Search Results

An increase in the exchange of knowledge, trade and capital around the world, driven by technological innovation has created a globally connected world. Rapid advances in information communication technology has reshaped the style and frequency of global communications and led to an increase in work being conducted online using global, virtual teams. This is driving a need for students, the future work force, to have high level intercultural communication skills and digital literacy to manage working across computers, cultures and time. As it is incumbent on tertiary education to prepare graduates for employability, business and government are putting pressure on tertiary institutions to design authentic learning opportunities that build skills to manage the technology and intercultural communication required to work in this globally and digitally connected world.

The Fellow responded to this new skill demand by investigating international educational approaches to developing graduates' global skills in order to inform a pedagogical approach for training Australian vocational education students in this field. This addressed core policy priorities of the Department of Education and Training which included developing quality education and training systems for [vocational education and training] VET, delivering innovative and quality training that meets current and future industry needs and developing greater employment and further educational outcomes.

The Fellowship research began at the end of 2016 with the Fellow attending two international conferences in the Netherlands; Beezr: Virtual Collaboration across Cultures and COIL: Collaborative Online International Learning Europe, to learn from educators actively conducting global, virtual student collaborations. The Fellow interviewed key speakers at the conferences and gained valuable insights from the presentations into the challenges and benefits of various methodologies for educating teachers and students on how to work with the complexities of different cultures in multiple time zones using new digital technologies. The Fellow also visited tertiary institutions in Belgium to interview practitioners working on strategies for expanding global collaborations. In order to gain understanding of business practices in preparing employees for global virtual teamwork, the Fellow undertook training in business methodologies for identifying and developing intercultural competency in employees to prepare them for working with other cultures.

This report captures the key learnings from the international discoveries and recommends actions for tertiary institutions, government and industry for developing intercultural competency and digital literacy to prepare vocational education graduates for employability in the highly digitised and culturally connected 21st century.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

[This] Fellowship investigates improved and innovative ways to support new educators as they enter vocational and higher education. This work has been influenced by experts in both the USA and Canada. The report investigates four interrelated components: (1) To improve the educational experience for new educators; (2) To improve educational experiences for students who share learning communities with new educators; (3) To upskill leaders to work effectively and provide organised structures to support new educators in areas of high impact; and (4) To offer organisations an approach to retain new educators and avoid time and money in the continuous cycle of employment and reemployment.

Summary from publisher's website. Show less

Plumbers have always had the responsibility of considering public health in their everyday work practices. With growth in population, the world becoming smaller through easier access to travel, and living in a multicultural world there is a growing need to understand more about managing water safety and security, safe sanitary practices and the prevention of disease spreading through our communities. Today's plumber has to understand the importance of their role in the community. Plumbing training has to stay connected to the global health issues and understand that their practices may affect our community and in turn may affect another community. Plumbing training has to include a high level practical skill, problem solving and critical understanding. Through this Fellowship opportunity, the Fellow investigated the possibility of redesigning plumbing training into an inclusive collaborative training model that will incite learning and increase the plumber's capacity to learn. Traditional plumbing training is extremely skills focussed. With new technologies becoming a major influence in plumbing design there is an even greater need to reconfigure and enhance plumbing training.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

While focusing on the Australian and overseas context (Scotland and Ireland), the author planned to investigate, as a practitioner, to what extent current pedagogy and teaching practices in the vocational education and training (VET) and adult community education (ACE) sectors influence the outcomes of language, literacy and numeracy programs, either as stand-alone or shared delivery. The author focuses on adult native speakers with limited literacy and numeracy, and adult migrants from non-English speaking background (NESB). The key aims were to: (1) establish best pedagogy practices pertinent to two specific student cohorts: (a) current adult migrants who arrived in Australia as refugees or humanitarian migrants, mainly from Sudan and Afghanistan and who participate in education at Chisholm Institute; and (b) adults and native speakers from a variety of disadvantaged groups who have the potential to participate in literacy and numeracy programs and in VET training at Chisholm Institute; (2) further extend the research into the key drivers of Australian adult [language, literacy, numeracy] LLN policy in response to the National Foundation Skills Strategy (2012) and the call by Australian Industry Group and Industry Skills Council, which are looking at finding strategies for up skilling of the workforce of the future and focusing on increasing literacy and numeracy levels; and (3) investigate the benefits of using human and social capital in ACE and VET training, thus meeting Australian Government Skills Reform objectives of upskilling for the 21st century workforce

Edited excerpts from publication.

