The Industry Training Federation would support any move to review areas within the government education agencies that have become overly prescriptive with an insufficient focus on the needs of the labour market.

A review of education agencies was recommended in the first report of the 2025 Taskforce released yesterday. "This surely must be one of the nuggets in the report which the Prime Minister has indicated the government would support," Executive Director Jeremy Baker said today.

"Industry Training Organisations work closely with their industries to ensure that the standards they set and the training they arrange meet the skill needs of industries now and in the future. Each year they work with more than 35,000 workplaces and 180,000 trainees to deliver relevant training and qualifications at a fraction of the cost of elsewhere in the tertiary education system.

"A more coherent approach to vocational education and training would enable ITOs and tertiary education providers to better meet the needs of industry. That does require a review of how the education agencies are organised and how they work more constructively with key labour market agencies."