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

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