Comprehensive universities and the role of the national TAFE system : the CQUniversity context

The role and function of TAFE as a public provider of vocational education and training has continually changed since the 1970s: this has included the introduction of national training packages, the marketisation of the sector, increased accessibility to contestable funds by private registered training organisations (RTOs), the emergence of dual sector universities and a plethora of enterprise RTOs. The 2013 Parliamentary Inquiry into the role of the Technical and Further Education system and its operations provides an opportunity to review and reflect on the role of TAFEs. The terms of reference for the Inquiry include TAFE contributions to skills development to underpin the Australian economy, as well as pathways for access to higher education and employment. Both these domains are of fundamental interest to operations at CQUniversity Australia, which on 1 July 2014, will merge with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE to become Queensland’s first dual-sector university. This paper will provide an overview of the key issues raised in submissions to the Inquiry, and consider their implications for the CQUniversity context. Specifically, the paper will identify how opportunities for the delivery of services and programs to support regions, communities and disadvantaged individuals to access training and skills – and through them a pathway to employment – might be enhanced by the merger to become a ‘comprehensive University’. It will also consider the range of challenges facing CQUniversity from the merger date, as it attempts to drive local, state and nationally-relevant outcomes from a regionally-based and “comprehensive” University base.