How can TAFE diversify its income and stay afloat in a changing funding environment?

As the TAFE system continues to compete with private vocational education and training colleges, the need to enhance existing financial models, and secure additional funding is bringing innovation and growth to the sector. Despite this class sizes continue to rise as back office resources continue to be reduced.

Changes made in 2010 opened up VET FEE-HELP to the Vocational Education and Training sector. The change was designed to allow students who otherwise were unable to afford the fees of a private college the opportunity to study, gaining work based skills.

In 2012, then NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, cut $1.7 billion in government funding to NSW TAFE’s resulting in an estimated 800 job losses, increasing class sizes which resulted in a reduction in the number of students graduating.

As TAFE began to compete with the private education sector for students – and therefore the funding they needed to stay in business – profit seemed to become the determining factor, rather than education.

TAFE has continued to supply accredited training, continuing to produce the majority of graduates in trade qualifications, doing so more on the ‘smell of an oily rag’, making do with less despite having to do more.

Analysis by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research has shown the public TAFE system remains overwhelmingly the dominant provider of trade based qualifications. The figures remain unchanged from 2010, with TAFE accounting for 80 per cent of graduates in the plumbing trade, while private colleges account for only 6 per cent.

An article in the Australian in April 2o16, also stated the research showed TAFEs also produced the majority of course completions across all qualifications.

Despite these statistics 75 per cent of the $3.1 billion in VET FEE-HELP funding made between 2010 and 2014 went directly to private providers.

While there are many honourable and honest private colleges, the private education system has been rocked by almost daily announcements of investigations into dodgy colleges.

During the 2016 election campaign, Opposition Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen announced a proposed $8,000 annual cap on VET FEE-HELP loans. Higher Education Spokesperson Kim Carr said the proposal would provide “… protection for students and reduce the call on the budget…”.

Currently the scheme allows students to access $100,000 in study loans, with no annual cap and no call to repay the loans until the student is earning $54,000 per year. It is this opportunity that has seen course fees in the private education sector sky rocket.

“The average cost to providers is less than $4000,” Mr Carr said in an interview with The Australian on the 10^th of June 2016. “There would still be room for companies to continue making a profit but nothing like the $20,000 course fees we’re seeing now.”

Recent research provided by the Labor party shows students attending a private college course in Salon Management are being charged more than $32,000 while the same qualification provided by NSW TAFE, is at a cost of $6,990.

In today’s world everything is about perception and the current perception of the Vocational Education and Training sector is one that brings up images of the Wild, Wild, West. 

Mavericks, card sharks and cowboy operators have taken the opportunities available and turned the industry into O.K Corral, muddying the reputations of not only the legitimate operators but the industry as a whole.

From sky rocketing course fees to phantom students rogue operators appear to have infiltrated the VET sector.

In attempt to overhaul the VET FEE-HELP Scheme, the Turnbull Government froze the loans available to private colleges to the same amount as claimed in 2015. What this meant was if a college had billed the government for $50 million in 2015, it would be unable to claim more than $50 million in 2016.

As the crackdown on private colleges claiming billions from the Federal Government has been praised by the TAFE industry, the reality is there are now tens of thousands of students, mortgaged to the back-teeth who will never graduate from their courses.

Sales tricks such as; study now and pay later, or free iPad’s on signing up to the course are rife, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission taking court action against Sydney based college Unique International. After an audit by the ACCC found Unique International had only a 2.4 per cent graduation rate (despite billing the VET FEE-HELP for more than $57 million in loans paid as upfront fees to the college), the ACCC took the college to the Federal Court claiming the college engaged in unconscionable conduct.

The case, currently before the Federal Court has heard allegations that Unique International relied heavily on students in very remote areas, undertaking a deliberately targeted approach to secure them with various incentives.

In its Statement of Claim, the ACCC alleges Unique International deliberately targeted illiterate and disabled people living in remote Aboriginal communities, with staff alleged to have traveled the country with boxes of laptops and iPads to give to anyone who signed up to an online course costing between $22,000 and $25,000.

While this is the first time the ACCC has taken a private college to court, it’s not the first private college to come under fire including Careers Australia Education Institute which in an agreement with the ACCC has seen the training provider forgo tens of millions of dollars in funding.

As both sides of the political divide attempt to come up with a resolution, the reality for TAFE is a loss of revenue and resources that need to be made up from somewhere. TAFE, no longer ensured a secure and steady stream of government funding, are being forced to innovate to deliver.

