NVEAC Charter

Context

The National VET Equity Advisory Council has been established to improve training and employment outcomes for disadvantaged learners in the national training system, by providing leadership for cultural and systemic change in VET.

In 2008, the Ministerial Council released a communiqué which stated that:

The COAG reform agenda will provide every Australian … with early learning, education and training so that they can reach their full potential. Together, all Australians can be part of reducing individual disadvantage and lifting national wealth. The reform agenda aspires for every Australian to have a place in an equitable society and a skilled workforce.

This reform agenda underpins the work of the National VET Equity Advisory Council.

Objective

The key objective of the National VET Equity Advisory Council is to drive reform for all equity groups in the following areas:

Sustainable employment outcomes including increased levels of participation in training and completions;
Higher level qualification attainments;
Effective transitions from school or community to training; and training to further education or employment; and
The capacity of the VET system to address barriers to training and employment outcomes for disadvantaged groups.

Role

The role of the National VET Equity Advisory Council is to provide high level strategic advice to the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) to guide equity reform in the national training system. To do this the Council will:

Provide independent advice to the Ministerial Council on priorities and action- orientated strategies which will guide reform;
Provide leadership for cultural and systemic change in the VET system which will see equity considerations integrated into all aspects of vocational education and training;
Form partnerships, consult and engage with stakeholders to identify issues and potential strategies, in order to support the provision of advice;
Identify research priorities and develop and oversee a national equity research strategy to ensure an evidence based approach to the provision of advice; and
Monitor progress against agreed performance measures and targets.

Membership and appointments

The Australian Government Minister with responsibility for training will approve all appointments, in consultation with the Ministerial Council, and determine their term.

In determining the membership of the National VET Equity Advisory Council, Ministers will ensure that there is a broad based membership with links to a range of stakeholder groups including Indigenous and disability advocates; public, private and community training providers; higher education institutions; industry, employer and employee groups; students of the vocational education and training system; and Commonwealth and State and Territory governments.

The Council will comprise a Chair and eleven members.

Relationship with other elements of the national training system

Ministerial Council

The National VET Equity Advisory Council is a committee of the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE). The NVEAC Chair is responsible to the Ministerial Council and reports to the Chair of MCTEE.

The primary role of the National VET Equity Advisory Council is to provide high-level strategic advice to the Ministerial Council on equity reform in vocational education and training.

The National VET Equity Advisory Council will report annually to MCTEE on its performance for the previous year against its roles and functions as stipulated in the Charter, and against the year’s priorities. It will also report on its priorities for the coming year. This will include its plans for ensuring that it engages formally with all relevant stakeholders to ensure it brings broad-based advice to the Ministerial Council.

National Senior Officials Committee

The National VET Equity Advisory Council may provide papers to the National Senior Officials Committee for information or consultation purposes.

National Quality Council

The National VET Equity Advisory Council will formally engage with the National Quality Council to ensure that equity considerations are fully integrated into all National Quality Council business and to inform the quality assurance arrangements for Training Packages and registered training organisations.

National Industry Skills Committee

The National VET Equity Advisory Council will formally engage with the National Industry Skills Committee to gain industry input into strategies to improve employment outcomes and transitions from education and training to work for disadvantaged learners.

Training providers, client advocate groups and other stakeholders

The National VET Equity Advisory Council will engage with relevant stakeholders, in order to bring broad-based advice to the Ministerial Council. Relevant stakeholders will include but not be limited to:

the Social Inclusion Board
NCVER
Industry Skills Councils;
registered training organisations (including public, private and community);
group training organisations;
client advocate groups;
other bodies with an interest in equity issues as deemed appropriate.

The Council will determine whether broad-based views are obtained through a roundtable or other mechanism, such as reference and/or advisory groups or targeted forums.

Underpinning Principles

Equity is everybody’s business
The learner is at the centre of the system
Equity considerations must be integrated into all aspects of the VET system
Advice to the VET system should be based on approaches that are evidence based, action oriented, flexible and/or innovative
Improved data collection, performance measures and targets are important
Systemic barriers that prevent the achievement of inclusion and equity for VET learners must be addressed
Sustained support and long-term investment are fundamental to improving outcomes for equity groups

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