Australia's 'frustrating waste of talent' should be enough justification to expand Outreach programs.

That's according to CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman, who called on people to look beyond statistics and targets to see individual potential being wasted.

This was a key theme of his launch of CQUniversity's expanded Outreach programs on Tuesday (May 25), in front of a video-networked audience of staff members and school representatives in Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Bundaberg and Emerald. 

Academic Registrar Barbara Lawrence chats with State Government rep Ian Kimber and VC Scott Bowman after the launch of the expanded Outreach program

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LINK HERE for an audio recording of the launch

"I grew up in a house without books, where some family members celebrated getting away from school and almost celebrated not succeeding," he said. "When I eventually did a degree it was like taking the blinkers off ... education has certainly insulated me from downturns in the economy."

Professor Bowman said he was frustrated that some young people could not see beyond the $100,000 truck driving jobs, which would not be available for much longer in the mines. He was also frustrated at the waste of potential talent in Aboriginal communities.

"Why aren't we (as a country) working to develop our own talent base, instead of importing professionals from overseas, often stealing engineers and scientists from developing countries where they are needed," Professor Bowman said.

The VC said he was proud CQUniversity was a leader in development of Outreach programs, evidenced by comparing the national target for tertiary students from low socio-economic backgrounds of 20%, with a rate of 45% already achieved at the University.

"We have shovelled money into these access programs for women, for Indigenous people and even for people in prison," he said.

"We should also remember it's not just about supporting aspirations but also supporting capabilities; for example we should look at helping schools when they have problems finding staff in specialty areas."

Professor Bowman completed his launch address by foreshadowing a fresh issue for CQUniversity, as it developed programs in areas such as allied health and engineering which traditionally attracted students with high OP scores.

"To avoid a sort of apartheid, with the high OP score students tending to be those from private schools, or those with more support or those with a family background in tertiary education, we have got to be careful as we move forward that we have pathways for other people who are capable of moving into these elite programs."