THE new director of TAFE New England has arrived at a time of enormous transition for the state's vocational education sector, but he's promised students they have nothing to fear from the introduction of the new Smart and Skilled regime.
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Peter Heilbuth spoke to The Leader this week after starting in the role on Monday and is only too aware of the challenges ahead, having experienced the deregulation of the Victorian vocational education and training system first-hand.
From January next year, the Smart and Skilled reforms come into place in NSW, forcing TAFE to compete for funding with private course providers.
TAFE New England announced last month it had secured a Smart and Skilled contract for 2015, "allowing it to continue the provision of quality education across the region".
Victoria went through a similar process a few years ago and Mr Heilbuth acknowledged that experience would be helpful come next year.
He arrives in Tamworth from Warrnambool, where he was chief executive of the South West Institute of TAFE, and has worked in the sector for the past two decades.
Mr Heilbuth, who is married with four children, has worked predominantly in regional Victoria, and said the opportunity to transfer that experience to a regional setting in another state had been attractive.
"The thing I would say is regional vocational education and training is an incredibly important asset to a region in terms of economic growth, in terms of people's access to education and their capacity to grow their lives and lift themselves up from where they are to where they want to be," he said.
"Whether that's getting a job, or a promotion in your current job, or if you're not happy in your current career and really want to do something different, vocational education is such an important tool and, in regional areas, I believe it's essential."
Mr Heilbuth is adamant students and local industries have no cause for concern when it comes to the reforms.
"TAFE New England has been fortunate ... that under Smart and Skilled we got most of the areas (of funding) we asked for, so, in a sense, it's business as usual for all courses," he said.
"(There) is nothing to be alarmed about as long as we as a provider are offering what our customers and our regions and our industries want ... (and) we believe that our services and our courses are fabulous, and our teachers have the right skills and skill sets to deliver.
"For us it's about being customer-focused, about doing the things we know we do well and improving where we can improve and thinking about opportunities in a different way."