In September 2022, the Job and Skills Summit was held and led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the stated goal to “build a bigger, better-trained and more productive workforce…and create more opportunities for more Australians to get ahead and to reach their aspirations.”
One of the key outcomes of the Summit was to reform VET Qualifications, Microcredentials, and other training programs to ensure that they are relevant to labour market needs. As stated by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the goal is to have vocational training that is “fit-for-purpose – efficient, effective and easy to navigate, with a focus on transferable and relevant skills that enables learners to get jobs”.
This is specifically within the VET space, so the focus is inherently on practical and hands-on training where students have more opportunities to gain experience like in the workplace, which will make them more job-ready when they complete their studies.
While the Australasian College of Health and Wellness is a registered Institute of Higher Education and so provides learning that is at a more advanced level than a VET qualification, this reform resonates with our own educational philosophy.
Our industry is very hands-on, usually quite literally, and so ACHW has always endeavoured to give our students real experience with real clients as part of their degrees. Academic learning is vital, but in terms of preparing students for work, it is most valuable when combined with actual practice.
The other important aspect of this reform is that it understands that people seeking VET qualifications are usually going to be newcomers to their industry, either as they are entering the workforce for the first time or because they are changing their career path. Either way, courses for these people must provide an effective balance between accessibility, achievability, and impact.
Again, this is an ideology that ACHW wholeheartedly agrees with and is why we introduced our Undergraduate Certificate programs.
More relevant and advanced than similar diploma programs, ACHW’s Undergraduate Certificates offer an achievable introduction to beauty and dermal therapy. They combine Bachelor-level scientific study of skin biology with hands-on practice of therapies, technologies, and techniques that are in demand in the market today.
They also offer an articulation pathway to our Associate and Bachelor degree programs, enabling students to immediately begin their careers as well as providing them the foundation to reach the full height of their aspirations.
From technological advances to paradigm-shifting events like the COVID pandemic, labour needs are constantly shifting. Consequently, education must evolve alongside to ensure people have the career opportunities they desire and deserve.
ACHW proudly stands alongside those striving to help Australians gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to achieve their goals for their careers and lives.
