2019 Travel details
Indonesia and Vietnam
Minister’s name: Gayle Tierney
Portfolio/s: Training and Skills; Higher Education
Did the Minister’s spouse accompany the Minister in an official capacity? No
Accompanying ministerial staff: Mr David Miles, Senior Adviser
Countries visited: Indonesia and Vietnam
Date of travel: 9-17 June 2019
Number of official travel days (include day of departure and day of return): 9
Funding source (list Department/s or Agency): DET
Expenses
Include combined expenses for Minister, accompanying staff and spouse (if accompanying in an official capacity): $34,277.63
Air fares (including taxes and fees): $20,567.94
Accommodation (including taxes and fees): $5,482.14
Other expenses (including travel fees, rail travel, travel allowances, cab charges, private cars, passport costs, meeting rooms): $8,227.55
Travel cost for Minister and ministerial staff (and spouse or de facto partner if applicable): $34.277.63
Are the above costs final and complete? No
Purpose of travel
I undertook travel to Indonesia and Vietnam from 9–17 June 2019, visiting Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Travel to these Southeast Asian countries aligned with the Victorian Government's international engagement priorities, including Victoria's Southeast Asia Trade and Investment Strategy, and aimed to: promote Victoria's economic, cultural and diplomatic interests; advance our state's international reputation; and enhance relations with key partners on post-secondary education and training.
In my capacity as Minister for Training and Skills and Minister for Higher Education, I endeavoured to:
- strengthen the Victorian Government's bilateral relationships with these regional partners, particularly promoting cooperation in the areas of higher education and training and skills
- continue to build provider and people-to-people links between Victoria and Southeast Asia, including promoting Victorian TAFEs as providers of high quality VET delivery
- promote Victoria as a destination for international students by highlighting our high quality of life, world-class education and training system, and safe and diverse community
- engage with policy makers and tertiary education providers in the Southeast Asia region, to learn about how their education and training systems seek to address local skills challenges and identify matters of shared interest.
The program addressed these objectives through meetings and site visits with:
- Indonesian and Vietnamese Government officials
- Local education and training providers partnered with Victorian TAFEs and universities
- Local businesses based in Indonesia considering partnerships with Victorian TAFEs for offshore training delivery
Overseas Australian and Victorian Government representatives, including the Ambassadors to Indonesia and Vietnam and the Victorian Commissioner for Southeast Asia.
Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria
In terms of key outcomes, the travel:
- Sent an important signal to our overseas counterparts and contributed significantly to government-to-government relationships with key Southeast Asian regional partners, advancing the Victorian Government's international engagement objectives. My meetings with senior Indonesian and Vietnamese government officials were an especially important part of my travel program
- Broadened and deepened my understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities related to skills development across the region during this period of rapid growth and economic and social change. For example, the Indonesian Government has developed a road map to guide it in its ambition to provide training for 58 million Indonesians by 2030. The Vietnamese Government has a commitment to modernising its economy and transforming its workforce to respond to broader global technological changes with its 'Industry 4.0' agenda
- Provided unique insight into the market and regulatory environments facing Victorian TAFEs and universities in establishing offshore operations and service provision in Indonesia and Vietnam, and highlighted the need for long-term investment of time and resources in these countries
- Gave me a clearer understanding of the strong partnerships that Victorian TAFEs and universities have established in the region, their longevity, and the scope for further market development, through my visits to institutions and meetings with students, teachers and managers
- Enhanced my understanding of the important personal impact international partnerships can have, through my attendance at the 20th anniversary celebration of Know One Teach One (KOTO), a social enterprise delivering hospitality training for disadvantaged youth in partnership with Box Hill Institute
- Reinforced alumni's strong sense of connection to Victoria, the high regard for Victorian education providers, and further promoted Victoria as a trusted friend and preferred destination for international students, through meetings with Vietnamese students and alumni of Victorian universities who are working or pursuing future studies in their home country.
Indonesia
- A meeting with Dr Mohammad Rudy Salahuddin, Deputy Minister for Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Cooperatives and SME Competitiveness, which included officials from the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs. This engagement raised the Victorian Government's profile with key Indonesian Government officials and supports the efforts of Victorian TAFEs, the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) to promote Victorian TAFEs as providers of high quality VET delivery and services.