Entering new markets and developing strategic partnerships – both nationally and internationally – is one opportunity that TAFE needs to explore if they are to remain open for business in the coming years. Both TAFE and Private VET providers are embracing emerging markets and capitalising on their abilities to apply entrepreneurial know-how in order to align existing organisational strengths to focus on my specialised skill sets.

By entering into strategic partnerships, education providers in the VET landscape are able to diversify their revenue streams, protecting themselves against further government funding cuts and enhancing their abilities to deliver top notch education to their students without being the victims of the winds of change. 

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy.

Mike’s most recently published story, Seeds of Eden, is featured in the Sproutlings Anthology released in March 2016.

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Digital liaisons – the dangers of cyber space

What you remember as bullying from your old childhood is nothing compared to bullying these days. Bullying doesn’t just belong to the school yard anymore. What was once considered “safe places”; such as the family home, doesn’t exist anymore. Cyber bullies can target the victim 24/7.

Compared to the “old fashioned” way of bullying that took place in public, cyber bulling is harder to detect as it’s often done in secret. And not only can more people participate in it, bullies often create false profiles and names to remain anonymous. Online harassments are also difficult to remove once they have been posted, and are often shared, enabling more bullies to participate.

As technology is becoming more and more available to younger children while the number of social platforms is increasing, cyber bullying is an issue on the rise. Children are particularly vulnerable and are often a common target of cyber-bullying, and about 200 million children worldwide have been affected by it. Research also estimates that 158,000 children miss school daily as a result of cyber bullying, and research by the federal government found that one in four of Australian students have been exposed to bull

An individual can fall victim to cyber bullying in several different ways:

• Being sent abusive, insulting, hurtful or threatening messages
• Bullies sending photos or videos of you to others to embarrass or hurt you
• Bullies spreading lies rumours or gossip about the victim
• The victim being excluded from online groups
• Being stalked
• Being sent messages, videos or photos of a sexual nature
• Bullies setting up fake profiles pretending to be the victim
• Bullies stealing the victim’s password to enter private social networking sites
• Being sent hurtful messages from someone the victim doesn’t even know

The Children’s eSafety Commissioner dealt with a 124 serious cases of cyber bullying in just nine months leading up to April this year. And another 4000 other children and teens were referred to the Kid’s Helpline as a result of online bullying.

Many children that have become victims don’t tell their parents of fear it will make the situation worse, but if you suspect that your child or someone in your family has fallen victim, there are several organisations that can help you out.

You can also send complaints on bullying and harassment to the Australian Human Rights Commission, which can investigate the matter.

Parents, grown-ups and government bodies need to come together to stop cyber bullying. Parents, guardians and teachers need to be aware of the risks and where the children are spending their time online. It’s a conversation that needs to be had and an issue we need to tackle together.

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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Gone Phishing: Don’t get hooked

“Congratulations Claire, you are pre-approved for 1000$ 100% accepted?????”

The latest addition to my junk folder didn’t entice me to reply but online scams are not always so easy to spot.

Sharon Armstrong from New Zealand was 54 years old and had been looking for love online for a month when she found him. “I fell hard and fast. We built up what felt like a very long relationship over a short period of time,” Sharon said in an interview on news.com.au.

For five and a half months Sharon was groomed with more than 7000 emails and a series of tests to determine if she could be trusted, but he always found an excuse to avoid Skyping.

He told Sharon he was a civil engineer and that she could be his EA. “I’ve secured this very lucrative contract for a job. Would you be keen to travel to South America to pick up the contract to bring it to me in London?” He asked.

Thinking she was being cautious, Sharon googled the company and verified its authenticity. In Buenos Aires the suitcase was delivered to her hotel.

She soon found herself in an Argentinian prison with 60-70 other women who had been convicted of smuggling drugs. Sharon spent 2.5 years here.

Whilst the majority of us will never find ourselves in Sharon’s situation, Australia could stand to be more sceptical.

Last year, Australians lost nearly $230 million to scams in 2015, $54 million of which was to romance fraud, according to the ACCC.

Delia Rickard, Deputy Chair of the ACCC, said people can lose over $100,000 in life-destroying swindles, “They're very patient, they'll spend weeks, months, we know of cases of years, romancing you, they'll contact you every day. And when they're completely confident that they've got your trust, your love, they will spin you a story about why they need money.”

While I can’t help you love, I can help you avoid falling victim to online scams. Here are five things to keep in mind the next time you log on:

Give to charities you know

In the aftermath of disasters, charities seem to spring up overnight. Give to established charities you are aware of.

