A skilled and adaptable workforce is a core driver of productivity. This inquiry focused on recommendations to enhance the productive capacity of the workforce by providing more Australians with opportunities to learn and work.

Strong foundation skills allow workers to learn new skills, improving their productivity and employability. Yet the share of students leaving school with strong foundation skills is not improving. Teachers are expected to spend substantial time producing or quality checking instructional materials. These challenges are more acute for teachers in remote areas or who teach out of their field. A national focus on quality assurance of instructional materials, and a single national platform hosting a baseline set of curriculum-aligned instructional materials, would ensure that more students receive high-quality teaching.

This final inquiry report presents recommendations focused on 4 key policy reform areas.

1. Equitable access to the best teaching resources to improve school student outcomes.
2. Enabling tertiary education pathways.
3. Boosting work-related training to build skills and adaptability.
4. Fit-for-purpose occupational entry regulations.