Dr LIM - 1994-06-28
Mr Speaker, the Northern Territory government has long been at the forefront in vocational education and training. Will the minister detail the government's plan for the delivery of vocational education and training in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for his question. In so doing, I recognise his valuable contribution in the formative years of the Centralian College which has become a model for other institutions around Australia. The youth of the Territory do very well when it comes to job prospects and appropriate training and education. They do better than almost any of their interstate counterparts. Over the last year, a steering committee has been reviewing the structure for delivering TAFE training in the Northern Territory. The government has accepted the report of that review now and it will be implemented.
Mr Speaker, for the benefit of members, I table a copy of that report. The steering committee's recommendations provide significant benefits for the way in which remote, rural and Aboriginal communities identify vocational training and have it delivered. The recommendations will result in a streamlined system, a wider range of options for participants and retention of the current staffing levels in both teaching and administration. The recommendations will allow communities to play a greater role in determining their own priorities, including the most appropriate method for programs to be delivered to them.
The training functions of the Northern Territory Open College will be taken up by a series of other existing providers, including the major providers - that is, Northern Territory University's ITAFE, Northern Territory Rural College, Batchelor College and Centralian College. The key component of the new structure is the establishment of an open learning network which will act as a broker by assisting communities to identify their needs and assisting their delivery by providers. The system will be flexible. It will allow learning in a range of methods from face-to-face to totally independent study and will use appropriate technology to suit individual communities. Smaller communities may choose to adopt telecottages which are small learning centres with appropriate technology to suit their needs.
In the next 3 months, there will be full consultation with all parties - that is, those delivering or receiving services - to finalise the details by September. A strategy will be developed for implementation on 1 January 1995. It is envisaged that it will take some 3 years to put the
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new structures in place fully. This program has resulted from the recommendations and suggestions of interested parties throughout the Northern Territory. The review will provide more client-focused delivery of TAFE and all other vocational programs to the broadest possible range of areas in the Northern Territory.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for his question. In so doing, I recognise his valuable contribution in the formative years of the Centralian College which has become a model for other institutions around Australia. The youth of the Territory do very well when it comes to job prospects and appropriate training and education. They do better than almost any of their interstate counterparts. Over the last year, a steering committee has been reviewing the structure for delivering TAFE training in the Northern Territory. The government has accepted the report of that review now and it will be implemented.
Mr Speaker, for the benefit of members, I table a copy of that report. The steering committee's recommendations provide significant benefits for the way in which remote, rural and Aboriginal communities identify vocational training and have it delivered. The recommendations will result in a streamlined system, a wider range of options for participants and retention of the current staffing levels in both teaching and administration. The recommendations will allow communities to play a greater role in determining their own priorities, including the most appropriate method for programs to be delivered to them.
The training functions of the Northern Territory Open College will be taken up by a series of other existing providers, including the major providers - that is, Northern Territory University's ITAFE, Northern Territory Rural College, Batchelor College and Centralian College. The key component of the new structure is the establishment of an open learning network which will act as a broker by assisting communities to identify their needs and assisting their delivery by providers. The system will be flexible. It will allow learning in a range of methods from face-to-face to totally independent study and will use appropriate technology to suit individual communities. Smaller communities may choose to adopt telecottages which are small learning centres with appropriate technology to suit their needs.
In the next 3 months, there will be full consultation with all parties - that is, those delivering or receiving services - to finalise the details by September. A strategy will be developed for implementation on 1 January 1995. It is envisaged that it will take some 3 years to put the
Page 4
new structures in place fully. This program has resulted from the recommendations and suggestions of interested parties throughout the Northern Territory. The review will provide more client-focused delivery of TAFE and all other vocational programs to the broadest possible range of areas in the Northern Territory.
Page 5
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016