Too good to be true? It is.

If you’re being offered thousands of dollars requiring very little input, high-return investments, or being offered $1000 outright like my email above, it’s probably not real. Stop kidding yourself.

Never wire money or deposit a check

Wired money is almost impossible to reverse or trace and scam artists know this. No matter how convincing their story is, stick to your guns. You’re responsible for the checks you deposit and, if a check is invalid, you’re responsible for paying back the bank.

Don’t respond to pleas for funds

I was 14 years old and had just discovered the joys of instant messaging and email. When I received an email from a young girl in Cuba telling me about her family living in poverty, I was very concerned. It didn’t occur to me to ask how she sent me the email in the first place. No matter how tiny the violin is that they’re playing, be resilient and realistic.

Spot imposters

Scammers often pretend to be an organisation or individuals you trust. At least once a week I receive an email telling me that my Paypal account has been compromised. Don’t reply to the email, log onto the website instead. My Paypal account has been fine 99% of the time- only once was it used to buy an Xbox game in the US.

As we migrate to digital platforms, it becomes increasingly necessary to be security savvy. If you’d like to learn how to ensure your data security and risk mitigation strategies, attend Akolade’s upcoming The Future of Public Sector of Digitisation forum.

Learn in sessions such as ‘Governments and corporate and investigations: unravelling hidden secrets in Forensic IT’ and ‘disaster recovery strategies’. See you there!

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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International Internships: Being 20 Years Old and 10,000 Miles Away from Home

In case you couldn’t tell from the title: I’m American. I still don’t know whether a coat or flip flops (“thongs”) are more appropriate in “30 degrees Celsius”, I pronounce Z “zee” and not “zed”, and I rely on spellcheck to make sure I don’t use that letter instead of an S in words like “organised” and “realised”. Australia is arguably one of the most similar countries to the United States, but I still have so much to learn.

Experience internationally is something that is increasingly more valuable in today’s job market. Now, over 40% of Americans have at least an associate’s degree and it’s predicted that this will rise to 60% by 2025. Students are searching for more ways to differentiate themselves in this increasingly competitive field. Working as an intern, either domestically or internationally, is one option that more students are pursuing to help set themselves apart. And the benefits, as it turns out, are enormous—

Work Experience

A report released by McKinsey found that less than half of surveyed employers believed that recent graduates are prepared for entry-level positions. While learning inside the classroom is great for developing a foundation, there are many lessons that cannot be taught in school. I may take a class on copywriting, but it’s completely different when you’re actually using those skills to write a promotional email to thousands of people. Internships provide a great opportunity for students to fill in those educational gaps, as they’re provided with real in-office experiences. This work experience can also serve as a job preview for students, as they can see what a career is actually like (and if they like it) before applying for their first full-time job.

Global Competency 

This benefit pertains specifically to international internships. Our world is becoming more interconnected as technology improves. It’s important that students learn to navigate intercultural exchanges, as it’s more common for businesses to expand into other countries. Within even predominately domestic companies, there can be entire departments, customers, or employees that are from other countries. Experience navigating these global relationships is incredibly valuable as our world becomes more connected.

Building Industry Relationships

Even if you’re not planning on returning to your host company or country, there is a lot that can be gained from these relationships. There’s so much that can be learned from working side by side with experienced people, especially when they’re in your field of interest. They’re perfect resources to answer your questions or give feedback about your work, which is harder to gain in an academic setting. Secondly, they can serve as valuable references in the postgraduate job hunt if you make a good impression. Recent grads are much more hireable if somebody in-industry can vouch for them. For companies, it takes a lot of the risk out of a new hire if there is somebody reputable who can speak to their competence.

Finally, for me the opportunity for personal growth was one of the deciding factors when I chose to do an international internship. Although I live on my university’s campus, my family lives a 30-minute drive away. Interning abroad is definitely a step out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad that I took it. I’m meeting new people, learning from a great company, and discovering new things about myself. I look forward to seeing what else Australia and Akolade will teach me in the weeks to come.   

Sydney is from the United States and is spending her American summer /Australian winter working as a Marketing Intern at Akolade. In a few months she’ll start her third year at the University of Michigan and is working towards a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies. After she graduates, she’s hoping to work in consulting or marketing, but still isn't quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up.

