Page 3241 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992
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Thursday, 19 November 1992
__________________________
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms McRae) took the chair at 10.30 am and read the prayer.
CANBERRA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AMENDMENT) BILL 1992
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (10.31): Madam Speaker, I present the Canberra Institute of Technology (Amendment) Bill 1992.
Title read by Clerk.
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
The main purpose of this Bill is to rename the ACT Institute of Technical and Further Education as the Canberra Institute of Technology and to make the resultant changes to the institute's advisory arrangements. This is the Assembly's first opportunity to address the provisions of the original Commonwealth ordinance which, in 1988, unified TAFE in the ACT as a single educational institute. Since then, the transformation has been comprehensive in scope and smooth in process and has led to an enhanced performance. This Bill represents a further advance by authorising a new image for the institute which more accurately reflects the true nature and quality of the courses and graduates today. It will thus strengthen the public standing generally of postschool and tertiary education in Canberra, and so enhance the social, educational and employment prospects of the ACT region.
The institute has cultivated strong links with industry, business and other educational institutions. It is an institute of which Canberra can be proud. The educational performance and employment patterns of its students extend far beyond the traditional notion of "tech". For example, in addition to the historically recognised engineering and construction courses, the institute now has most students in business, science, design and community service fields. However, recent research has shown that this reality is not generally recognised in Canberra and elsewhere.
As a consequence, both students and employers may be making poor decisions on their source of education and training. Changing these out-of-date perceptions will require much work by the institute, but these amendments are crucial to the marketing challenges the institute is facing. More importantly, they allow the institute to take full advantage of the tide of opportunity expected on the technological and educational fronts through and beyond this decade. This tide will also acknowledge the institute's growing emphasis on advanced technological skilling, and active fostering of critical thinking, strategic planning and effective communication.
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