- My meeting with the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) improved my understanding of the investment climate in Indonesia and identified innovative opportunities for Victorian TAFEs to connect with, and provide training solutions for, offshore clients seeking to invest in Indonesia. Options for Victorian TAFEs to enter a tripartite partnership to mobilise investment from international partners were explored.
- Meetings with local businesses (PT ODG and PT NS BlueScope Steel Indonesia) raised the profile of the TAFE Victoria brand as a possible partner for future training delivery and increased my understanding of the skills needs of businesses based in Indonesia.
Vietnam
- My attendance at the 20th anniversary celebration of Know One Teach One (KOTO), a social enterprise delivering hospitality training for disadvantaged youth in partnership with Box Hill Institute (BHI), was a highlight of my visit to Vietnam. The event included the graduation ceremony for the 2018-19 class during which I personally congratulated the students. The story of KOTO and its partnership with BHI is a truly inspirational story demonstrating how young, disadvantaged Vietnamese students gain life-changing opportunities through individual leadership, corporate and tertiary partnerships.
- My meeting with Dr Nguyen Hong Minh, Director-General, Directorate of Vocational Education and Training in the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) provided an opportunity to discuss the skills challenges in Vietnam and MOLISA's approach to upskilling Vietnam's large and diverse workforce. Vietnam is seeking to adapt its economy and its workforce to global changes, including the increasing digitalisation and automation of work (also known as 'Industry 4.0') and seeks to build a training system that responds to these and other challenges. We discussed how Victoria is responding to similar economic and technological challenges and the critical role for our TAFE and training system. The work of Chisholm Institute in Vietnam was a focus of the meeting, noting its partnership with 25 vocational colleges across the country supported with MOLISA funding. I highlighted the strengths of Victoria's TAFE and training system more broadly and welcomed the further exploration of opportunities for Victorian TAFEs to contribute to addressing Vietnam's upskilling needs.
- My visit to a number of vocational training colleges partnering with Victorian TAFEs was especially valuable to further my understanding of the capacity constraints and challenges faced by Vietnam's VET providers, and the important contribution that our TAFEs are making in supporting VET delivery. In addition to meeting some of the partners in Chisholm's extensive network of partnerships, I was fortunate to visit the Hanoi College of Electro Mechanics and attend the launch of the Australia Vietnam Centre of Excellence in Teacher Training, established with Box Hill Institute.
- My visit to RMIT Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City provided an insight into a high-performing Victorian university operating a world class facility in an offshore context. As RMIT Vietnam approaches the twentieth anniversary of its founding, it is promoting Victoria's reputation for providing high quality education and strengthening our people-to-people linkages.
- My visit to Hanoi University highlighted the challenges and broad ambitions of one of Vietnam's leading universities striving to lift itself in world rankings and the important role played by La Trobe University as a long-term partner. The alumni dinner reinforced the benefits for Victoria of maintaining contact with our international alumni who are lifelong friends and unofficial ambassadors for our state.
More information
The Hon. Gayle Tierney - travel report - Indonesia and Vietnam, June 2019 (PDF,706KB)
2018 Travel details
Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom
Minister’s name: Gayle Tierney
Portfolio/s Training and Skills, Corrections
Did the Minister’s spouse accompany the Minister in an official capacity? No
Accompanying ministerial staff:
Ms Cathy Whelan, Chief of Staff, Minister for Training and Skills
Countries visited: China (Hong Kong SAR), Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom (UK)
Date of travel: 26 January – 4 February 2018
Number of official travel days (include day of departure and day of return): 10
Funding source (list Department/s or Agency): DET
Expenses
Include combined expenses for Minister, accompanying staff and spouse (if accompanying in an official capacity): $52,880.54
Air fares (excluding taxes and fees): $35,501.76
Accommodation (including taxes and fees): $11,486.95
Other expenses (including travel fees, rail travel, travel allowances, cab charges, private cars, passport costs, meeting rooms): $2,637.55
Travel cost for Minister and ministerial staff (and spouse or de facto partner if applicable): $3,254.28
Are the above costs final and complete? No
Purpose of travel
From 26 January - 4 February 2018 I travelled to Hong Kong, Munich, Zurich and London in my capacity as the Minister for Training and Skills and Minister for Corrections. My engagements during the travel aligned closely with the Skills First policy, guiding reform in the Victorian training and TAFE system, and also contributed to the Victorian Government’s China Strategy: Partnerships for Prosperity.
