As workforce needs evolve and lifelong learning becomes increasingly important, tertiary education systems must provide more flexible and connected pathways between learning and work.
JSA’s latest occasional paper, Skills, Mobility and Productivity: Why Australia needs a skills-first tertiary education system, examines how stronger connections between skills and qualifications can improve learner mobility, workforce participation and productivity. It makes the case for a tertiary education system that recognises and values both, while creating clearer pathways for individuals to develop, demonstrate and use capability throughout their lives.
The paper highlights the need for a more joined‑up, human‑centred approach to tertiary education reform. It shows how improving the systems architecture that underpins how skills are described, recognised and transferred across the system can better support careers, lifelong learning and workforce mobility.
It highlights opportunities to improve the visibility of skills with qualifications, strengthen recognition of prior learning, and expand multidirectional credit transfer across the tertiary education system.
The report also explores the infrastructure needed to support consistency, transparency and mobility, and outlines a practical reform agenda aimed at creating a more connected, equitable and future focused tertiary education system.
Read the full report to explore the evidence, analysis and recommendations.