The International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI) is an independent, national organisation that works with Australian governments, industry and education institutions to enable individuals to gain enhanced skills and experience in traditional trades, professions and leading-edge technologies. Fellows travel overseas and, upon their return, are required to pass on what they have learned through a detailed report, recommendations for improvements and delivering training activities. Show less

The aim of this fellowship was to investigate best practice for incorporating BIM into the vocational education curriculum. Given that BIM has not been integrated into the local industries, it was necessary to also investigate how BIM is used as part of industry practice. Specific fellowship objectives included: Obtaining up to date information about how BIM has been adopted into the VET curriculum in Hong Kong, China and the UK; Determining what specific skills are required for to effectively introduce BIM into the local curriculum and how these skills can be translated to the Australian Building and Construction Industry; Using the gained knowledge and skills to make recommendations for appropriate up skilling in Australian Vocational Educational programs.

To achieve these objectives, teaching practices in Hong Kong, China and the UK were observed. Visiting educational institutions allowed the attending Fellow to review different curriculums and teaching practices, inspect the teaching and learning facilities and observe the resources that students are provided with. This gave the Fellows an understanding of how BIM is incorporated into learning programs. Visiting international educational institutions was necessary, because this type of information is lacking in the current Australian training context. In addition, industry engagement was also sought in the UK and a conference on BIM was attended in Spain. Engagement with industry practices allowed the Fellows to gain first-hand knowledge of how BIM has become standard workplace practice. These international visits took place in May 2017.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Students returning from an international business study tour program were interviewed about their experiences and perceptions of the professional and personal impact of the program. When interviews were conducted within three to four months of the students' return, mixed responses were received, with some students highly positive about their experiences, but other students highly distressed about the level of independence required of them. When students were consulted two to six years after the completion of the program, including re-interviewing the initial study participants, students appeared more able to appreciate the benefits of the program. This was evident in their responses that highlighted an improvement in discipline-based knowledge, a better understanding of personal and intercultural issues, and the further development of their generic academic skills. Negative emotions had all but disappeared from students' responses. While these findings are from small sample sizes and are not conclusive, the results raise important questions about the timing of critical program evaluations.

Published abstract. Show less

This report is based on an International Specialised Skills Institute Fellowship study tour to Barcelona in 2017 to identify models and practices designed to significantly extend and enhance the reach, range and impact of employment skill training and education to those likely to or who are currently experiencing disadvantage in access to education and employment. The changing nature of work in the 21st century means that increasing people face this experience. The author investigated innovative and successful social and community engagement and enrichment skills education offered in Barcelona, a global leader in such programs.

The report proposes solutions to a complex issue faced by government and educators in Victoria: how best to provide relevant and cost effective re-training for those in trades, occupations and professions that are declining in, or have lost, relevance; while also ensuring mainstream education has adapted to and is delivering skilled graduates ready, competent and capable to participate in the new forms of work and career paths rapidly emerging in the 21st Century. Show less

This report discusses the National [International Specialised Skills] ISS Institute Overseas Fellowship study into the trade skills deficiencies of metal fabrication and welding (pipefitting). This study was carried out between December 2005 and December 2006, and the overseas component of the fellowship was conducted in the USA and Canada during August 2006. Pipefitting is a well-established engineering trade in North America, but virtually unknown here in Australia. Investigations into the trade of pipefitting have been carried out and conclusions have been drawn. It is recommended that the engineering trade of 'pipefitting' as well as 'problem solving and technical innovation' educational studies are introduced into the Australian engineering curriculum in an effort to resolve present trade skills deficiencies and prepare engineering tradespeople for the future innovation economy.

Published abstract. Show less

The information contained in this report was obtained through attendance at both workshops and lectures at the World Congress on Education and Technology in Vancouver, Canada, during May, 1986 and from visits to three Canadian technical institutes. It centres on general information about technological change in education with particular emphasis on computer aided and managed learning, video and competency based education. Show less

The study visits programme for education and vocational training specialists, part of the lifelong learning programme 2007-13 (LLP), is an initiative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture. Its objective is to support policy development and cooperation at European level in lifelong learning, notably in the context of the Lisbon process and the education and training agenda 2020 (ET 2020), as well as the Bologna and Copenhagen processes and their successors. This publication presents a list of study visits that will take place between September 2011 and June 2012 and brief summaries of the thematic categories under which they are grouped.

Excerpts from publication. Show less