The final report for the Australian Universities Accord has found that by 2050, an additional 20% of the Australian workforce will need a tertiary qualification to find work.
The report, released by Federal Education Minister The Hon. Jason Clare MP on February 26th, found that by 2050, 80% of Australians will need tertiary education in order to find work, in comparison to the 60% of the current workforce which has obtained a tertiary qualification through either TAFE or University.
The Accord featured 47 recommendations to Parliament on improving Australians’ access to higher education, including proposals to pay students for their compulsory work placements, an increase in income support for students, and potentially changing the way that HECS repayments are calculated. Another popular recommendation was introducing a “Jobs Broker” to help university students find suitable part-time work in their field, allowing them to focus on their studies while still earning money to help handle the cost of living.
Regional and remote communities also saw a heavy focus as a group of Australians considered disadvantaged regarding access to higher education. The Federal Education Minister stated in an interview for BTN High with ABC News that more regional study hubs were being set up to enable young people to get their degrees and study, closer to home.
“These hubs also have people who work there whose job it is to provide academic support, but also provide other sorts of help, in particular, the sort of mental health support that you can often need when studying on your own, when it can get really lonely,” he said.
The Government is still yet to respond to the Accord but over the coming months should spend plenty of time deciding which recommendations make the cut and which don’t.