For the European and UK leg of the trip, I travelled with a small, high level delegation of representatives from Victorian industry, unions, training providers and social partners interested in the future of apprenticeships and traineeships in Victoria.
The travel built on the review of the apprenticeship and traineeship system by the Victorian Skills Commissioner – ‘Rebalance and Relaunch’ – which was released by the Government in November 2017.
The purpose of my travel was to:
- identify best practice examples of apprenticeships and training in action in leading international jurisdictions to inform the development of reforms in the Victorian training and TAFE system, including those relating to apprenticeships and traineeships, industry engagement and funding models
- develop relationships in China leading to enhanced engagement in line with the objectives of the Government’s China Strategy
- visit an overseas correctional centre to observe a functioning international correctional facility and discuss how training and education, specifically for enhancing rehabilitation and reducing recidivism is administered.
Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria
Meetings and site visits with organisations in Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, provided valuable insights into international best practice in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and apprenticeship systems which have informed the development of reforms in the Victorian training and TAFE system.
Valuable relationships have been developed with key international networks as a result of the travel and my office and officials from my Department will maintain an ongoing dialogue and share experiences in the promotion of best practice in VET and apprenticeships.
Examples of my key engagements and related outcomes included:
Hong Kong
Meetings and site visits with senior representatives from the Hong Kong Education Bureau, Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, MTR (transport) and the Hyatt Regency (tourism and hospitality).
These meetings and site visits provided me with an insight into a high performing VET system in a contemporary Asian context, including the valuable perspectives of government, training providers and employers. Valuable relationships have been initiated with key counterparts engaged in VET in this dynamic regional jurisdiction.
The historical development of apprenticeships and VET in Victoria and Hong Kong has been informed by their shared heritage in the British system and, in my meetings with my Hong Kong hosts, we identified a range of common experiences and contemporary challenges for our respective systems. Raising the status of VET as an option for young people was identified as a shared challenge in several of my meetings and the need to demonstrate the positive outcomes of completing VET qualifications. To support more informed decision making by students, Hong Kong authorities are examining ways to improve careers education, broadened in concept to include ‘life planning’ education.
The Hong Kong government has established a committee to undertake long term labour market planning and aligning training efforts to address forecast market needs.
Examples of collaboration between Hong Kong organisations and Victorian TAFEs were also noted during my visit. For example, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) has articulation arrangements in place with RMIT University, providing opportunities for VTC students to progress to an RMIT degree program.
A meeting with Professor Joseph JY Sung, Vice-Chancellor of Chinese University of Hong Kong, was a highlight of my visit as it provided an opportunity to acknowledge his recent appointment to the Council of the University of Melbourne and discuss Victorian higher education issues.
Germany
Meetings with senior government officials from the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Science, education providers (Munich University of Applied Science and Staatlichen Berufsschule Bad Aibling), employers (Siemens AG, BMW Group), industry associations (Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria) and unions (German Trade Union Confederation).
I was joined in Germany by a delegation of representatives from Victorian industry, unions, training providers and social partners. The program concentrated on organisations based in Munich and these meetings and site visits provided me with an invaluable insight into Germany’s world-leading training and apprenticeship system. The engagements that had been arranged with a diverse range of stakeholders in the local Bavarian training and apprenticeship system showcased the key drivers of success in the highly integrated German system in which local partners work together with a shared vision and a commitment to agreed economic and social outcomes.
Bavaria shares many similar characteristics with Victoria, including highly developed manufacturing and scientific capabilities, high levels of education among its population and significant economic integration within its region and globally. A number of shared challenges were identified including the promotion and management of community expectations regarding the value of VET pathways compared to higher education, ensuring responsiveness with rapidly changing labour markets and the nature of work, and high quality delivery.
A highlight of the Munich leg of the trip was the visit to Siemens AG, including a tour of its training facilities. The meeting was attended by the CEO of the Australian arm of this multinational company, Mr Jeff Connolly. We identified a range of issues and challenges of relevance to both Bavarian and Victorian businesses, including the critical importance of developing the skills of young people for future high-tech industries. Siemens will continue to play a leading role among companies in promoting apprenticeships that are geared to the future needs of the Victorian economy.
