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The NSW Department of Education’s strategic plan for skills sets out a vision for the NSW skills system to support all people to participate in vocational education and training (VET) that drives economic and wellbeing outcomes for individuals, industry, and communities.

Video – introducing the NSW Skills Plan

Video transcript, murat dizdar.

Hello everyone, it's Murat Dizdar here, Secretary for the NSW Department of Education. I'd like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, our traditional custodians of the land that we are filming on today, and I want to pay my deep respects to Aboriginal Elders past and present. I'm delighted to release the NSW Skills Plan: Building Skills and Shaping Success.

It sets out our vision for reforming vocational education and training to support all learners across NSW. At the department, we are stewards of lifelong learners. It's through vocational education and training that we are reskilling the state and supporting every learner to find a meaningful career.

I'm proud that the plan clearly sets out how, along with our plan for NSW public education, we will continue to create an outstanding and equitable system designed to support every individual at each stage of their life to succeed. Importantly, the NSW Skills Plan outlines actions to build and strengthen our VET teaching workforce.

Focusing on teacher recruitment and retention, particularly in those critical skills areas such as STEM and the trades, strengthening our vocational education training system means an equitable education and training system that supports all learners to succeed. This plan is a product of extensive consultation across the sector.

It responds to areas of critical skills needs identified in the recent independent review of vocational education and training in NSW, while supporting our ongoing commitments under the National Skills Agreement. We do want to make sure the right skills are in the right places and we want to remove barriers for learners to access pathways to training and jobs. I invite you to read the plan.

As we work together across the department and sector to support a future-ready workforce for NSW.

About the plan

The NSW Skills Plan 2024–28: Building Skills and Shaping Success, sits alongside Our Plan for Public Education and presents a bold reform agenda to strengthen the VET system and ensure a future-ready workforce for NSW.

The NSW Skills Plan, the first since 2008, is a strategic plan that provides the NSW Government’s action-based response to the NSW VET Review . It also reinforces the NSW Government’s ongoing commitments under the National Skills Agreement.

The NSW Skills Plan is underpinned by a new system stewardship approach that represents a shift in how the NSW Government and key VET system stakeholders work together to deliver on system reforms, strategic priorities and key actions.

The plan focuses on critical skills areas highlighting industries with long-standing shortages including construction, digital and cyber, and net zero and energy transition.

System reforms

The plan focuses on 3 areas of system reform:

1. Funding for priority skills and outcomes

Focus: Shift to more outcomes-driven funding focused on students, government skills priorities and industry needs, and supported by a network of high-quality public, private and community providers.

2. A strong and stable TAFE NSW

Focus: Rebuild a strong, resilient and future-focused TAFE NSW as a strategic asset and trusted industry partner to set the benchmark for quality across the system.

3. Planning for local skills

Focus: Establish a new regional skills planning model that embeds stronger community-based decisions and supports collaboration, connection and innovation within local communities.

Strategic priorities

The 5 strategic priorities outlined in the plan aim to better support learners, industry, the VET workforce and system agility.

1. Target skilling responses to government priorities

Focus: Driving targeted skill investment and improving skills planning to better support critical skills areas in NSW Government priority sectors and industries with chronic and persistent shortages.

Priority actions:

Construction - infrastructure and housing

Net Zero and energy transition

Digital and cyber

Care and support economy

Agriculture and agrifood

Advanced manufacturing .

Establish new skills insight data assets as public resources to support future-focused planning and system stewardship.
Deliver and support 2,300 new apprenticeships and traineeships across the NSW public and local government sectors to enhance capacity and support diverse and equitable pathways.
Establish 3 TAFE NSW Centres of Excellence supported by Australian Government funding, to provide high-quality and responsive training in Critical Skills Areas.
Collaborate with the Australian Government to better coordinate migration intake in line with NSW skills shortages.

2. Improve equitable outcomes, pathways and access for students

Focus: Prioritise programs and initiatives that remove barriers to access and support all students to succeed in diverse education pathways. This includes improved wrap-around support and a renewed focus on student outcomes and completions.

Review and enhance equity and learner support programs to embed a learner-centred approach that prioritises individual needs across TAFE NSW and other providers.

Improve the availability of wrap-around support to priority cohorts across the NSW VET system.

Build Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, Aboriginal-owned and broader RTO capacity to engage Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learners.

Provide funding flexibility to providers to offer more foundation skills and other core skills to meet the needs of individuals where and when they need it in line with National Skills Agreement.

Improve credit recognition across NSW education providers to support learner-centred aspirational pathways and attainment.

Provide fee-free training, concessions and enabling supports to remove financial barriers for priority cohorts.

Strengthen VET pathways, transitions and career support for secondary learners aligning with Our Plan for Public Education to increase the number of young people developing skills in key and local industries.

3. Strengthen industry and employer partnerships and skills system governance

Focus: Establish a strong foundation of industry partnerships and governance, including a focus on industry compacts and engagement models that embed shared accountability and co-investment approaches.

