Swinburne welcomes new National Skills Agreement

Swinburne University of Technology welcomes the landmark $12.6 billion National Skills Agreement that has been signed between the Commonwealth and State governments.

This funding agreement will revitalise the skills and training system in Australia by investing directly in critical areas, including:

• $214 million for Closing the Gap initiatives
• $250 million to improve VET completions, including for women, and
• $142 million to improve foundational skills training.

In recognition of the emerging skills needed to support economic growth and workforce shortages, there is an additional $2.4 billion that will be targeted to the clean energy and net zero transformation, sovereign manufacturing, the care and support sector, and digital capability.

Swinburne Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Vocational Education, Madelyn Bolch, says in order to bridge the skills gap we need to recognise the practical skills gained through vocational education and training (VET) and the analytical knowledge acquired in higher education (HE).

“This announcement is a crucial step forward in meeting Australia’s lifelong learning challenges and skills crisis,” she says.

“Swinburne stands ready to work with all stakeholders to see this new agreement implemented, revitalising how education is delivered in Australia to create a modern, future-focused vocational system.”

As one of Australia’s six dual sector universities, Swinburne is one of the only educational institutions that can provide learning in both VET and HE without barriers, giving our learners access to the full spectrum of education, from foundation skills and certificate level qualifications to bachelor and PhD.

Swinburne also supports the establishment of a National TAFE leadership network to promote cutting-edge curriculum development and nationally networked TAFE Centres of Excellence in collaboration with industry.