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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.

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