Australia

Citation

(2008), "Australia", Education + Training, Vol. 50 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2008.00450fab.001

Australia

Article Type: Research news From: Education + Training, Volume 50, Issue 6

11th Annual Conference of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA), April 2008, Adelaide

This is the major event of the Australian VET Research calendar and this year the conference theme was “VET in context”. The conference, held in Adelaide, attracted 185 participants, from academia, VET providers, government departments and industry bodies.

Institutional and cultural determinants of national VET systems: problems arising with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF)

Professor Dr Thomas Deissinger, University of Konstanz, Germany

The context for the key note by Professor Deissinger was the pressure created by the European Qualifications Framework to harmonise VET systems. The paper identified “matching problems” related to the philosophy of this framework by referring to the German, the French and the British VET system respectively. As these refer to “dual systems”, “school-based systems” and “industry-led systems” respectively, the pre-conditions for transforming European policy into national policies are very different. Following an analysis of each of the three “systems” Deissinger concludes that:

… while the French and British VET policies seem much more pragmatic (notwithstanding their diverging motivations and backgrounds), the German debate can be characterised as “protective” and “conservative”, with the trade unions and the craft sector as the major defenders of traditional institutional arrangements in the VET system.

One pathway forward, he argued, could be to acknowledge that the German system no longer is as clearly dominated by the dual system as it was in the past:

The first step “into Europe” for the German VET system could be to re-assess and redevelop its system of links and accreditation mechanisms with respect to full-time VET. Such a move would not necessarily require Germany to copy the British or Australian system but would reflect the acknowledgement of one of the crucial premises underlying the EQF, i.e. the appeal to “build bridges” between sub-systems, pathways, forms of learning and institutions in the VET system.

However, Deissinger’s conclusion was that such a move would requires more flexibility and openness towards the European VET strategy without ignoring the experiences of the Anglo-Saxon VET systems with “outcomes” and “competences”.

Crafting capacity in VET: towards an agenda for learning and researching in the VET workforce

Professor Terri Seddon, Monash University

A keynote paper delivered by Professor Terri Seddon provided some thought-provoking reflections on the nature of the Australian VET sector and VET workforce compared with other sectors of education and compared with other countries’ VET sectors and workforces. Terri concluded that Australian VET teachers were generally under-qualified to deal with the range of learners and settings in which they worked, because governments had not imposed high enough qualification requirements for VET teachers. She argued that high levels of skill were needed to prepare learners for an increasingly complex economy and society.

Are Australian jobs becoming more skill intensive? Evidence from the HILDA data set

Doug Fraser, University of Tasmania

Labour market policy rhetoric since the 1980s has promoted the view that jobs in industrialised counties, if they are to survive the pressures of global competition, will need to place ever-increasing demands on the skills of the workforce. This paper describes a study designed to test this proposition on a representative sample of the Australian working population over the period from 2001 to 2005. The data come from HILDA (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia), a panel survey of some 6,000 households and 18,000 individuals conducted annually since 2001. The dataset includes three indicators representing a common metric across industries, occupations and levels in the workforce hierarchy of the degree to which jobs “stretch” the skill base of those who work in them, together with three variables covering task discretion and worker autonomy, which past research has shown to be highly correlated with skill-intensity. These data make it possible for the first time to duplicate in Australia, albeit in lesser detail, the landmark research on the skills trajectory of the UK economy carried out over the last twenty years for the Economic and Social Research Council. Initial analyses suggest that in the aggregate, Australian jobs were less skill-intensive in 2005 than in 2001, a counter-intuitive trend for which an explanation has still to be found.

An industry led VET system

Mark Cully, National Centre for Vocational Education Research

The United Kingdom is presently in the early stages of rolling-out recommendations from the landmark Leitch Report of 2006. At its heart is a proposed compact between the state and employers over the funding and delivery of continuing vocational training. It represents a radical departure from the past, and should be of significant interest to Australia as a policy experiment. In describing the underlying rationale and design of new flagship programs Cully concludes that Australia may be industry-led, but remains supply-driven, while England and Wales can be characterised as demand-led and industry-driven. Three other broad lessons are also drawn from this comparative exercise.

VET support systems for disadvantaged young people in Germany: best practice, deficiencies and changes against the background of the education policy of the European Union

Bettina Siecke, University of Gießen, Germany

An increasing proportion of the school leaving population in Germany has difficulties in the transition from school to vocational education and training due to the lack of training places in companies and the rising demands facing trainees in vocational education and training, such as, e.g. key competences or social skills. The Federal Government uses a number of different strategies to address these challenges. The different strategies are also influenced by the education policy of the European Union (EU). In 2007, a high-ranking committee, convoked by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), published concrete suggestions to modernize the vocational education and training (VET) system. One important result is the development of a new concept of training modules, which offers disadvantaged young people in the transition system more and reliable opportunities.

