Human capital enhanced by VET: a report on staff development and change management projects that addressed priorities for the vocational education and training (VET) sector set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)

This report outlines how a variety of vocational education and training (VET) organisations and practitioners in Australia began to address the directions set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2006. It highlights how these organisations carried out activities that helped to achieve the following goals of COAG: increased workforce productivity and participation, requiring the enhancement of human capital in Australia; improved relationships between industry and training providers; and better services for the recognition of prior learning (RPL). The report draws on a sample of 31 out of the 215 project teams managed during 2006 by Reframing the Future, the national staff development and change management program for skilling Australia’s VET workforce to implement the national training system. The report aims to inform and guide the 2007 project teams and beyond, to help in connecting future projects with COAG’s aims for the VET sector. Key findings reveal that Reframing the Future project teams are effectively meeting COAG aims in the following ways: enhancing human capital of people in a range of industries, including health, arts, metals and childcare; increasing workforce productivity by improving the skills of existing workers and young people who are at risk of disengaging from formal learning and work; increased workforce participation by providing training for groups whose participation in the workforce can be increased, including youth, women, mature aged people, Indigenous people and people with a disability; improving relationships between industry and providers from a range of industries including drilling and the science and disability sector; developing better recognition services in diverse settings; and improving the human capital of VET by addressing cultural and organisational barriers to VET staff becoming more responsive. Show less