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This paper outlines a workforce development approach applied from early 2010 to late 2012 at TAFE [South Australia] SA Regional Institute, and discusses the strategies and developmental activities in place during this period that may have contributed to improving professional capabilities among a large group of vocational education and training (VET) practitioners at the institute. It forms the background to a doctoral study, which builds on a range of studies about VET practitioners from the previous decade, including Mitchell and Ward (2010) and Wheelahan (2010). In June 2010 the institute staff participated in two self-rating surveys: VETCAT®, which measures 58 teaching skills of VET practitioners; and CURCAT®, which measures their use of 27 strategies to remain current with their industry. The surveys were repeated in late 2012 and showed an increase in ratings of around five per cent across most items. In both cases the quantitative data generated from the survey were complemented by qualitative data gained from institute staff, particularly from professional conversations and group discussions designed to reveal staff stories and experiences.

Approximately 400 lecturers responded to the surveys in 2010, and 250 from the same cohort responded again in 2012. This paper will outline the professional learning strategies which were implemented and were effective in improving the skills and currency of VET practitioners over that period. These strategies included a mix of deliberate interventions by the organisation, by faculties and individuals.

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This paper discusses a workforce development case study undertaken by TAFE [South Australia] SA Regional Institute between 2010 and 2013. This case study is informing a doctoral study at Flinders University which is investigating the unique characteristics of vocational education and training (VET) teaching, the skills that VET teaching staff must have, and how those skills are to be acquired to enable teachers to transition from novice to advanced practice. This doctoral study builds on a range of studies of the VET practitioner in the previous decade including Mitchell (2009) and Wheelahan (2010) and investigates how practice-based education theory and research and workplace learning may assist in understanding effective ways of providing professional development for teaching staff.

The workforce development case study began in June 2010 when TAFE SA Regional Institute staff participated in two self rating surveys; VETCAT® which measures the teaching skills of VET practitioners; and CURCAT® which measures their use of 27 strategies to remain current with their industry. A targeted professional development program was implemented following the survey analysis. The surveys were repeated in late 2012 and showed an increase in ratings of around 5 per cent for most items across the teaching cohort. In both cases the quantitative data generated from the survey was complemented by qualitative data gained from Institute staff. Approximately 400 lecturers responded to the survey in 2010 and 250 in 2012. Fortuitously, most of the 100 lecturers in the largest faculty who completed the survey in 2010 undertook it again in 2012, providing an important focus for the case study. This paper will help to identify which strategies were most effective for improving the skills and currency of VET practitioners in TAFE SA Regional from mid 2010 to late 2012. It is expected that those strategies will include a mix of interventions by the organisation, by faculties and by individuals.

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Work in the vocational education and training (VET) sector is becoming more complex: there are increasing demands from students and industry clients that learning not only be customised but where possible personalised. Are VET practitioners involved in training and assessment capable of providing this level of flexibility and customisation? In the six months from June 2010, 10 TAFE Institutes around Australia implemented either one or both of the following tools that assess the capabilities of their VET practitioners: VETCAT™, the vocational education and training capability analysis tool and CURCAT™, the industry currency tool for VET practitioners. This paper focuses on the way two of the 10 responded to the findings: TAFE SA Regional and TAFE NSW - New England Institute. The findings at both Institutes provided cause for optimism and encouraged the Institutes to carefully unpack the full meaning of the data. The VETCAT™ research at TAFE SA Regional found that practitioners do have a raft of capabilities, mapped to the categories of novice, established, specialist and advanced. They also have a clear idea of their skill gaps and many aspirations about what they would like to learn. The CURCAT™ survey at both Institutes found that some VET practitioners use strategies to directly engage with industry while others use strategies to research their industry, and some use both sets of strategies. In response to the quantitative data collected and the findings, the two Institutes crafted a range of different approaches to assist VET practitioners to further grow their capabilities and maintain their industry currency. Such targeted capability building is essential if VET is to meet the new demands on its services. This paper focuses on the action learning approach - of experiencing, reviewing, concluding and planning - taken at both Institutes in implementing initiatives stemming from the findings.

Authors' abstract. Show less

This thesis is a pragmatic interpretive enquiry regarding the capability development of vocational education and training (VET) teachers. The significance of studying capability development of teachers is that currently VET sector requirements for teacher qualifications and teaching capabilities are much lower than many equivalent VET sectors internationally, and the compulsory education sector nationally. The research seeks to identify what is needed to enable VET teachers to acquire, maintain and advance their teaching capability to meet the unique features of VET education and its students. The focus of the study also includes the leadership and systems required to ensure that this progression in teacher capability occurs.

The outcomes of this study are relevant to the Australian Government's agenda to raise the qualifications level of the national workforce. The Government's goals are to halve the number of Australians aged 20 to 64 who do not have qualifications at a Certificate III level and above, and double the number of higher-level qualification completions by 2020. The Australian Government's agenda also seeks to increase the workforce participation rate to 69 per cent (up from 65.1 per cent in 2010) if Australia is to meet both national and global challenges for future economic growth. These goals are ambitious and will require growth in both the VET and higher education sectors, and will also require reform of the process to develop and support good teaching.

This qualitative research was undertaken through two methods. Firstly, a document analysis of four key documents that set a vision for the system in the context of educational change in the VET sector. The document analysis reveals that the major role afforded to industry constrains the adoption of a systematic and deliberate approach to the improvement and enhancement of the teaching skills of VET teachers. The result is a compliance driven national system for quality assurance, which does not include standards for teachers, but audits registered training organisations (RTOs) at the macro level. This espoused vision is then compared to evidence of the lived experience of nine Technical and Further Education South Australia (TAFE SA) teachers and educational managers working in the system. The second method involved the collection of qualitative evidence interviews. This provides an insight into the nexus between on-the-job learning and the acquisition of formal qualifications in teaching skills. It also underscores the importance of supporting the growth of advanced practice teachers and for enabling others who are less skilled to achieve advanced skills development. This phase of the study identifies that ad hoc workplace learning strategies predominate in teacher skills development with an obvious lack of a deliberate, system-based strategic approach.

Author's abstract.

This thesis was submitted to Flinders University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education Psychology and Social Work on August 21st 2018. Show less