On September 8, 2025, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education announced a landmark partnership. Adult Education, Perkins CTE, and WIOA programs are now streamlined through an Integrated State Plan Portal, with the Department of Labor as the central hub. This builds on the recently released America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age, which highlights the need to prepare workers for emerging industries, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.
The USA is moving to reduce duplication and align workforce systems. Australia has already walked a similar path, building a national vocational education and training (VET) system over three decades. The lessons from that journey are particularly relevant in this moment of rapid technological disruption.
A National System Built Over Time
Australia’s VET system took shape through reforms introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
-
In 1985, traineeships extended vocational pathways into service and non trade sectors.
-
In 1992, governments endorsed the National Training System, ensuring national consistency through the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
-
In 1997, the first Training Package was released—the Office Admin/Business Services Training Package—introducing employer-driven, competency-based qualifications.
-
By 1998, apprenticeships and traineeships were opened up to school students, part-time workers, and existing employees.
This system emphasised nationally portable qualifications, flexible delivery, and a strong link to employment.
A Personal Perspective
I (Wendy Perry, MD) began my career in adult learning teaching the National Occupational Standards (NOS) curriculum and was part of the first wave of educators delivering Training Packages. Working with the very first Office/Business Services Training Package in the mid 1990s, I saw how quickly employers recognised the connection between competencies and real jobs. Students could also see their pathways clearly mapped. Those early experiences shaped my view that qualifications must always connect directly to employment outcomes, jobs and industry needs - a principle that holds true as we now grapple with the role of AI in shaping future jobs.
Today’s System: Scale and Resilience
As of September 2024, 333,765 apprentices and trainees were in training in Australia (NCVER). And apprenticeships are only one piece of the puzzle. Australia’s national system spans qualifications from Certificate I to Advanced Diploma, strategic workforce development, and trade licensing.
Employment outcomes remain strong. In 2023, 94.5 percent of apprentices were employed within six months of completion, compared with 88.9 percent of university graduates.
The Ecosystem: Support, Strategy and Foresight
What sustains this system is a mature ecosystem of support, governance, and foresight.
Apprenticeship Support Providers such as Apprenticeship Support Australia, MAS National, MEGT, VERTO, Busy at Work, and Australian Apprenticeships Pathways provide recruitment, mentoring, business services, and equity-focused support. They ensure apprentices and employers are guided from commencement to completion.
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), established in 2022, leads national workforce forecasting and analysis. Its 2024–25 Work Plan highlights both sectoral growth areas and the impact of AI, automation, and digitalisation on skills demand (JSA Strategic Plan).
Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) act as industry-owned, tripartite bodies. They are responsible for strategic workforce planning, updating Training Packages, and aligning education with industry. JSCs such as Skills Insight recently published workforce plans that map out challenges in agribusiness, fibre, food, animal care, and environmental sectors, while others focus on manufacturing, resources, health, and technology (DEWR JSC overview).
Together, these elements create a workforce ecosystem that is adaptive, inclusive, and responsive to both current and future needs.
NAWB, NAWP and the Role of Professional Networks
In the United States, workforce boards play a crucial role in implementing WIOA and shaping state and regional workforce strategies. The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) provides national leadership, advocacy, and networking for these boards. Similarly, the National Association of Workforce Professionals (NAWP) advances the professional development of practitioners across the system.
As the America’s Talent Strategy emphasises AI, global collaboration, and innovation, organisations like NAWB and NAWP can serve as bridges to international practice. By connecting with global counterparts including Australia’s VET leaders, Jobs and Skills Councils, workforce development and workforce planning experts these organisations can help ensure their members are part of a global conversation about excellence.
There is an opportunity here for NAWB and NAWP not only to focus on U.S. implementation but also to lead professional development exchanges, promote international benchmarking, and foster collaboration with systems that have already embedded decades of national consistency, foresight, and employer alignment.
Why AI Changes the Collaboration Conversation
The U.S. Talent Strategy puts AI front and centre. Australia is also explloring embedding AI strategic foresight into workforce planning, using scenario analysis and updating Training Packages with future skills. This shared challenge creates fertile ground for collaboration. By pooling insights, the USA and Australia can design approaches that map AI’s impacts, create agile microcredentials and qualifications, and ensure equity so that vulnerable groups are not left behind.
Why the USA and Australia Should Work Together
America is pursuing workforce system integration and excellence. Australia has lived parts of this approach for over 30 years, with mistakes and areas for improvement. By working with Australian experts, the USA can learn from our experience on how to align qualifications with jobs, maintain quality through licencing, and support apprentices through tailored networks.
This isn’t about competing systems. It’s about global excellence by learning together, investing in professional development, and creating workforce ecosystems resilient enough to thrive in the AI age.
Looking Forward
The U.S. Labor–Education partnership is a strong step toward modernisation but sustainable transformation will require more than administrative reform. It will take foresight, industry-driven qualifications, support networks, and collaboration across borders.
From my early experiences teaching the first Training Packages to today’s focus on AI-driven strategic workforce planning and workforce development, I know reform is complex but transformative when it connects learners, employers, and systems. Now is the time for Australia and the USA with leaders like NAWB and NAWP to strengthen professional ties, share lessons, and co-create workforce systems ready for the future of work.