Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses

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    Private and public providers in the open training market
    Anderson, Damon ( 1994)
    This thesis examines the nature, role and significance of private training provision from an intersectoral perspective, and in the context of the emerging training market in Australia. In so doing, it explores and charts the terrain of a hitherto neglected sector of post-secondary vocational education and training (VET). The report begins by examining the historical and policy context in which private providers have assumed unprecedented importance. It traces the emergence of the 'open training market' (OTM) as the central organising principle of the National Training Reform Agenda, and defines the underlying principles and forces shaping its development. This analysis establishes the link between the OTM and the rise to prominence of private training providers and argues that the OTM is transforming the structure and balance of the post-secondary VET sector. The lack of prior research on private training providers and the private/public interface in the VET sector is highlighted in a review of relevant international and Australian literature. Various taken-for-granted assumptions about the nature and contribution of private providers are identified. Major gaps are identified in our knowledge about private training providers and the development of training markets. The nature and extent of private training provision is then examined on the basis of information collected via national surveys of training authorities. A detailed comparative analysis of the structure, culture and educational profile of private and public providers is undertaken on the basis of six major case studies of commercial and TAFE colleges. This analysis provides the basis for identifying the distinguishing characteristics of private and public provision. It examines their relative positions in the training market, factors affecting their growth and development, and major trends in the training market. The views and perspectives of providers and clients on the private/public alternatives and barriers to the effective implementation of the training market are explored. A series of key policy issues are identified and the implications of adopting a market-based approach to the provision of VET are examined. The thesis concludes that a parallel private training sector is undergoing formation in Australia. It argues that while certain key differences persist, the roles and relationships of private and public providers are being altered in some fundamental ways by the transition to an OTM, and that the nature of VET itself is being redefined in the process. In view of these trends and the potential implications of the shift to a fully fledged market paradigm, serious questions are raised about the current directions of government VET policy.