About 500 education ministers from around the world gathered at the 20th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Fiji in February to identify areas of action for the next three years for education in the Commonwealth, and share knowledge and good practices in the education sector.
The conference provided Australia’s Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Karen Andrews, with the opportunity to learn from others and share the important work being done to boost Australia’s skills base, and how it could help communities strengthen their workforces around the world.
A key topic was meeting the demands of the future through skills development to boost economic growth, with a real interest from overseas countries in the major reforms the Australian Government is undertaking to strengthen and grow our VET sector.
The reforms include the $1.5 billion Skilling Australians Fund to create 300,000 extra apprenticeships and traineeships, a $60 million Industry Specialist Mentoring for apprentices, and the real skills for real careers initiative to raise the status of VET as a valued pathway to a job and career. Latest statistics reveal that around 4.2 million Australians – or one in four people aged 15 to 64 – took part in VET.
Discussion among Commonwealth nations centred around the best way we can train our communities and meet the rapidly changing needs of industries and employers, and tackling the challenges in preparing our citizens for the jobs of the future.