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For technical reasons the exact transcript is not available. However, as questions were asked in advance of the session, the following prepared answers to those questions are provided.

Some of those questions related to funding issues for specific programs and Mr Spicer indicated that this was not the appropriate forum to deal with individual issues, that the questions were noted and would be addressed through the CEO of the ASTF.

The ASTF sees part time paid traineeships as a very important part of VET. The ASTF does not fund traineeships because funding for them is available from other sources. ASTF support is specifically for our core activity - structured workplace learning (SWL). We are finding that SWL is quite often the starting point for businesses selecting a young person to take up an apprenticeship or traineeship.

Will the ASTF Board be lobbying the Government for the establishment of a body similar to the ASTF which will be a funding channel for Federal funds to support VocEd programs in the School/ Industry partnership area?

The ASTF is not a lobby group as such nor does it lobby on behalf of itself. Having said that, The ASTF has begun a process of National consultation about this for the purposes of developing a Green Paper for Minister Kemp by the end of this year. This will naturally include consultation with all key stakeholders.

Many stakeholders have indicated that they see an ongoing role for the ASTF in the world of VET in schools and school-industry partnerships. The role they most often articulate is

Programs do need to continue to consider what support can be gained from reviewing existing activities in education, VET and the workplace to assist resourcing of programs at the local level - a view to long term sustainability has always been a key focus required for programs seeking support from the ASTF.

According to the ASTF statistics, hospitality and manufacturing stand out. This may well reflect student demand rather than industry intention. The retail sector actively seeks student engagement but is not as successful as it would hope to be.

Traditional industries are the greateset supporters according to ASTF figures but that most likely reflects biases in the local community whre knowledge of the traditional areas is well understood but there is less awareness about new and emerging opportunities. The ASTF is keen to support more activity in the new areas which of course affect all the traditional areas as well because IT developments are relevant in just about all areas of work.

The ASTF does not have overall destination results but statistics from Victoria are very encouraging. They indicate that 34.6% of Victorian VET students fo on to either apprenticeships or full time jobs. 20.5% go on to university. 11% are unemployed or under-employed (compared to 27%) of their national peers. Based on this information, it seems likely that VET students go on to some form of further vocational training and appear to ahve a higher success rate in their school to work transitions than their non-vet peers.