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The review led by the Honourable Steven Joyce, the former Skills Minister in New Zealand, looked at ways to improve the effectiveness of the vocational education system in providing Australians with the skills they need throughout their working lives. The report is available at https://pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/strengthening-skills-independent-review-australia-vets.pdf.

Considering 192 valid submissions from individuals and organisations, the VET Review made a total of 71 recommendations centred around a six-point plan for change:

• Strengthening quality assurance

• Speeding up qualification development

• Simpler funding and skills matching

• Better careers information

• Clearer secondary school pathways

• Greater access for disadvantaged Australians

Steven Joyce proposes strengthening ASQA and quality assurance in the sector, pilot a new business-led model of Skills Organisations for qualification development, broaden work-based VET further into less traditional areas and “establishing a new National Skills Commission to start working with the States and Territories to develop a new nationally-consistent funding model based on a shared understanding of skills needs.”

For more information and to read the report, please visit the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s website.