How to be COVIDSafe when visiting Grant Thornton offices. Find out how

Mid-sized business report

Investment in education pays dividends for the wider economy

Stuart McDowall 03 Jun 2019

The education sector plays a vital role in our economic growth and productivity, as well as our social cohesion and quality of life.

Investments made in this sector have a flow-on effect to all other sectors, which can be seen through measures such as workforce participation, labour productivity, the availability of necessary vocational and professional skills, and advances in research and innovation; all critical elements of our global attractiveness for investment.

As a nation, we have among the highest levels of education in the world – in the top 10 OECD countries for the number of 25 – 34 year-olds with tertiary education in 2017. But are they the right skills for the future workforce? Do we have our foundations right?

According to the OECD we spend less on early childhood education as a proportion of GDP, but then the duration of early childhood education in Australia is shorter. Yet, research tells us that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are pivotal in their development – including how they perform socially and academically. Fostering the right environment for learning, collaboration and wellbeing for all ages sets the nation up for future success.

And depending on how you measure the academic performance of our school students, our progress in this area has not been as fast as many other OECD countries.

Download our mid-sized business report to read the full Education insight.

Download report

Download PDF [5091 kb]

Here is a short introduction to our three recommendations to help boost the Education sector:

Additional investment in childcare and early years education

Universal access to early childhood education is currently available for four year olds, but there is emerging interest in extending this to three year olds. This would be a welcome initiative which – should the newly returned Liberal Government choose to pursue – would assist to bring our expenditure on early childhood education more in line with many of our counterparts in developed countries.

Enable a more responsive VET sector

An independent review of the VET sector, delivered in March 2019 included 71 recommendations across funding, policy and regulation – the key takeout being that businesses were losing confidence in VET and that class-room based learning alone does not adequately prepare vocational students to transition into the workforce.

Continued support for STEAM

Skills demanded by the labour market are changing. Technological change and global competition demand the mastery of new competencies and the acquisition of new skills for many. This can be seen in the increasing prevalence of robotics, automation and online service delivery in many sectors.

Insight The floodlight on the shadow economy has dimmed Australia is sitting on an untapped pot of money, potentially $34 billion, that could be recouped from the shadow or black economy. The Government set up a shadow economy taskforce in 2016, but will this year’s Federal Budget shine a light on the issue again? Read full article

Insight After the floods: restructuring options The 2022 floods across the east coast have had a catastrophic impact on businesses, many of which are still suffering the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read full article

Client alert NSW Modern Slavery law changes brings it in line with the c In June 2018, the NSW Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW Act) was passed – just ahead of the national approach to modern slavery. The Commonwealth’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (the Commonwealth Act) was introduced to the Commonwealth Parliament a few weeks after New South Wales. Read full article

Insight Pearls of Wisdom: What it takes to be a powerful, impactful In a high-speed, high-energy presentation at NRF 2022: Retail’s Big Show, Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman and Managing Director Carla Harris shared her Eight Pearls of intentional leadership. Read full article

Client alert ATO developments impacting discretionary trusts There have been some recent developments from the ATO which are set to impact those using a discretionary trust as part of their financial family arrangements. Read full article

Report Women in Business 2022 Grant Thornton’s Women in Business 2022 research tracked women in senior management across the world, through flexible working and supporting gender equity. Read full article

Insight Setting up a business presence in Australia We have all seen the continued impact COVID-19 has had not only on businesses in general, but more broadly the global economy. Read full article

Insight WA to open up: Operating your business in this new and chan We explore how your business can best be ready when the WA borders finally reopen on 5 February 2022. Read full article

INSIGHT 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games: and the Soft Powe Brand Brisbane is rising, boosted by the publicity of their upcoming host gig for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Read full article

Watch on-demand Brisbane Olympics & Paralympics 2032 - Securing the opportu The green light has been given for Brisbane to host the 2032 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Read full article

Insight Government meets with business leaders to support vaccine r Today was the first of a series of meetings between the Federal Government and the country’s largest employers regarding the vaccine roll-out. Read full article

Subscribe to receive our publications

Subscribe now to be kept up-to-date with timely and relevant insights, unique to the nature of your business, your areas of interest and the industry in which you operate.

Also appears under...