities are calling on participants in this week's Economic Reform Roundtable to put skills and research at the centre of the economic reform agenda.
In a pre-roundtable submission, Universities Australia has outlined the urgent need, and ways to boost tertiary attainment and research-led innovation to lift living standards and drive economic growth.
"We don't have any time to waste in getting productivity humming again," Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said.
"It's the key to a bigger, better and brighter future for all Australians, which is why we need to be doing everything we can as universities, employers, unions and governments to lift the handbrake.
"Universities are a big part of the solution - we need that to be recognised and embraced this week.
"You can't make the economy more productive or prosperous without skilled workers and innovation, both of which are our bread and butter.
"Every day, Australia's universities are doing their bit, producing a pipeline of skilled workers and driving innovation through research to make Australia stronger, more successful and more resilient.
"And the reality is that Australia needs more skills and more research if we're going to overcome our current economic malaise.
"If we want a more prosperous, productive nation, we need to unleash the full potential of our people and ideas and that means putting our universities on the front line of the productivity challenge."
Universities Australia's submission calls on the government to:
- replace the Job-ready Graduates Package to remove perverse incentives
- extend the Higher Education Loan Program to microcredentials to support lifelong learning
- boost national R&D collaboration to help SMEs innovate, and
- reform red tape to unlock time and resources for teaching and discovery.
"We thank Ministers Clare, Giles and Ayres for leading focused discussions on education, skills and R&D, and we look forward to continuing to work with the government to drive productivity."
