The 2008 Bradley review into higher education was concerned that the strict allocation of undergraduate university places over the prior 30 years would lead to a shortage of graduates for the so-called “knowledge economy”.
Accordingly, it recommended the uncapping of university places and the implementation of the demand-driven system, which was implemented by the Gillard Government and ran between 2010 to 2017. In terms of pure university participation, this policy was wildly successful. By 2016, 41% of 19-year-olds were enrolled in higher education, up from 31% in 2009:
Problem is, it has left the Australian economy way oversupplied with university graduates and with skills in all of the wrong places. Because while university participation ballooned, participation in vocational education and trades plummeted:
