Skills passport ‘must not lead to neglect of traditional education’

Australian university groups support proposed national system but warn against overemphasising vocational skills

A humanities group has warned that a proposed national skills passport could lead to neglect of traditional education.

The Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities told the federal Department of Education that “it is critical that the skills passport platform does not lead to students being guided towards vocational courses at the expense of complex and challenging areas that remain vital to Australia’s national capabilities, such as languages or the study of other societies and cultures”.