Preliminary Pages

Membership of the Committee

Chair	Ms Sharon Bird MP
Deputy Chair	Dr Dennis Jensen MP
Members	Mr Jason Clare MP	Mr Sid Sidebottom MP
	Ms Julie Collins MP	Hon Tony Smith MP (until 10/11/08)
	Mrs Yvette D’Ath MP	Dr Andrew Southcott MP
	Mr Steve Irons MP	Mr Tony Zappia MP
	Mr Robert Oakeshott MP (from  10/11/08)

 

Committee Secretariat

 

Secretary	Dr Glenn Worthington
Inquiry Secretaries	Mr Justin Baker Ms Jane Hearn (from 10/2/09 to 1/5/09)
Research Officer	Mr Raymond Knight
Office Manager	Mr Daniel Miletic
Administrative Officer	Ms Kane Moir

 

Terms of reference

 

The Standing Committee on Education and Training being empowered to inquire into and report any annual reports referred to it by the House of Representatives, has agreed to undertake an inquiry into the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Department of Education, Science and Training.

The Committee nominated the following areas that were of particular interest:

• Decline in enrolments in enabling sciences at universities;
• Issues concerning mature age apprenticeships;
• The education of children with special needs;
• Skills training to meet emerging trade demands; and
• The Australian Qualification Framework.

 

List of abbreviations

 

ACDS	Australian Council of Deans of Science
ACER	Australian Council of Educational Research
AIG	Australian Industry Group
ANSTO	Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
AQTF	Australian Quality Training Framework
CSIRO	Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
DEEWR	Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
DEST	Department of Education, Science and Training
FASTS	Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
ISC	Industry Skills Council
MCTVE	Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
NCVER	National Centre for Vocational Education Research
RTO	Registered Training Organisation
SET	Science, Engineering and Technology
TIMSS	Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
VET	Vocational Education and Training

 

List of recommendations

1       The Committee’s Review

Recommendation 1 (para 1.17)

That the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations include information in its Annual Report on the number and timeliness of responses to questions taken from committees of the Parliament outside of questions taken in Senate Estimates sessions.

2       National vocational education and training system

Recommendation 2 (para 2.90)

That the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, in consultation with the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and stakeholders, ensure that provision is made to capture and incorporate private sector vocational education and training data into NCVER analysis.

3       Decline in Enrolments in Enabling Sciences

Recommendation 3 (para 3.16)

That the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations consult with the Australian Council of Deans of Science, the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Council of Educational Research and other relevant stakeholders in relation to improving collection and aggregation of data on university enrolments and completions that will provide trend information for narrow areas of enabling sciences such as physical, mathematical and chemical sciences.