Transcript Overview of GCC education and & skilling

GCC-Australia
Trade &
Investment Forum
MARTIN RIORDAN
Chief Executive Officer
TAFE Directors Australia
16 October 2014
Melbourne, Victoria
Agenda
EDUCATION & SKILLING
Overview on GCC education and skilling
Achievements to date
Opportunities
Challenges
Next steps
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Overview of GCC education and & skilling
• 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)
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Australian achievements to date
• 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
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Australian achievements to date
• 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
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Opportunities for the VET sector
• 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
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Challenges
• 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
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Next steps
• 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
GCC-Australia Policy Dialogue
Thank You
Martin Riordan
[email protected]