Advancing Australia's VET Sector
Curated industry news from RTO Advance. #05 2020
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Dear friends and colleagues,
Let’s start with some positivity this month! The Qatar Foundation recently held their annual WISE Conference (virtually) in which they explored the implications of COVID-19 on the future of education leadership and school systems with some of the world’s best minds and leading thinkers on the topic.
Their overall summary? That “COVID-19 has offered a ‘golden ticket’ to the future of education” and that is such a fantastic and much-needed perspective to be taking right now:
Experts from around the world outlined how COVID-19 has left indelible marks on the global education landscape but could also lead to it being reformed in a way the world has never seen before. Professor John Hattie, Director of Melbourne Education Research Institute, commented on the paradigm shift in education caused by the pandemic, saying:
“Educators have engineered an educational revolution, and have worked out how to best suit their students online and blended learning. We could say that COVID-19 has offered us a golden ticket, a chance to disrupt the traditional grammar of schooling, to engage many more students during classes. It has given educators - and not policymakers - the opportunity to drastically improve learning in our schools, a chance to truly hear how students think, how they problem-solve, how they engage in learning, and how they could be efficient learners.
"We need to question the old structures we have held onto – not the value they bring, but what they may block - and whether their value is worth what they lead to us losing out on.”
Meanwhile here in Australia, the extraordinary damage done to Australia’s reputation through Canberra’s treatment of international students has continued to be a key point of focus.
We have included an important recent report by the Migrant Worker Justice Initiative on international students and temporary visa holders in Australia in which temporary migrants described their anguish of exclusion and racism during COVID-19 and of feeling as if they were merely ‘cash cows’ and ‘garbage’.
This is so disappointing, and it is hoped that our reputation as being a safe and inclusive education environment for all can be repaired.
We have also included a new report from the Centre for Future Work on how rebuilding Australia’s inclusive TAFE system is going to be vital for increasing productivity post-COVID.
And finally, an interesting read below from the Harvard Business Review on leading through times of trauma and using this as a personal and professional growth opportunity for you and your team.
Best regards
Judith Bowler
Educational Strategist & Founder, RTO Advance
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Killing the golden goose: How Australia's international students are being driven away READ MORE
Neglect ‘fuels perceptions of racism’ against students in Australia READ MORE
Is the uni sector getting a raw deal?
READ MORE
Australian universities cower as disaster looms READ MORE
As universities face losing 1 in 10 staff, COVID-driven cuts create 4 key risks READ MORE
TEQSA: New guidance for Australian Higher Education providers on selecting a suitable independent expert to conduct a review or seek expert advice as part of their internal quality assurance processes
READ MORE
Lockdowns put VCAL students at risk of not completing Year 12 READ MORE
2021 will be a competitive year for university applicants READ MORE
ITECA CEO takes the gloss off new TAFE report. A new report has highlighted TAFE’s role in Australia’s economic success and warned that not investing in the sector will destroy our economy’s engines for prosperity, growth and equity
READ MORE
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An important report on International students and temporary visa holders in Australia - time to treat them as part of the community and not just as cash cows via @RobertParsonson
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Temporary Migrants in Australia During COVID-19
MIGRANT WORKER JUSTICE INITIATIVE
This is the first study to reveal the depth of social exclusion, racism and deeper emotional consequences of Australia’s policies, which have significantly impacted Australia’s global reputation.
Three in five international students and backpackers were less likely to recommend Australia as a place for study and travel, based on their treatment during COVID-19. The findings indicate potential long-term economic and diplomatic consequences of current government policies which are at odds with those of other similar countries such as the UK that have included temporary migrants in wage subsidies.
There are also detailed findings on increased prevalence of racism against Chinese and other Asian migrants during the pandemic. It recommends the government urgently reconsider its policies. In particular, it calls upon the government to provide wage subsidies and other support to address the critical humanitarian need identified, and to repair the immediate and longer-term damage caused by Australia’s exclusion of these integral members of our community and workforce.
Close to three quarters of survey respondents lost all or most of their work during the pandemic. Thousands were left unable to pay for food and rent, having been categorically excluded from government wage subsidy schemes. More than half (57%) believe their financial stress will deepen by year’s end, with one in three international students forecasting their funds will run out by October.
READ MORE >>
Additional Reading:
As If We Weren’t Humans: The Abandonment of Temporary Migrants in Australia During COVID-19
Published on 17 September 2020, presents findings from a July online survey of 6,105 international students and visa holders, on their experiences in Australia during COVID-19. READ HERE >>
'Garbage' and 'cash cows': temporary migrants describe anguish of exclusion and racism during COVID-19
Draws on the survey data to explain the broader long-term impacts of the Australian government’s exclusion of temporary migrants during the pandemic. READ HERE >>
‘I will never come to Australia again’: new research reveals the suffering of temporary migrants during the COVID-19 crisis
In the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, many temporary visa holders working in heavily casualised industries, such as hospitality and retail, lost their jobs and struggled to meet basic living expenses. READ HERE >>
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