4: Education, skills and productivity
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1: The role of national broadcasting
- 2: Harnessing new technologies to deliver services
- 3: Informing and entertaining Australians
- 5: Social inclusion and cultural diversity
- 6: Presenting Australia to the world
- 7: Efficient delivery of services
- Appendix A: Submissions Process
- Appendix B: Overview of the ABC and SBS
- Appendix C: The Changing Digital Environment
Education, skills development and productivity are key elements of the Australian Government's forward policy agenda. Significant initiatives have been announced in relation to early childhood education, schooling, vocational training, higher education and research.10
This section considers the role that the national broadcasters could have in supporting educational activitiesagainst the background of the Australian Government's objectivesbearing in mind the broadcasters' statutory operational independence.
Current responsibilities and activities
The national broadcasters' charters oblige them to educate Australians. The provision of educational programs for schools is a component of the ABC's daytime television scheduling, although the move to online delivery is likely to become increasingly relevant as schools adopt information technology and broadband capability to deliver educational content.
The ABC's educational and other material is widely used in schools. A 2007 survey found that 60 per cent of schools and teachers use ABC schools programs, while a higher percentage use mainstream ABC content such as news, current affairs and documentary programming. These services were most heavily used in teaching year 5 and 6 students.11
The national broadcasters also play a role in lifelong education. The ABC has strong links with adult education institutions and has operated a Lifelong Learning portal. However, the relationship of the ABC and SBS with education extends beyond curriculum-based material as a large number of their programs contribute to informing and educating Australian audiences. Both the ABC and SBS play a role in the provision of training in areas relevant to their operations.
Educational programming
As noted in the Australia 2020 Summit Final Report, there is an established link between education and national productivity.
Universal access to high-quality education for early childhood development is an essential starting point. All Australians need to be equipped from birth throughout life by providing a world-class system for care, learning and schooling.
Digital and online technologies will be integral to learning in Australian classrooms and homes in 2020. At the Australia 2020 Summit the ABC put forward a proposal for a dedicated, digital education channel ('ABC5').12
In a broadband environment such a channel could be streamed online in addition to, or instead of, being broadcast on television. Online delivery may provide more flexibility than a broadcast service by allowing students and teachers to access material at convenient times. The development of a national curriculuma stated priority for the Australian Governmentmay enable the national broadcasters to further tailor their content to meet specific needs.
An education channel could be used for other training purposes such as the provision of English and foreign language teaching resources, particularly where this delivers synergies between the operations of the ABC and SBS. The importance of language skills and capabilities was recognised by participants in the Australia 2020 Summit:
[By 2020]… Australia should be an engaged global citizen within our region through strategic integration of the study of Asian languages and societies at all levels of the education system … (Final Report).
A dedicated education channel might also provide lifelong learning or adult education programming. Again, the importance of lifelong education for Australia's future was noted in the Final Report of the Australia 2020 Summit:
A commitment to lifelong learning for all Australians was also seen as a prerequisite for maintaining Australia's competitive advantage among nations.
By 2020, life-long learning would be the norm, and employees can move freely between work, education and training courses and creativity is valued, encouraged and supported by employers and government.
Training and skills development of staff
The ABC is a registered training provider with a solid reputation in the media industry. Training is currently offered internally and supports the organisation's technical and business capabilities. The ABC also offers internships and cadetships. SBS provides technical training, cadetships, internships and mentoring programs across the range of its operations to support its staff and the broader industry.
As with many industries, the broadcasting and media sectors are currently suffering a range of skills shortages, particularly in technical fields such as broadcast engineering and production. These shortages are expected to become more acute as the range of technologies and platforms used in broadcasting and media production expands.
There may be merit in examining the potential for the national broadcasters' training arms to be extended to external provisionthat is, to be a media training provider for the wider industry on a cost-recovery basis.
However, it would be important to ensure that any external training provision maximised the impact and efficiency of the training delivered, and was targeted to industry needs. Consideration would need to be given to the training priorities identified by Skills Australia, the body established by the Australian Government to provide strategic advice on such matters.
Questions: Education, skills and productivity
- Will there be a role for national broadcasting in education and training in a 2020 media and communications environment?
- Is there likely to be public benefit in a national digital education channel and how could such a channel be constructed to provide for cost-effective delivery of educational and training content?
- Would there be a public benefit in the national broadcasters playing a more significant role in the vocational education and training environment, beyond their current activity?
Footnotes
- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd MP, address to the 2008 Future Summit, 'Preparing Australia for global competitiveness in the 21st century', Sydney, 11 May 2008.
- Austin Research Services, ABC schools TV study 2007: report of key findings, Sydney, 2008.
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The ABC in the Digital AgeTowards 2020, paper prepared by the ABC for the Australia 2020 Summit, April 2008.
