Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector is quickly becoming the key player in ensuring lifelong learning is supported all over Australia. Industry leaders, including Brian Wexham, Chief Executive and Chair of National Skills Week, are advocating to improve the overall perception of vocational training. They need kids of school age through seniors to view it as a realistic and worthwhile choice. This year’s National Skills Week theme is Exploring All the Options. It’s a testament to the exciting and varied opportunities that exist across our VET sector.
Australia has made a truly courageous political commitment to reaffirm the primacy of vocational education. In the VET space, they announced a $30 million initiative to boost the numbers of VET trainers. This whole-of-government initiative will help drive a more productive and competitive educational ecosystem, including for Australia’s growing cohort of seniors. More than 125,000 individuals aged 45 and over have already enrolled in vocational education programs, demonstrating a growing recognition of its importance.
Fatima Sultanzi, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took over to find better opportunities, is an example of the transformative potential of vocational education. Sultanzi, who studied fashion design, recently designed an Indigenous-inspired formal suit for the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn. Interestingly, perhaps intentionally, Mostyn donned outfits by Sultanzi’s label for her swearing-in last year.
Sultanzi’s experience is a testament to her love of the fashion industry. Through The Social Outfit – a vibrant cultural enterprise that collaborates with TAFE to provide training for refugee and migrant women – she discovered thrilling new opportunities.
“I learned many things here in The Social Outfit. Different kinds of things, like (learning how to make) suits, coats, T-shirts, pants, and (using) machine. Every (sewing) machine, I can use it.” – Fatima Sultanzi
Social Entrepreneur and Chief Executive of The Social Outfit, Amy Low, spoke about the importance of their partnership with TAFE. This partnership enables women to move away from home-based domestic sewing machines. Now, it is safe for them to get their very first experience on industrial sewing machines supervised by an expert.
“What we are able to deliver in that partnership with TAFE here is the women who may be comfortable sewing on a domestic machine will have their first experience under supervision with the industrial sewing machine. And in gaining both technical skills, they are also really experiencing what it might be like to work as a machinist and to begin a career in that industry.” – Amy Low
The Australian government’s commitment to training runs deep, as shown by its initiatives to destigmatize the vocational education pathway. Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles emphasised the need for Free TAFE programs. Together, these new initiatives remove systemic cost barriers and incentivize the pursuit of lifelong and intensive learning.
“Free TAFE is breaking down cost barriers and de-stigmatising the idea that learning is only for the young. More than 125,000 Australians aged 45 and over have enrolled.” – Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles
In September, Samia Salhaz started her traineeship through the Bread and Butter Project. This project has delivered six months of hands-on baking training for refugee women, in partnership with TAFE New South Wales. Salhaz highlighted how valuable their training in Australia is for the personal aspect of development.
“The experience for me, too important to do training in Australia. I think Australian government believe in training more than anything.” – Samia Salhaz
Wexham said he was hopeful for real leaps in how society views the VET sector. He’s convinced that it’s important to tell the positive news that is coming out of vocational education.
“What we need to do, and what the government need to do, we need to get those messages across, and the story across, of the success of people coming out of vocational education and what they’ve been able to do. I mean to go to TAFE isn’t a failure. It’s a success story.” – Brian Wexham
The theme from last year’s National Skills Week was pretty awesome – “VET as a game changer”. It underscored the way that vocational education can reshape professional trajectories and rehabilitate lives. This year’s focus on looking beyond the obvious expands the range of amazing things possible within the VET ecosystem.
Australia is doing a lot to keep pace with changing job markets and economic landscapes. The VET sector provides valuable opportunities for the people motivated to deepen their skill sets and get trained for new job sectors. The collaborative efforts among organizations like The Social Outfit and Bread and Butter Project illustrate how vocational education can empower individuals from diverse backgrounds.
