Following scandal after scandal, and a $3 billion Budget blow-out over four years, the Turnbull Government finally passed a bill in December imposing stricter eligibility criteria for vocational educational training (VET) courses, as well as capping student loans.
Fast forward five months and thousands of students have been left in limbo as one of the biggest private VET providers, Careers Australia, has gone into administration after losing government accreditation and funding. From the Jakarta Globe:
Careers Australia Group, a provider of vocational education and training, has gone into voluntary administration after losing government funding, putting 1,100 people out of work and 15,000 students in limbo, its administrators said on Friday (26/05).
All work placements for students, many of them from overseas, will be suspended immediately as will all school-based apprenticeships and traineeships…
The collapse of Careers Australia, which has 14 campuses, comes as the government reviews the way funding is distributed to the sector.
The Department of Education and Training said the firm had notified Careers Australia on Wednesday that it will not accredit the company for a new vocational education scheme.
“Careers Australia did not meet three of the provider criteria: financial performance, management and governance and student outcomes,” it said, adding that the government may provide financial assistance to affected students.
The collapse of Careers Australia follows the similar fate experienced by Australian Institute of Professional Education – another large private VET provider – in October last year, which also left thousands of students in limbo.
The implementation of demand-driven training systems across Australia has clearly been an abject failure. They were supposed to give students greater choice and make providers more responsive to students and employers. But instead, Australia produced a wasteful, rorted system that has delivered a huge Budget blow-out and poor educational outcomes.
