International education marketing: a VET pathway

Abstract

Tropical North Queensland TAFE, located in Cairns, Australia, currently provides English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students, and Vocational Education and Training courses to international students of predominantly Asian nationalities. To enable TNQT to take advantage of growth in this market a strategic assessment is required. Evaluation of the industry’s environmental, industry, market, cost, and competitive factors shows the how a global strategy may be understood. However, the significant effect of Commonwealth Government regulations on this market needs to be understood, as does the effect of competitive factors like regional alliances. Analysis of an appropriate global core strategy identifies VET courses as a key competitive option for TNQT. Appropriate target markets are identified, and segmentation suggestions to alignment these with local language specific strengths, agents, and programs are provided.