Management and leadership in VET providers: the research and the capabilities that make for good managers

The second World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics was held in Melbourne, Australia in March 2002. The Congress explored outcomes aligned to themes of accessibility, technology and globalisation, strengthening partnerships and youth as a vocational education and training (VET) customer. In this paper the authors review three recent research projects which focus on the leadership processes, capabilities and attitudes to issues of leadership of managers in VET institutions. Two of these projects are ongoing and one has been completed. In the completed project, a management and...  [+] Show more

The second World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics was held in Melbourne, Australia in March 2002. The Congress explored outcomes aligned to themes of accessibility, technology and globalisation, strengthening partnerships and youth as a vocational education and training (VET) customer. In this paper the authors review three recent research projects which focus on the leadership processes, capabilities and attitudes to issues of leadership of managers in VET institutions. Two of these projects are ongoing and one has been completed. In the completed project, a management and leadership capability framework for the Australian VET sector was developed and tested leading to the development of a new leadership paradigm which involved, as a key element, the role of the transformational leader. The project also offered a wide range of strategies for meeting the training and development needs of managers in the VET sector, including presentation methods, hands-on methods and team building methods. Finally the paper offers a brief summary of the two ongoing research projects, one focusing on the qualities necessary for successful leadership and the other looking at how managers and leaders in the Australian VET sector see the major challenges facing them as providers implementing VET policy.

The volume of papers is indexed at TD/TNC 71.726; selected individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 71.727 to TD/TNC 71.766.