Community Colleges Australia (CCA) has welcomed the two new Commonwealth ministers responsible for education and vocational education and skills.
In the Cabinet unveiled by new Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday, a large number of changes have been made to the Ministry. These include:
- Senator Michaelia Cash (WA), is now the Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education; and
- Dan Tehan MP (Wannon, regional Victoria), is now the Minister for Education and Training.
Senator Cash replaces Karen Andrews MP who has been elevated to Cabinet with the position of Minister for Industry, Science and Technology. Dan Tehan replaces Senator Simon Birmingham, who becomes the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.
Responsibility for VET has shifted from the education portfolio to the employment portfolio under Kelly O’Dwyer MP as the new Minister for Jobs, Industrial Relations and Women. “Putting VET into the ministry will … likely please small business advocacy groups,” writes the business website Smart Company.
“This continues a pattern that has seen responsibility for skills and training bounce between the education, employment and industry portfolios over recent years. It last moved in December 2014 when former Prime Minister Tony Abbott transferred responsibility for VET from Industry to Education,” writes TAFE Directors Australia.
CCA CEO Dr Don Perlgut, said: “CCA welcomes Minister Cash and Minister Tehan to their new portfolios, and looks forward to working with each of them, as well as with Minister O’Dwyer. We have already issued an invitation to Senator Cash to speak at our November Annual Conference in Sydney. We thank Minister Andrews and Minister Birmingham for their close attention to the training and education portfolios and wish them well in their new areas of responsibility.”
