Australian Technical Colleges
Encyclopedia
Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) were a class of Australian senior secondary
school funded by the Australian federal government
between 2005 and 2009. The Australian Technical College program ceased on 31 December 2009. All 24 ATCs were integrated into existing education and training systems (state/territory government, catholic and anglican), with some continuing as stand-alone independent schools.
They delivered vocational education
courses to Year 11 and 12 students, predominantly 16-18 year olds. Some colleges had a single campus, while others had multiple campuses.
In 2005, the federal government chose the areas in which these schools were to be established, then advertised for tenders. Some successful tenderers were state or territory governments, others were church groups, others were for-profit companies. Some were combinations of these. Thus some resulting ATCs were government schools, while others are private schools that are predominantly government funded, and at least one exists as a campus-within-a-campus at a state school and a church school. Such a mixed sectoral body of schools had not existed in Australia before, nor had any government founded a private school. Both these firsts also make the colleges unusual.
New South Wales:
Northern Territory:
Queensland:
South Australia:
Tasmania:
Victoria:
Western Australia:
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
school funded by the Australian federal government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
between 2005 and 2009. The Australian Technical College program ceased on 31 December 2009. All 24 ATCs were integrated into existing education and training systems (state/territory government, catholic and anglican), with some continuing as stand-alone independent schools.
They delivered vocational education
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
courses to Year 11 and 12 students, predominantly 16-18 year olds. Some colleges had a single campus, while others had multiple campuses.
History
According to the Australian constitution, education is the responsibility of the state and territory governments; although the federal government does partially fund private schools, vocational and higher education. Vocational education funding however was previously funnelled through the states and territories. These colleges' direct federal funding is thus unusual for this reason alone. Their appearance was part of the breakdown of cooperative federalism caused by the increasing centralism of the Howard government and party-political differences with the state and territory governments. Another expression of this was the demise of the former Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) which expressed the political and industrial settlement on training of the 1990s.In 2005, the federal government chose the areas in which these schools were to be established, then advertised for tenders. Some successful tenderers were state or territory governments, others were church groups, others were for-profit companies. Some were combinations of these. Thus some resulting ATCs were government schools, while others are private schools that are predominantly government funded, and at least one exists as a campus-within-a-campus at a state school and a church school. Such a mixed sectoral body of schools had not existed in Australia before, nor had any government founded a private school. Both these firsts also make the colleges unusual.
List of former ATCs
there were twenty-four Australian Technical Colleges throughout the country. These were:New South Wales:
- Hunter (now Hunter Trade College)
- Port Macquarie (now Newman Senior Technical College)
- Western Sydney (now Anglican Technical College - Western Sydney)
- Central Western NSW (now Central West Trade College)
- Central Coast (Gosford)
- Illawarra
- Queanbeyan
Northern Territory:
Queensland:
South Australia:
- Northern Adelaide (now St Patrick's Technical College)
- Adelaide South
- Spencer Gulf and Outback (Port Augusta/Whyalla)
Tasmania:
Victoria:
Western Australia:
See also
- ApprenticeshipApprenticeshipApprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
- Technical and Further EducationTechnical and Further EducationIn Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
(TAFE) - Vocational educationVocational educationVocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...