My visit to one of the leading public VET providers (berufsschule) in Munich was another highlight, demonstrating the highly integrated approach to the development of theoretical understanding and practical competence expected of German apprentices. My hosts noted that more than 60 per cent of post-secondary education in Germany occurs in the VET system (the duales system) with students concurrently employed in businesses providing complementary, quality-assured practical training in the workplace. While workplace-based training is integral to the German apprenticeship system, it was made clear in the presentations and during my tour of the school that the learning in the berufsschule consolidates and complements the skills gained in the workplace.
Through a number of my meetings, it was apparent that enrolment in university courses (fachulschule) is certainly considered a prestigious pathway, however, gaining employment and undertaking training through apprenticeships is also a common and well-regarded pathway for German school leavers and the system is strongly supported by business, government and social partners. These observations were confirmed through my meeting with Mr Bernd Sibler, the Bavarian State Secretary for Education and Science and Professor Karl Stoffel, a VET expert from the Munich University of Applied Science.
Switzerland
Meetings with Bildxzug Association, an employer association responsible for group training in the Zug region south of Zurich, and CSL Behring, a biotechnology company and leader in the plasma protein therapeutics industry located in Bern, south-west of Zurich.
These meetings and site visits provided an opportunity to gain an in-depth and practical understanding of the Swiss employer-led model for apprenticeships and training, demonstrating a highly integrated partnership approach among local partners with a shared commitment to agreed economic and social outcomes. Similar to the German system, my meetings with Swiss organisations highlighted the pathways into apprenticeships and training for young people and the critical role of workplace-based training delivered by employers, with around two-thirds of students pursuing VET pathways after completion of compulsory schooling.
At Bildxzug, we examined the “networked apprenticeships” model through which apprentices receive professional support and guidance through their VET program and become familiar with a range of companies and company cultures during their apprenticeships. The Swiss model shares some similarities with the Group Training Organisation model in Australia and lessons from this model may be relevant for application in the Victorian context.
CSL is a major investment partner in Victoria and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit its headquarters in Bern and learn more about the company’s approach to apprenticeships and employee training. CSL offers apprenticeships across nine occupations including laboratory technician, IT technician and mechanical engineer. Graduates learn valuable, practical skills and are well remunerated, earning around 5,000 Euro per month upon graduation. This compares to around 6,000 Euro for university graduates. Staff turnover at CSL is low as employees’ career pathways are clear and supported by a strong technical training and professional development programs.
United Kingdom
Meetings with senior government officials responsible for VET in the UK (Education & Skills Funding Agency), education providers (Barking and Dagenham College), employers (Great Ormond Street Hospital), research and employer organisations (Gatsby Foundation, Institute for Apprenticeships) and union (Trades Union Congress). I also visited HMP and Youth Offender Institution Isis, an institution for sentenced young adults who are aged 18-30.
These meetings and site visits provided an invaluable insight into the UK system for apprenticeships and training which shares many features and faces similar challenges to those in the Victorian system. In several of my engagements, the promotion and management of community expectations regarding the value of VET pathways compared to higher education was highlighted as a challenge shared between the UK and Victorian systems. Ensuring responsiveness in the system in the face of rapidly changing labour markets and the nature of work was also highlighted as a challenge shared with Victoria, as was a focus on ensuring high quality training delivery and assessment.
The overview of the UK system’s approach to student assessment provided separately by the Institute of Apprenticeships, the Educations Skills and Funding Agency and Barking and Dagenham College was of particular interest. We learned that assessment of individuals’ skills and occupational competency is conducted independently of the training provider and in accordance with established standards designed by apprenticeships panels in consultation with industry. In reflecting on the current arrangements in the UK apprenticeships system, our hosts each highlighted the potentially important role to be played by employers of apprentices, but also noted the challenges of engaging employers and gaining their commitment to co-invest in the cost of training and assessment. In my meeting with the Institute of Apprenticeships, it was noted that the UK system is seeking to move to an employer driven system, but still demonstrates features of a supply-driven system. Strategies for improving the engagement of employers and industry in the apprenticeship and training system were explored during many of my meetings in London.
My visit to HMP and Youth Offender Institution Isis, provided a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the UK Government’s approach to managing youth offenders in custodial settings and particularly focussed on training programs for enhancing rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. This visit highlighted the prison’s programmatic focus on reducing offending and demonstrated the effective link between HM Prison Service and training and education providers. I was especially interested to observe the role played by an external provider contracted to deliver training in Isis and its emphasis on supporting reintegration pathways for prisoners preparing to exit custodial settings.
More information
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