gcc-australia trade & investment forum martin riordan chief executive officer tafe directors...
TRANSCRIPT
GCC-Australia Trade &
Investment Forum
MARTIN RIORDAN
Chief Executive Officer
TAFE Directors Australia
16 October 2014
Melbourne, Victoria
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Agenda EDUCATION & SKILLING
Overview on GCC education and skilling
Achievements to date
Opportunities
Challenges
Next steps
• Average 20% of GCC country budgets spent on education
• Two recent reports indicate poor results:– Only 29% of employers believe students are prepared for work
(Ernst & Young, March 2014)– GCC region faces a shortage of competent, skilled labour (Alpen
Capital, July 2014
• Focus and investment primarily in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and UAE (92% of 355 education projects)
Overview of GCC education and & skilling
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
• Two university campuses in Dubai (Wollongong & Murdoch)
• Student visa holders in Australia (as at 30 June 1014)– Saudi Arabia 8,396; #11 in top source countries c/w #1 China
76,152
• New visas granted in last 12 months– ELICOS 1,452 from Saudi– Higher Ed 1,741 from Saudi– Post Graduate 373 from Saudi, 91 from Oman
Australian achievements to date
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
• TAFE partnerships– UAE
• TAFE NSW – ADVETI (build, operate, transfer vocational college)• Challenger – education services for ADVETI• TAFE SA• Canberra Institute – leadership training for government departments• Kangan
– Saudi Arabia (Kangan)– Kuwait (Kangan, Central Institute, Skills Tech) – Qatar
• Holmesglen – oil & gas training with Qatar Petroleum
Australian achievements to date
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
• Saudi Arabia – establishment and management of technical colleges– 14 established; 27 to come on line in 2014-15– UK consortium won $AUD 500m in March 2014 to build and manage
three colleges– Strong interest in Australian participation but sustainability of the
business model led to several TAFEs withdrawing from bidding
• Oman– A strong and emerging market with preliminary discussions underway
• Qatar– Established projects and potential for expansion
• UAE– Most successful market entry to date with on-going engagement and
extension of projects
Opportunities for the VET sector
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
• Geopolitical issues– the Arab Spring, followed by the emergence and impact of ISIS– Western military intervention
• Cultural awareness and sensitivities– Role of women in education and training– Employment opportunities for GCC nationals– Changing dynamics for expat employment
• Business models with a strong return on investment– Contracts heavily loaded to employment outcomes which may not be at
the preferred levels– Access and availability for local hire or skilled contractors for provision
of education services
Challenges
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
• Maintain the dialogue at all levels; government, industry, education providers
• Explore the viability of skills validation and skills gap training for expat labour, particularly from the India sub continent
• Leverage Australian education sector engagement to develop a multi-sector approach which offers clear pathways from school to vocational training to higher education
Next steps
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