This is Sydney’s first time in Australia, and she’s been surprised that people haven’t laughed at her name more. So far, she’s adjusting to the slight cultural differences (Australian coffee is better, some words are spelled a tad differently, and “carryout” food is called “takeaway” food). She’s excited to be working with the marketing team at Akolade and continuing her business education outside of the classroom.

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Cost reduction levers through integrated supply

Australian supply chain companies are working hard to compete in a highly competitive global market place and reducing costs their number one challenge. Typically companies have reduced costs by refining their manufacturing processes and through close management of their direct materials. Manufacturers have done a good job building efficiencies and direct material, those items which are part of the finished product, which represent most of the product cost.

Smart companies are realising they can reduce costs even further by focusing on their indirect materials. These items include safety supplies, hand and power tools, cutting tools, and maintenance equipment. While indirect materials make up only 5-10% of the manufacturer’s expenses typically they take up a further 80% of their procurement activity. Purchasing therefore is one of the key strategic areas for generating competitive advantage and value creation. In addition, significantly lower prices, improved cash flow, and a streamline supply chain often offer an opportunity to improve plant efficiencies and reduce costs.

In order to realise corporate savings and growth targets, numerous strategic and operational levers need to be applied in the area of procurement. For example, globalisation has led to increasingly complex supply chains and cost structures, which require corporations to rethink their existing processes and relationships. Future success depends on the introduction of new concepts for efficient procurement.

Take for example; DHL’s key objective is to be the first in fashion delivery. In order for this to occur, they need to ensure their operational set up meets demands for excellence and become more knowledgeable about the retailers they work with. Much of that will be achieved through DHL dynamically changing their cost based through the whole supply chain and importantly changing the way DHL’s customers manage their buying processes that can really help take DHL to the next level.

Online continues to be growing at a rapid rate. Retailers have to look closely at their online capabilities and stay ahead of customer expectations. Consumers are increasingly becoming more demanding and with that place a huge challenge on our retailers around how they differentiate themselves on the high street.

A fundamental change that DHL is pioneering is to move processing offshore back up the supply chain to the point of manufacture, take advantage of cost efficiencies in those developing markets, to take advantage of the consolidation efficiencies and select products later so that only the right fashion appear in the retail market.

The future of supply chain is very exciting. The need to meet growing demands and understand how customers are changing, and aligning it with your operational goals is critical to the success of your supply chain business.

The best part of my job as a Conference Production Manager is to create and manage my own conferences from concept to delivery, identify future conference topics as well as giving me a chance to expand my business card collection. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, you will always find me having lollies on my desk or you will catch me browsing on fashion sites during lunch breaks.

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Vocational Education & Training – the Cinderella of Australia’s education system

You could call Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector the Cinderella of our education system. The Australian Federal Government (or step-mother in the equation) has largely overlooked the potential of our VET sector in recent years.

The number of enrolments in the VET sector is only 13 percent higher than they were 10 years ago. This is an alarming statistic when compared to the number of undergraduate enrolments which has risen by an enormous 43 percent over the past four years.

Falling student enrolment numbers are worsened by the cuts in Government funding, which has seen a decline by 31 percent since 2005 - the lowest level of government investment amongst all education institutions.  

The 2016-17 Federal Budget confirms an even further reduction in VET investment, alleging that funding will fall by more than $500 million between 2017 and 2018, with an additional reduction of $50 million over four years.  

VETs are not only facing pressure from the weakening number of student enrolments and collapse in government funding but are also under enormous pressure from increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. Only 20 percent of VETs were seen to be fully compliant to the ASQA standards in 2013 and 2014.

Given the tumultuous landscape of the Australian VET industry it has become increasingly evident that VET’s must innovate their business models. VETs need to capitalise on novel revenue streams, reducing reliance on government funding and student fees.

Some VETs are beginning to capitalise on this idea, innovating their offerings to attract new students. A regional community college in NSW has introduced a new course, essentially training students on how to repair their lawn-mowers. Students can then go out and start their own businesses with the necessary skills to do so.

This is just one great example of the potential for VETs. Akolade’s 2^nd Annual Innovative Business Models for VET Forum is a meeting point, bringing together thought leaders across public and private VET institutions. These experts will gather to share their plethora of knowledge and industry experience on ways which VETs can grow and thrive amidst an era of reform and compliance.  

Whilst some may fail to recognise VET’s true beauty (just like Cinderella) there is no denying that VET’s have the ability to shine.    

Ashley has lived on Manly beachfront her entire life – she worships the sun and chases it year round. Having recently finished her Bachelor of Business in Portugal’s gorgeous capital, Lisbon, she thought that producing conferences at Akolade would be a great new experience.  Ashley loves her new dinner-time conversation, enlightening people on her research topics! 

