DIRECTION RIGHT, LINKS MISSING
Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) have commended the Government for taking steps in the right direction in
education, but noted that some important linkages are not yet made.
“Five Steps Ahead is moving in the right direction. Tertiary institutions, industry and researchers must work together
to drive innovation and enterprise however, industry training is a vital link,” said the Executive Director of the
Federation of ITOs, Paul Williams.
“Industry training is critical to capturing the value of innovation – there’s no point to having PhDs working upstairs
if you’ve not got a highly trained and skilled workforce,” Mr Williams said.
“We will be actively involved in the Enterprise Education Taskforce and will be advocating increasing industry-based
training at all levels of the National Qualifications Framework,” he said
ITOs work with businesses and education institutions to develop comprehensive training and education programmes that
meet current and emerging trends in industry.
“ITOs work at the interface of education and industry ensuring that businesses have skilled employees. It is at this
interface, between knowledge creation and knowledge transfer, that you enhance competitive advantage,” Mr Williams said.
ENDS