Education and Training

Education at State Government level is chiefly concerned with the provision of formal instruction to students of school age in publicly-funded schools, with a view to equipping them with appropriate foundation skills and knowledge for adult life and work. Education may have an academic or vocational focus (through the development of technical education), be specialised by subject such as music, or may be confined to a defined audience such as Aboriginal people, migrants or adults. The function also includes the State Government's involvement in the development of universities and colleges, particularly in relation to providing a statutory basis for their operations.

Training usually involves the learning of skills for vocational purposes, and the State Government is a major service provider through its network of technical education institutes.

Education and training also encompasses regulation, setting standards and monitoring in both the public and private sectors, particularly in relation to curricula, syllabuses and major external examinations.