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It’s time to shut down and be yourself

How often do you shut yourself out from today’s busy technological world?

Whether you're working or just casually surfing the Internet on a weekend, the Internet and technological world plays a huge part of our lives today.

Let me tell you something, the Internet is not going to run away anytime soon. SURPRISE! In fact, I’m not sure if it will ever disappear out of our lives.

A study shows that people spend an average of 8 hours and 21 minutes sleeping in a day, however they spend an average of 8 hours and 41 minutes on media devices and 81% of smartphone users even have their phones switched on when they go to sleep!

Experts have warned that if you are constantly on your mobile phone, it will have a negative impact on your quality of sleep and hence directly impacting your health.

For those workaholics, you may find yourself constantly going online, checking on work emails or sales figures.

You know what? It is okay to take a break and turn off your mobile phone and enjoy life.

Here a few things you can do to relax and enjoy life:

Exercise

If you are always sitting and working long hours of the day, it is important to stay active and exercise. By exercising 30 minutes a day, it will help to control your body weight, put you in a better mood, boost your energy levels and combat health conditions.

Read a book

Reading for 30 minutes or an hour a day helps with reducing everyday stress and provokes mental stimulation. Not only will you increase your knowledge, you will also find that your memory will improve and develop stronger analytical skills as well as improving your focus and concentration levels.

Talk to real life people

Yes, they do exist! Your friends did not originate from your social media channels. Find some time each week to meet up and catch up in person. You will find that you are able to connect better and develop a stronger bond with them as you can see their emotions and expressions better. Not to mention, who else are you going to find to create precious memories with you?

“The word 'seek' means to go in search of, try to discover, try to acquire. It requires an active, assertive approach to life.” - Joseph B. Wirthlin

Being brought up in a typical Chinese family in Australia, Vivian takes pride as an ABC (Australia-born Chinese) where she happily embraces both the Chinese and Australian cultures. 

In high school, Vivian wanted to become a fashion designer, however she has developed a passion for running events after working backstage for multiple live shows. Prior to starting at Akolade, Vivian worked 4 years in the wine industry and she misses the wine tasting sessions and openly drinking on the job. As the Marketing Coordinator, Vivian enjoys using her creativity to design unique and fun campaigns for each event. In her spare time, Vivian loves to spend time with her two adorable pets; a cat and a dog. 

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Investing in Indigenous employers

Indigenous Australians remain underrepresented in today’s workforce, despite several efforts by the government. It’s 2016 and we still haven’t done better. Why?

Both Canada and New Zealand are miles ahead of us when it comes to employing Indigenous people and supporting them in the workforce. Indigenous enterprise and employment is part of the culture, and it’s in a good way. It’s thriving.

It’s not thriving in Australia.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Indigenous Australians have much lower employment rates than other Australians. In 2011, Indigenous Australians aged 15-64 were less likely to be participating in the labour force compared to non-Indigenous Australians (55.9% compared to 76.4%).

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Contributing factors to the low employment rate include lower levels of education and training, poorer health, living in areas with fewer labour market opportunities and lower level of job retention, as well as issues relating to native title.

Indigenous entrepreneurship is vital to growing and sustaining Australia’s Indigenous economy. Recent research has also found that Indigenous employers are more likely to hire other Indigenous Australians.

Employers could, and should, do a lot more to include and engage Indigenous Australians and understand the value of a diverse workplace.

The first issue is that employers simply don’t know enough about Australia’s Aboriginal culture, nor do they show respect or understanding for social and emotional issues. Employers need to be willing to learn and create awareness in the workplace, starting with their human resources departments.

Businesses can attract more Indigenous people by simplifying the application process and by trying some innovative recruitment strategies.

Employers and human resource managers would also benefit from learning more about cultural behaviours. For example, in Indigenous culture it’s considered rude to look someone in the eyes. Not looking an interviewer in the eyes during a job interview would obviously put any applicant at disadvantage, but by having an understanding for other cultures; employers can increase and support their Indigenous workforce.

But it’s not just about hiring Indigenous Australians, it’s also about retaining them. Making sure Indigenous Australians receive the support they need is crucial. One successful strategy is implementing mentorships where the mentor can act as a role model and provide support and guidance.

Australians employers have a long way to go to fully engage and invest in Indigenous employers, but every little step counts. So why not take that first step now?

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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