Establish industry compacts around government skill priorities to enhance industry role in NSW skills system.
Partner with industry to establish a Hydrogen Centre of Excellence to support the pipeline of jobs in the growing NSW renewables sector.
Support employers to build capacity and quality as well as increase the uptake and retention of apprentices and trainees.
Reform skills and industry governance to provide expert and representative advice to the NSW Government on emerging challenges.
Pilot a new regional skills governance model to improve community decision-making and address local needs.
Leverage government's role as an employer, purchaser and partner to enhance the NSW skills base and drive industry's contribution to skills development and diversity.

4. Build and support the NSW VET teaching workforce

Focus: Build and support the NSW VET teaching workforce by addressing training, industrial and broader career attractiveness factors that currently limit workforce supply.

Expand successful workforce attraction approaches to target areas of critical skills needs and teacher shortage.
Expand and convert permanent roles for TAFE NSW to provide security to the teaching workforce.
Reduce unnecessary VET teacher administrative and compliance workloads.
Collaborate with the Australian Government on VET Workforce Blueprint initiatives to support the sustainability and diversity of the VET sector.
Develop workforce pilots to enable collaboration across public schools and TAFE NSW and enhance educational provision.
Promote transitions into the VET teaching workforce from industry to support the teaching pipeline.

5. Drive system responsiveness and innovation

Focus: Support a more responsive and innovative NSW skills system through a range of collaborative actions including national qualification reform, tertiary sector integration and precinct planning.

Collaborate with the Australian Government on VET qualifications reform to increase flexibility and responsiveness to industry needs.
Lead the future development of integrated tertiary sector models to provide greater opportunities to students.
Prioritise and coordinate collaborative precinct planning across secondary and tertiary education systems to support student outcomes and industry needs.
Provide strategic guidance on using quality microcredentials to support further skill development and address emerging student, industry and government needs.
Review the NSW Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Roadmap to support system flexibility and develop innovative training models.
Network TAFE NSW nationally in line with National Skills Agreement initiatives, to better respond to industry needs through shared workforce and education practice.

Skills insights data assets

Data and evidence underpin the NSW Skills Plan to inform strategic planning and drive system performance. A suite of public resources aims to guide system direction and promote transparency and shared accountability.

The interim Skills Outcomes Framework (PDF 169 KB) establishes system-level monitoring and accountability of performance across key measures of success in the NSW skills system. The Framework supports government’s role as steward of the NSW VET system. It aims to promote shared accountability for system outcomes across NSW skills stakeholders and the training provider network, in line with the strategic priorities of the NSW Skills Plan.

The State of the System Report (to be released in 2025) will be a snapshot of the NSW skills system and labour market with in-depth data-led insights and analysis into key areas of the NSW skills system and the workforce challenges facing NSW.

The Skills Outcomes Dashboard (to be released in 2025) will be an interactive public dashboard developed by the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation to monitor performance against the Skills Outcomes Framework.

These data assets will support the plan to enhance planning and decision-making.

Implementation

The NSW Skills Plan sets out a vision for NSW, including system reforms for the next 4 years.

The NSW Government has already begun implementing the plan and responding to the NSW VET Review recommendation to rebuild TAFE NSW through a new TAFE NSW charter and operating model.

There will be an annual report card to provide progress on the plan’s actions and initiatives.

We will provide updates on the plan’s implementation throughout 2025.

NSW Skills Plan 2024-28 (PDF 4653 KB)
Interim Skills Outcome Framework (PDF 169 KB)
Critical Skills Areas Data Appendix (PDF 651 KB)
NSW Skills Plan on a page (PDF 152 KB)

Business Unit:

Skills and Workforce Programs

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Improved student outcomes the focus of new plan to transform NSW public education

Published: 23 October 2023

Released by: The Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning

A new plan for public education released by the Minns Labor government today provides a clear direction for transforming the state’s school system and improving outcomes for all students, with a focus on strengthening the teaching profession.

Our Plan for NSW Public Education is a 4-year road map developed after unprecedented consultation with the education community across NSW, with contributions from an estimated 20,000 people.

The plan offers a stark contrast to the former Liberal National Government’s top-down corporate approach to education. Instead, it provides a clear direction for building an outstanding and equitable education system, informed by those best placed to understand how to improve student outcomes.

The plan has a strong focus on attracting and retaining high-quality teachers, especially in high-need locations and specialist subject areas.

The plan also contains commitments to:

high educational expectations for every student
high-quality, evidence-based teaching in every school
improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students
improve student wellbeing and engagement with school
increase the proportion of children enrolled in preschool
increase the proportion of students going into university, training and work after school
strengthen trust and respect for the teaching profession and support staff wellbeing and development.

Get more information on the Plan for NSW Public Education .

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“Every child in NSW deserves an outstanding education, which is the driving ambition behind our plan to rebuild public education in NSW and make public schools the first choice for families.

“I am proud to deliver this blueprint for the next 4 years, which reflects the aspirations of teachers, parents and students.

“It’s a plan to build an outstanding public education system where every child in NSW can succeed and thrive, irrespective of their background.

“By addressing teacher shortages and delivering high quality, evidence-based learning, we will ensure all our students receive the best possible education.”

Secretary of the Department of Education Murat Dizdar said:

“With this plan we’ll build on our very strong foundation of high-quality teaching and learning, equity for our students and families, and wellbeing for our students and school staff.

“Our vision recognises diversity makes us better and students perform best when they feel valued, are cared for and have everything they need to achieve success.”