ECONOMICS AND ENTERPRISE - TAFE RESPONSES

Year: 1989

Author: MAGEEAN, PAULINE

Type of paper: Abstract refereed

Abstract:
In the current and foreseeable economic climate it is unlikely that there will be significant increases in public funding for TAFE, except in those areas targeted by the government as important for Australia's economic development (Scott, 1989). Changes to the Commonwealth's TAFE funding policies are designed to bring these more closely into line with the government's economic priorities. As in many other Western style democracies, notably in the USA and Britain, increasingly, educational policies are being based on economic, rather than ideological, arguments. Current government policy in these countries is that market driven allocations and responses are the appropriate and most effective means of overcoming economic problems. Economic rationalism and the enterprise culture are leading to major rethinking about the organisation of Australian TAFE. Commonwealth funding is now dependent upon TAFE authorities making administrative arrangements to enable colleges to retain revenues from their entrepreneurial efforts. In allocating its funding the Commonwealth has placed particular emphasis on industry contributions; in 1988 $4m was available to TAFE authorities on a competitive basis for buying equipment where there was a substantial industry contribution (Dawkins, 1988). This pragmatic approach need not mean that relatively short-term and narrowly defined goals will take preference over long-term public good. It does mean that those involved in enterprise activities in TAFE must carefully consider what is to be achieved, how, and what both the short- and long-term costs and benefits are likely to be. Long-term co- operation with industry, rather than merely meeting specific short-term needs, is a way of ensuring that an educational and long-term perspective is maintained while providing special courses for industry. The CIM Techniques Training Centre at Sydney Technical College has been developed to ensure this. It will link advanced technology to sophisticated training for key economic industries and enable TAFE to respond to fee-for-service requests as well as providing state-of-the-art training for TAFE's mainstream courses. The CIM Centre is administrated by a Steering Committee with representatives from industry, TAFE staff and unions and chaired by an industry representative. Funds generated by the Centre will maintain and update its equipment.

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