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Defining and Scoping Human Resource Development (HRD) in the Victorian TAFE System was one of a set of four projects supported by the Office of Employment, Training and Tertiary Education (ETTE) and designed to inform and promote human resource development (HRD) in TAFE Victoria. For the purposes of this project, human resource development is taken to mean those TAFE management arrangements, such as policies, practices, processes, programs and values, that develop individuals, teams and organisations to meet the TAFE organisation's strategies, goals and outcomes. The key aims of this project were to provide an overview of best practice in Australian HRD that is relevant to staff training and workforce development in TAFE, and to report on current HRD practices and trends in TAFE in Victoria. The project gathered data on the HRD infrastructure, policies and practices of a sample of Victorian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) providers (a number of TAFE Institutes and university TAFE Divisions), a selection of the larger Adult and Community Education (ACE) organisations and a sample of commercial TAFE providers. Thirteen TAFE provider case studies were also conducted to provide an accessible and user-friendly representation of current good practice in HRD in a range of Victorian TAFE organisations. From these case studies, five programs were selected to be developed into models that were intended to provide a highly accessible single representation of each program. Other project outcomes include a literature review, a web-based bibliography of relevant HRD literature and a set of recommendations advising the Office of Employment, Training and Tertiary Education on the promotion of HRD practices. The project also trialled innovative approaches to data collection and review by employing web-based survey technologies which enabled the project methodology to be iterative. For example, the models of HRD practice and summary survey results were placed on a website where they were accessed by respondents who emailed feedback. This method proved successful in eliciting detailed responses and allowed for freer exchange between researchers and survey respondents as the project progressed. Show less

The Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE) commissioned the Have Your Say project to encourage an open, collegial and inclusive dialogue with TAFE Institute teachers about issues affecting the quality of teaching and learning in the Victorian TAFE system. The project was expected to make a valuable contribution to the development of strategic policy direction for the TAFE teaching workforce by providing the opportunity for teachers to comment on the development needs of the TAFE teaching workforce as a distinct professional group. The aim of the project was to gather information on the views of Victorian TAFE teachers and other staff on issues such as: teaching and learning in TAFE; the changing role and identity of the TAFE teaching professional; the skills required of teachers in the modern TAFE workforce; and the challenges facing the TAFE system.

Based on the data gathered from TAFE teachers through the qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research, it can be concluded that although TAFE teachers generally derive high satisfaction from the work of teaching in TAFE, especially through interacting with students and colleagues, they have significant concerns about issues at the system and professional level. These concerns include: with an increasing focus on commercialisation in the sector, many teachers are not confident that the standard of education provided to students is being appropriately monitored; many teachers consider that minimum standards of resourcing are not in place to ensure that equipment and materials are available to teach effectively; the role of the TAFE teacher is seen as poorly defined, heightening the tension between new broader responsibilities and traditional role expectations; and job security, wages and conditions are not seen as at an appropriate level to attract and retain skilled and motivated teaching professionals to TAFE.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less