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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Responding to known skills gaps in the sector, this fellowship report examines workplace training models in cultural materials conservation in Australia, the United States and England. The structures, motivations and benefits of each model are compared, focusing specifically on the development of specialist skills. The author concludes with a series of recommendations for the Australian context, notably that conservation employers leverage existing disciplinary strengths to create more paid learning positions for emerging professionals.

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Snakes - the very word is extremely emotive. Everyone has an opinion on these quintessentially Australian reptiles, and sadly it is a mostly negative one, with many myths, legends and misunderstandings. That these attitudes remain today is a great shame both for the snakes themselves that suffer undue persecution, and for individuals who live with unwarranted lifelong anxiety towards them and many other species of Australian native wildlife. However, despite the fact that snakes are something that most Australians are likely to encounter in life sooner or later, either at leisure, around our homes, or in association with the workplace, they remain poorly understood by the average person. Unfortunately few if any Australians receive much meaningful wildlife awareness education. I think this is a great oversight of our education system, particularly as ours is an increasingly urbanized population, detached from daily interactions with nature. We would all benefit from qualified information on the realities of living with our wildlife and understanding its importance in the environment. From a safety perspective we should all know how to react to snakes and other potentially hazardous wildlife and crucially what to do in terms of first aid in case of a snake bite or other envenomation.

Animal Ark Pty Ltd are licensed to deliver Wildlife Educational programs to schools and deliver a Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) endorsed training course for licensing Reptile Removalists in WA. This involves training people to understand snakes and learn safe and effective means of catching, containing and relocating snakes and other reptiles whilst minimizing the risks involved. This license is sought by those wishing to serve as a volunteer within their community and also by people working in rural and remote regions. My application and subsequent reward of a 2012 Churchill Trust Fellowship was inspired by a desire to improve these educational outcomes for all Australians by investigating approaches to and content of snake capture and management, first aid training and general wildlife education programs overseas [in South Africa and Botswana, and in the United States of America in Florida, New Mexico and California].

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Social enterprises deliver significant benefits for disadvantaged or marginalised segments of society that need assistance to transform their social or economic prospects. For individuals they provide meaningful work and skills development and provide a pathway into mainstream employment. In this way they also reduce unemployment in a region and contribute to increased connections and community vitality. From a broader perspective, social enterprises have the potential to grow established businesses and drive inclusive economic growth. The purpose of this Fellowship was to research successful social enterprise programs across the world and identify supports and enablers required to attain similar positive outcomes in the Fellows' community, and apply these learnings to expand the Centre for Participation's social enterprise program, boost engagement and employment, and reinvigorate the Wimmera Southern Mallee.

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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.

This report discusses the author’s Fellowship experience with the fashion industry in the Veneto region of Italy. The Fellow’s discussions with various industry representatives have identified shortages in the textile and fashion industries in Australia. Australia did have skilled artisans in its workforce; these people had been trained in Europe before immigrating into Australia. However, as these skilled people are leaving the industry, it is difficult to incorporate them or their knowledge and experience into training. It is necessary to reintroduce and relearn these skills so the artisan techniques can be returned to the industry. The objectives of this overseas study tour were to be introduced to the Italian delivery of training and use of draping in teaching; connection with a major centre of fashion training; and gaining introductions to the unique manufacturing conducted in the Veneto region.

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In film and television production the art department operates, under the leadership of the production designer or art director, to create and manipulate the overall 'look, feel and mood' of the production. The Australian screen industry, as a part of a global movement, is currently in a transitional phase in which a new 'digital framework' is being set. Computer imaging is no longer simply an asset for the visual effects or post-production departments; instead it has become an indispensable part of the production designer's creative repertoire. This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current global trends and practices in adapting to the new 'digital framework', primarily concentrating in the areas of properties and set direction. The overseas component of the Overseas Applied Research Fellowship Programme provided an insight into the current situation concerning the role of the art department in production for film and television, and the need to address the issues associated with working within the emerging 'digital' framework and its associated implications. Recommendations are made in the report to government, industry and educational bodies. The recommendations address three key areas of new technology, versatile training products and art department training.

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Project description: To investigate structured pathways from secondary school to employment in the salmon aquaculture industry in Norway and Scotland with specific focus on vocational education apprenticeships involving formal partnerships between industry and education providers. I explored the 2+2 model of apprenticeship pathways in Norway which begin in VGS or upper-secondary school and continue in industry, together with the 4 year TAF model which additionally provides for a tertiary education pathway. In Scotland I explored the connections between secondary school National Progression Award programs in Aquaculture and Modern Apprenticeships in industry including partnerships between colleges and employers. I also explored the developing Foundation Apprenticeships model which is being implemented in the senior years of secondary schooling.

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