Participation and equity

‘As a nation we must be prepared to invest heavily in human skills. We need a community and workforce that has the education necessary to cope with and adapt to a rapidly changing world. We must create a broad base of skills across the whole workforce. Only if we equip our people with the capacities and attitudes to compete effectively, with flexibility and with confidence, can we make the most of future opportunities. In the present day world, with its increasingly sophisticated technologies and the rapid rate of change, people must have the capacity and skill to move with the times, to be flexible, and to be innovative and creative. Of particular concern to the achievement of these objectives is the fact that the education rate in Australia remains one of the lowest in the OECD community.… far too many young Australians leave school too early.’Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia, speech to Participation and Equity Program conference, Canberra, 3 September 1984, Commonwealth Record, p. 1707.