2021 Archive | Community Colleges

Commonwealth Government Commits to Foundation Skills in Budget

The Commonwealth Government has commenced with a major commitment to foundation skills – language, literacy, numeracy, digital and employability skills – as part of this year’s Budget. In a pre-Budget interview, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, “We have initiatives to try to get some of the long term unemployed...

May 12, 2021

May 2021 Budget: the most important for ACE providers in years

This week’s Commonwealth Budget is the most important one for the Australian adult and community education (ACE) sector in many years.

The Federal Budget in 2021/22 and the ACE Sector

“Federal Government budgets don’t usually mean much for the operations of Australia’s not-for-profit ACE providers, even though they enroll almost half-million (almost 12%)...

May 12, 2021

Digital inclusion strategy necessary for Australia’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups

A digital inclusion strategy is necessary to achieve proper post-secondary education and training for Australia’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and groups. That is the conclusion of Community Colleges Australia (CCA) following initial analysis of data from its survey of members’ experience with online learning resulting from Coronavirus shutdowns and social distancing requirements. “Across CCA’s members, on...

May 8, 2021

Complement increased childcare subsidy with workforce changes

Increased childcare subsidy needs to be complemented by changes in the sector’s workforce practices to ensure highly skilled childhood educators are present. This week’s Commonwealth Government announcement about a major increase in childcare subsidy – from July 2022 – follows many months of discussion and an on-again off-again approach to fee-free child...

May 3, 2021

Focus on adult literacy and numeracy – Australia needs a national policy and a whole of government commitment

Australia needs a national policy on adult literacy and numeracy, and a whole of government commitment to addressing persistent literacy issues. Around 44% of Australian adults lack the literacy skills and 55% lack the numeracy skills to cope with the demands of everyday life, according to the 2011-2012 Programme for the International...

April 30, 2021

Adult and community education organisations shine in the Upper Hunter Valley

Adult and community education – known as ACE – organisations shine in the NSW Upper Hunter Valley, providing great training services to many of the region’s vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and groups. In preparation for the upcoming Upper Hunter by-election on 22 May, Community Colleges Australia (CCA) has analysed the impact of...

April 28, 2021

Yearly Archives: 2021