VET in schools: the needs of industry

The aim of this article is to stimulate debate to inform the ongoing development of VET in schools. Its focus is on the changing needs of industry and the need for a system that prepares young people for the future world of work. A shift from the current focus on job specific skills through the use of training packages and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) to the provision of generic skills and knowledge for lifelong learning is needed. The author concludes that to ensure the relevance of learning programs, educators need to understand how workplace skills continually change. At the same time, industry needs to understand the school environment and what can be realistically achieved in supporting the skill-formation needs of the workplace.

The collection of articles from this issue of 'Unicorn' is indexed at TD/TNC 72.396; individual articles are indexed from TD/TNC 72.397 to TD/TNC 72.407.

The aim of this article is to stimulate debate to inform the ongoing development of VET in schools. Its focus is on the changing needs of industry and the need for a system that prepares young people for the future world of work. A shift from the current focus on job specific skills through the use of training packages and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) to the provision of generic skills and knowledge for lifelong learning is needed. The author concludes that to ensure the relevance of learning programs, educators need to understand how workplace skills continually ...  [+] Show more