This paper, first written in 1996, should be an historical document. However, in 2012 it is a precise and current description of Technical and Further Education in Australia. The present state government of Victoria, Australia, for...
moreThis paper, first written in 1996, should be an historical document. However, in 2012 it is a precise and current description of Technical and Further Education in Australia. The present state government of Victoria, Australia, for example, is currently de-funding TAFEs and aborting their mission, even as Australia is “forced” to import unprecedented numbers of skilled workers from overseas. The paper examines what is obviously a cyclical problem with technical education in many countries – its relatively low status leading to periodic cuts in funding, difficulty in attracting talented career staff, and the cyclical destruction of accumulated skills through casualisation. This document has been published by the Senate of the Australian Parliament as part of a report on the status of teachers.