All Trades signals the need for change (again!)
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 125 No 6, 14 August 2020, page no.21
The placement of All Trades Queensland (ATQ) into voluntary administration is yet another example of why the current training system needs an overhaul.
At the time of writing, the administrators have announced that the general downturn in economic activity has brought ATQ to the point of voluntary administration. With a second shareholders meeting to decide the fate of ATQ being held in late August, the effects may be catastrophic for the apprentices who have signed up with the group training provider.
To quote the administrators’ FAQ: “What happens if ATQ goes into liquidation?”
If ATQ is sold, apprentices might have their employment transferred, but that relationship will be subject to agreement with the new owner. If a sale or refinancing cannot be secured, the apprentice’s contracts will terminate, and they will be looking for a new employer and training provider.
This is another sign of the fragility of the market-based model of funding. The experiment with markets should be declared dead and buried. It is at times like these that the stability of public institutions provides the certain foundation to weather the storm.
It must now be a government priority to ensure that the public provider of vocational education is allocated a minimum of 70 per cent of state funding to ensure that high quality, flexible, quality-assured and responsive training is always available, no matter what.