MINISTER for Education and Training Joy Burch today announced a major change to the Canberra Institute of Technology’s governance and advisory council designed to enhance CIT’s flexibility and responsiveness.

“Today I announce that the ACT Government will bring forward legislation in October to amend the CIT Act to provide for a governing board and to clarify CIT’s relationship to government and the community,” Joy said.

“The result will be a shift away from the current advisory council to a new Governing Board with a mix of private and public sector expertise, allowing greater flexibility in financial management arrangements.

“This change will enable CIT to have more business-orientated governance structures, allowing it to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of employers and students alike.

“Today’s announcement follows a number of reviews which have shown that CIT needs a greater level of autonomy, responsiveness and flexibility, and is in line with the ACT commitment to the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform.

“It is fair to say that changes underway in other jurisdictions have not been kind to the TAFE sector. The ACT is in the fortunate position of being able to learn from the reforms being undertaken elsewhere. Over the coming months, I will announce a range of reform measures to strengthen vocational education and training in the ACT.”