The productivity agenda - education, skills, training, science and innovation

Australians know that our future depends on educational achievement, and on using the talents and hard work of our whole population to create value and solve problems. But what are the most important routes to this future, and what changes could accelerate our progress?

Many of our schools, technical colleges and universities stand up proudly to international comparison. But Australians understand that we can do better, that our overall investment in learning has slipped, and that a new set of foundations for a century of learning are now required.

This is an investment that begins before birth and extends through life, strengthening the links between people, families, communities and firms by investing in their capacity to learn and to make the most of their educational experience.

It means boosting participation in the workforce and strengthening our ‘innovation systems’: the research, networks and infrastructure that generate and spread innovation across the economy.

Education maximises the chances for individuals to gain employment and secure higher incomes, and also builds an innovative and flexible workforce.

So where do we want to be in 2020? Improving the quality of the institutions we know: schools, colleges, training organisations is essential. But what else?

For example, what do early childhood services look like when they help every child and every family to thrive? How can a community celebrate and encourage children, provide the role models and the activities that they need? How can parents become directly engaged in their children’s schooling in a way that really improves their child’s results?

What skills will our young people need to succeed in tomorrow’s economy? What kinds of teaching and curriculum will deliver those skills? How might digital technology create new learning and teaching opportunities?

Across the whole economy, how do we stimulate the shared investment that matches the potential in our population and gives employers and individuals confidence in their future competitiveness? And how do unions become partners in the growth of participation and productivity?

There is a now striking consensus across business, government and communities about the importance of skills and participation, but Australia needs ways to translate that consensus into real demand for education services that respond to a changing economy and to the talent and changing needs of Australians.

How can this responsiveness be achieved? And how, in the process, can employers draw on the most dynamic sources of new talent and potential, including migrants and new communities?

As well as the specific reform challenges we face in investing in our people, in the early years, in education, and in employment, the answers to these questions could form the basis of a new national story which puts the talents and hard work of Australians at the forefront of their success.

Background paper

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