From the learners’ perspective: a case study of VET graduates

Dr Louise Fitzgerald, University Technology Sydney

Policy discussions and texts related to generic skills share a tendency to foreground the needs of employers and industry (e.g. Employability Skills Report, 2002). A related policy concern to getting the skill mix “right” is responding to Australia’s skills shortage, again, by being led by the needs of industry and employer groups (Skilling Australia, DEST, 2005). This paper proposes that VET graduates’ perceptions of their needs, their responses to training and their experiences at work provide valuable insights to policy discussions of these issues in two ways: the ongoing development of generic skills training and more generally, to enhancing the contribution of skilled workers to organisations. This paper reports on research conducted for a case study of a communication course, composed of many generic skills, in a (TAFE, NSW) Diploma of property (Real Estate) program. A longitudinal survey of the first cohort of thirty students in 2003 used methods including written course evaluations and interviews (both telephone and face-to-face in depth), observations and systemic data on students’ backgrounds to track how students fared both during the program and one year after graduating.

The findings revealed that students’ motivation for undertaking the diploma were mixed and this was reflected in their diverse outcomes. They confirm that communication training is most effective when it develops generic skills in authentic work-related contexts. However, these graduates acknowledged the significant role of organisational learning in meeting the communicative, interpersonal and cognitive demands of their professional, flexible and evolving careers. The findings provide insights to how the relation between organisational and institutional learning could be developed. It reveals these graduates sought personal fulfilment in work and cared about their contribution to society. It is proposed that in order to optimise the mutual benefit that skilled workers can bring to organisations, policy discussions could consider more the role of employers and managers in meeting the needs of new graduates.

What’s it like for students? Enhancing the student experience from VET to university

Barbara Cram and Bruce Lines of University of Canberra and Vaughan Croucher of Canberra Institute of Technology

The paper described the Collaborative Development Program between Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and the University of Canberra (UC) to monitor the difficulties students encounter when transitioning from CIT to UC, in which a longitudinal program was designed to improve the student experience. The achievements of the project arose not only from the alignment of governance, process and infrastructure support but also from a shared focus on students. The research analysed the achievements of the UC-CIT Collaborative Development Program from the student perspective, focusing on cross-institutional programs to improve: the management and granting of credit for completed VET studies; presentation and accessibility of information to students and stakeholders; and support for articulating students during both vocational and university studies. The analysis suggests that the cross-sectoral Program, which is continually reviewed and revised to address student concerns, has enhanced the overall experiences of CIT graduates who are studying at UC. Evidence of outcomes includes greater participation in campus services, improved student satisfaction ratings and high success and retention rates for target students. The authors suggest that the model developed through the UC-CIT Collaborative Development program should form a sound basis for the management of articulation and credit transfer arrangements between vocational and higher education institutions across Australia.

All conference papers can be viewed through the AVETRA web site at www.avetra.org.au

National Centre for Vocational Education Research

This report from the NCVER focuses on pilots of accelerated apprenticeships in the automotive trades in Queensland. The author, Victor Callan, examined the perceptions of apprentices, employers and teachers of the strengths and shortcomings of both traditional and accelerated approaches. Australia’s continued buoyant economy means that demand for skilled workers in many occupations is outstripping supply. To remedy this imbalance federal and state governments are implementing various strategies. These include raising levels of skilled migration, programs to improve the basic skills of people without formal qualifications and accelerated apprenticeships. The last of these is the subject of this report. The research highlights:

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  The traditional model of apprenticeship training is still well regarded. It is not failing but it does need to evolve to remain useful and relevant.

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  In the automotive industry, at least, the establishment of certificate II training within the certificate III is a key aspect of the design of accelerated apprenticeships. This allows students willing to do repetitive service tasks, and who may prefer to exit their training early, to do so with an industry qualification that matches an essential element of the trade.

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  Accelerated models offer obvious benefits but they will usually be more expensive, imposing additional costs as well as pressures upon apprentices, employers and trainers.

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  To achieve results in shorter time frames, accelerated apprenticeships must incorporate innovative up-front training; intensive pre-apprenticeship training; the full application of recognition of prior learning; intensive forms of off-the-job-delivery; and industry investment in workplace mentors.

Accelerated apprenticeships: Apprentice, employer and teaching staff perceptions by Victor J Callan. Report available from NCVER at http://www.ncver.edu.au/