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This report updates a project begun during 2006, in which a range of organisations and practitioners in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia addressed directions set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in workbased learning projects funded through Reframing the Future. VET organisations undertook activities that assisted the achievement of the following aims of COAG: increased workforce productivity and participation, requiring the enhancement of human capital in Australia; improved relationships between industry and training providers; better services for the recognition of prior learning. The report was presented as a paper at the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference in Adelaide in 2008.

The full report of the project, ‘Human capital enhanced by VET’ is indexed at TD/RTF 95.49. Show less

During the 1990s Communities of Practice emerged as an approach to engaging people in the process of ‘knowledge sharing, learning and change’. As a tool for transferring knowledge and developing professional skills, Communities of Practice within the vocational education and training (VET) sector can facilitate the achievement of both individual workplace learning and a closer collaboration between educational organisations and industry. This paper analyses the theory underpinning Communities of Practice and provides an outline of the individual and organisational benefits to be gained from these communities. Show less

The second World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics was held in Melbourne, Australia in March 2002. The Congress explored outcomes aligned to themes of accessibility, technology and globalisation, strengthening partnerships and youth as a vocational education and training (VET) customer. This paper was presented under the theme of strengthening partnerships and as part of the workshop on collaborating to succeed. It reports on the findings from an innovative, national program which involved the use of Communities of Practice across a range of different settings. Sixteen Communities of Practice were established in the VET sector in 2001 by Reframing the Future, the national staff development and change management program. The paper describes the 2001 project and its evaluation, focusing on two case studies of partnerships between training providers and industry. The full evaluation report, entitled ‘The potential for Communities of Practice to underpin the National Training Framework’ is indexed at TD/RTF 95.10.

The volume of conference papers is indexed at TD/TNC 71.726; selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 71.727 to TD/TNC 71.766. Show less

This paper describes how TAFE effectively meets industry needs and government goals, based on five case studies that are set out after the paper, and other related evidence. The paper performs three major functions. First, it links the findings from the five case studies to a body of work by the author over the last six years, to show that the five case studies represent a continuation and refinement of TAFE's ability to flexibly meet industry and government needs. Second, the paper analyses this flexibility in terms of contemporary business research about how progressive service organisations are innovative, value-creating and client-focused. The discussion shows that TAFE institutes have a capacity to redefine their service delivery to meet changing and challenging needs of industry and government. Third, the paper links these qualitative case studies about the advanced capacity of TAFE institutes to a three-year nationwide collection of quantitative data about TAFE staff capability. The quantitative data indicates that staff capability is high, and this finding helps to explain the achievements of TAFE recorded not only in the case studies in this publication but also in over 75 other TAFE-industry case studies prepared by the author in recent years.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

This report consists of 10 case studies of good practice in customer responsiveness, drawn from 10 Institutes of TAFE New South Wales (NSW). The case studies focus on initiatives in the Institutes, with support from central TAFE NSW services provided as needed. This report is a product of a larger project for TAFE NSW, the overall aim of which was to analyse TAFE NSW's key achievements in providing flexible and responsive services to its customers and guide planning to further build capability to improve its customer responsiveness.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Increasingly, the VET marketplace requires vocational education and training (VET) practitioners to network with industry representatives. 'Networking with industry' is a new catch-cry within VET, but more research is needed to understand the complexities and benefits of such networking. This paper is based on research conducted over two years, 2003-2004, of 40 networks funded by Reframing the Future. The paper builds on a report entitled 'Building industry training networks' (Mitchell 2004) [indexed at TD/RTF 95.66], and shows that networks are complex and can be difficult to manage, as participants' needs and ambitions can constantly change. To be sustained, networks also need to continuously provide value for all members. The paper provides the VET sector with guidelines of how to effectively build networks that impact positively on the individuals and organisations involved and that enhance VET's achievements in the marketplace.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 8th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference, 'Emerging futures: recent, responsive and relevant research', are indexed from TD/TNC 81.564 to TD/TNC 81.610. Show less

Robin Shreeve, the departing Deputy Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), prefers the term learners to clients, customers or students. He discusses three learner related issues: (1) graded assessment; (2) learner's capability; and (3) tacit knowledge. He also discusses TAFE's relationship with industry.

Adjoining this article is a short biographical feature by John Pearce and Gillian Goozee entitled 'Robin Shreeve - a tribute'. Show less

The aim of this project was to identify the staff development needs of TAFE staff in the field of open learning materials development. The specific objectives were to: produce a skills profile for staff involved in the development of open learning materials; identify the processes required for effective open learning materials development; and make recommendations for staff development strategies for effective and efficient open learning materials. The contents are: Executive summary; Background to project; Definitions; The vocational education and training context; Structures and issues; Materials development projects; Materials development models; Functions performed in a project; Skills profile; Partnership with industry; Current staff development; Future staff development; Future planning requirements; Listing of key findings; Specifications for recommended projects. Included as appendices are: Concerns base matrix; National questionnaire; National consultations. Show less

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

Reframing the Future is the national staff development and change management program funded through the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) to assist with the implementation of the national training system. This report presents the outcomes of an evaluation of 24 industry training networks that were funded as part of the Reframing the Future sub-program of networks and communities of practice. Vocational education and training (VET) organisations were funded to form and maintain networks of contacts from within their industry, e.g. engineering, hospitality or creative arts, who are actively involved in improving and increasing industry training programs. The evaluation focused on five questions and these form the chapter headings of this report. Why does VET need industry training networks? What skills, knowledge and processes help industry training networks to function effectively? What knowledge is generated by industry training networks? What are the benefits of industry training networks? How can achievements of networks be sustained? Key findings include: (1) collaboration in industry training networks can support the national training system; (2) the need for industry training networks is increasing; (3) open or loosely structured networks suit the diverse membership; (4) building networks is not straightforward; (5) effective networks require a deep knowledge of VET, high-level facilitation skills and efficient information sharing processes; (6) new knowledge about practices and possibilities in the national training system are generated by networks; and (7) networks can be sustained by a continuous response to the changing goals of members and changing external conditions. Show less