Excerpts from today's address by Senator Evans to the National Press Club. Click here to read it in full.

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Higher school completion rates, more apprenticeship completions, more university graduations — these are the future for our country.

As Tertiary Education Minister, I am pleased to say that as a direct result of the reforms introduced by Labor, there are now close to 100,000 additional students grasping the opportunity of a university education this year than there were in 2007.

This year, there is a record 521,000 Commonwealth supported student places in Australian universities and other higher education providers, and we anticipate further growth in the years ahead as students respond to the new opportunities that are now available.

Research by KPMG found that in the period 2010–40 the Government’s reforms to higher education will deliver an average of an additional $20 billion in GDP every year and an average of 80,000 additional jobs will be generated each year during the same period.

We have opened the doors of Australia’s universities and Australian students have responded.

One in six of these students are from low-socio-economic backgrounds and many are the first in their families to attend university.

We can also look to the achievements of Lucinda Brundell—the 2008 Victorian Apprentice of the year.

Lucinda completed a Certificate III in General Construction (painting and decorating), at the University of Ballarat as part of her apprenticeship with her father’s business.

She thrived in the trade school environment, mentoring fellow students while completing the formal studies for her apprenticeship in half the allocated time.

She now teaches first, second and third year apprentices at the University of Ballarat and has established her own painting and decorating business with her husband. And she has a clutch of major industry awards in her showcase.

From apprentice to painter to mentor and teacher – Lucinda’s experience illustrates the real pathways through life which skills create.

An additional 100,000 students are now at university thanks to our reforms and never before has the nation had so many people in apprenticeships and traineeships.

NTEU: Government Must Respond to Declining Attractiveness of the University Academic Career.
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21 September 2011

Less than one-third of Australian academics believe that their workload is manageable, and close to one half of the academic workforce intend to retire, move overseas or just leave the sector over the next five years, according to a new research report released by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE).

The new research report, The Australian Academic profession in transition by Emmaline Bexley, Richard James and Sophie Arkoudis, highlights that the future of Australian higher education is being threatened because young academics feel under pressure, unappreciated, underpaid and lack job security.

"The findings from this important report confirm issues that the NTEU has raised over many years," Jeannie Rea, National President of NTEU said today.

"Escalating student to staff ratios, unmanageable workloads, and crumbling infrastructure at our universities together with issues raised in this report are making academic work less attractive."

"The report highlights that many early-career academics are concerned about a lack of job security and the prevalence of casual and short-term contracts has undermined the sustainability of the academic profession," Jeannie Rea added.

"NTEU fully concurs that; the casualisation of academic work needs to be reversed, and sessional and short-term contract staff load shifted to longer term and ongoing forms of employment. A national early-career academic scheme beyond existing arrangements is sorely needed, in the least to highlight the policy priorities of government."

"NTEU members will be glad that the report highlights the complex nature of academic work and that it cannot and should not be broken down into separate specialist activities associated with teaching, research and community service. Academics need to be given the resources and opportunity to engage in all of these activities over the course of their careers."

"To be sustainable in the longer term our universities will have to be able to offer staff rewarding and secure careers. For this they will need a substantial increase in public investment," Ms Rea concluded.