Capture new learning technologies:
A much neglected dimension of the debate around women's position in vocational education and training is the area of new learning technologies. New technologies are essential to the question of flexible delivery and the development of new educational opportunities for those not able to readily take up traditional places in training institutions. New technologies, including interactive video conferencing, also have the capability of linking women in workplace training with those in institutional education. The power of open learning lies not in the tools-the technology itself-but in its flexibility and thus the power it places in the hands of learners. As research by Williams and Burns indicated, "Women students were not daunted by the need to use communication technologies and computers in flexible delivery. While they expressed some initial lack of confidence, any concerns expressed were related to the limited access and technical services available to support students' use." ⁶

But to ensure the technology is used in appropriate ways relevant to the needs of women, it must be guided by women. Priorities for the development and application of new technologies including the so-called information highway, must be set with the interests of women in the forefront.

Define the rules of the training market:
The directions being taken by Australian governments do not actually support a completely deregulated market in this or any other area of public sector reform, despite the accompanying rhetoric. Wyn Grant has described approaches to marketisation of the economy as partisan state-led adjustment: "Unlike company led adjustments where the task of change is left in the hands of companies operating in an approximation of a market economy, partisan state-led adjustments involve interventions by government in order to create the conditions in which, ultimately, such company-led adjustment can occur. ... Conditions must be created in which free enterprise can flourish, but business cannot do this by itself, partly because of what is seen as spinelessness, partly because the obstacles are so great that they can only by tackled through the determined use of state power."⁷

Instead of focusing on whether competition amongst providers of training is good or bad for women, we should think more broadly about the structure, conduct and performance of the training market and about where government intervention to ensure equity for women is required and most readily justified. We should focus on the rules which are set for the conduct of the market, on providing information to women about the market, on the fees and charges which impact on women, and on ensuring that equity initiatives are retained within the public sector and that equitable outcomes are required of the market operators.

Taking Action
Women need access to high quality and affordable vocational education and training, conducted from feminist perspectives, to expand their own learning, to improve their position in the labour market, and to increase their influence over social and community life. Those of us responsible for the supply of vocational education and training need to do a much better job of getting to the heart of what women actually want from vocational education and training, rather than focusing on what we believe we should provide for them.

Local action to assess what it is that women require from the system and how they see their needs being best met should be informed by a feminist analysis and supported by a strong coalition of women concerned with these issues. More focus on national reports and top-down centralism will not produce real results for women. Our challenge is to do what we do best: take action and do it now.