Committee Details

COMMITTEE'S REPORT

The committee tabled its Report No. 1, 57th Parliament - The delivery of VET in regional, rural and remote Queensland on 21 February 2024. The Government has three months to respond to the report's recommendations.

About the Inquiry 

On 24 October 2022, the former Education, Employment and Training Committee resolved to inquire into, and report on, the delivery of vocational education and training (VET) in regional, rural, and remote Queensland. On 13 February 2024, the Legislative Assembly amended Schedule 6 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, establishing the Education, Employment, Training and Skills Committee, and transferred the Inquiry to the Education, Employment, Training and Skills Committee for detailed consideration.

The Inquiry examined: 

1. the role of public providers in VET delivery in rural, remote and regional Queensland, including:
    • VET pathways, participation rates and outcomes
    • VET delivery for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including enablers and barriers to VET
2. the major barriers to the provision of localised and place-based VET, and priority areas and cohorts in Queensland
3. existing programs that might assist in reducing barriers or supporting priority cohorts in accessing localised and place-based VET
4. examples of successful localised VET models and how learnings might be applied in other locations
5. opportunities for the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training to facilitate improvements in these areas.

What do we mean by regional, rural and remote Queensland?

Regional, rural and remote Queensland means all areas of the state outside of the parts of south east Queensland classified as major cities under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (including Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Caboolture, Caloundra, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Noosa). A map titled ‘Remoteness Area 2016’ which shows the areas classified as major cities is available under the ‘related publications’ tab. 

What does ‘place-based’ mean in the context of VET?

Place-based approaches to VET are approaches that target the specific circumstances of the place and engage local communities in the development and implementation of training programs. This can include, but is not limited to:

• tailoring the training to the skills required by specific local employers
• reflecting the forms or patterns of work in regional areas
• providing the opportunity to complete training within the regional area
• providing the opportunity for flexible delivery of training. 

Call for submissions

Submissions closed on 23 January 2023. Submissions may be viewed under the ‘View Submissions’ tab on the former Education, Training and Employment Committee inquiry webpage.

PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS

Community forums were held in Cairns on 10 July, Thursday Island on 11 July and Roma on 27 October 2023. 

A public hearing and public departmental briefing was held in Brisbane on 14 July 2023. 

See timeline below for further information. 

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Timeline