The Australian Government, in collaboration with states and territories, is developing a VET Workforce Blueprint to support a high quality and sustainable workforce. The plan will identify effective strategies for workforce issues such as attraction, retention, building capability, supporting career development, and succession planning.

The plan will also draw on available data and evidence from a Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) VET Workforce Study. This study will profile the VET workforce using existing and new datasets to estimate the size, composition, characteristics, and transitions of the current workforce; define the key job roles in the sector; and analyse the pathways in and out of these key roles and the sector as a whole.

The consultation process, which includes public submissions, will explore a range of areas and issues to assist in the development of the plan. For example, the government would like to hear:

• Do the barriers and challenges identified in this paper reflect your understanding of the issues in your organisation and/or in your experience? If not, what are the barriers and challenges you or your organisation are facing?
• Which barriers are most significant in your context?
• What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the VET workforce now and into the
  future?

Following consultations, a draft of the plan will be developed for the consideration of Skills Ministers in the first half of 2024. Skills Ministers will also consider and agree areas of national action to support the VET workforce.

Submissions close on 26 March 2024.