Community Colleges Australia (CCA) – the national peak organisation representing Australia’s not-for-profit community education providers – has released its NSW election policy platform with details of what the community education sector wants and needs for the sector and the state. (View the full Election Platform in html here or download a PDF here.)
CCA has called on the next NSW government to recognise the training undertaken by the not-for-profit NSW community education sector by establishing a dedicated Board of Adult and Community Education (BACE).
This structure – to be legislated by the NSW Parliament – will:
- promote the provision of adult and community education in NSW;
- foster, support and facilitate co-ordinated provision of NSW adult and community education;
- advise the Minister and the NSW Government on needs and trends in adult and community education;
- arrange for the distribution of government funds to not-for-profit adult and community education providers; and
- commission research into NSW adult and community education.
“This structure would return New South Wales to the position it was in from 1990 to 2008 when it had a legislatively constituted Board of Adult and Community Education (BACE). Establishing this Board would bring New South Wales in line with Victoria, which has an Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board, which allocates resources, develops policies and advises the Victorian Minister,” said Dr Don Perlgut, CEO of Community Colleges Australia.
“In 2017, not-for-profit community education providers in New South Wales delivered accredited vocational education and training (VET) to 146,080 students – some 11% – of the state’s total of 1,330,165, including fee-for-service and government-funded training. This was almost half the number delivered by TAFE, with 21%, and 281,550 students. Not-for-profit community providers are a largely unacknowledged but crucial part of our state’s training landscape and capacity” said Dr Perlgut.
Community Colleges Australia has also requested the next New South Wales government to set not-for-profit community education provider targets of a minimum 15% of the total VET market and 10% of government-funded VET.
“These targets will ensure that the state’s training system is viable and works for everyone. It would be a significant policy failure to allow the successful New South Wales not-for-profit community education model to diminish, rather than capitalising on our sector’s acknowledged expertise to reach the vulnerable, marginal and disadvantaged learners, especially in regional and rural NSW. Yet only 4.4% of the state’s government-funded VET students enrol with community providers, compared to a massive 33% enrolled with private for-profit providers, most of which treat education and training as a ‘buy-and-sell commodity’, which is totally wrong for education. Recent events prove how problematic it is to insert the profit motive into Australian training,” said Dr Perlgut.
What does CCA want for NSW community education?
The Community Colleges Australia NSW Election Policy Platform details other requests.
National Recognition of Adult and Community Education
- The state of New South Wales needs to work with the Commonwealth and other states and territories to update and reissue the national Ministerial Statement on Adult Community Education (ACE).
Infrastructure and Operations
- Ongoing maintenance and operations funding of at least $100,000 per year for each NSW not-for-profit community education provider.
- Establishment of a replenishing facilities funding program to undertake construction of new facilities and major renovations of existing facilities.
VET Program Funding
- A 50% increase in funding for the NSW Adult and Community Education (ACE) Community Service Obligation (CSO) program – which funds not-for-profit community education providers to deliver to disadvantaged groups – to $33 million/year, as a highly effective investment in the state’s future.
- Annual indexation of CSO funding at a minimum to inflation.
- Quarantine of CSO funding solely for not-for-profit community education providers.
- Extension of contract timelines for CSO from one year to a minimum of three years to provide certainty, flexibility and greater innovation in delivery.
- Re-allocation of some of the Smart and Skilled funding from other VET providers (particularly the private for-profit providers) to not-for-profit community providers, especially in locations of greatest social and economic need such as regional and rural NSW and Western Sydney.
- An increase of funding for foundation skills, adult basic education and teaching of English as a second language, because of their intensive and high-cost nature required for the lowest educational level of learners and the total “volume of learning” required in foundation skills programs.
- Development of a targeted program delivered by community providers to assist the state’s older workers in retraining and employment skills.
Governance, Leadership and Professional Development
- Increase Teaching and Leadership program funding to the NSW not-for-profit community education sector to at least $450,000 per annum.
Quality of Teaching
- Re-establish and provide core funding to NSW State Government-led VET teaching on a state-wide basis, through a model like the Victorian VET Development Centre (VDC).
Regional Economic Development
- A special section of UrbanGrowth NSW be set up as a “Community Education Development Corporation” to ensure that the state’s not-for-profit community education providers have opportunities – and access to funds and land – to take their full role in the Sydney urban growth centres.
- Proper facilities be set aside in the Parramatta North Heritage Core to include a community education-driven education and training centre for Greater Western Sydney.
- A regional community education economic development fund be established to assist the state’s not-for-profit community education providers to engage in economic development projects.
View the full CCA NSW Election Policy here.
Contact: For more details about Community Colleges Australia, contact us via email.
