News Archive

The Victorian TAFE Association State Conference 2022 will be held in Bendigo

on the 24^th to 26^th August.

The aim of the conference is to inspire Leading Through Change and supports stakeholders to explore important issues and rethink ideas, exposing audiences to innovative educational and operational ideas and opportunities.

We are very delighted to announce that Tasneem Chopra will be the Master of Ceremonies for this event who will also provide a keynote address. Tasneem Chopra is a cross cultural consultant, author, curator, and social justice advocate. Tasneem Chopra was awarded an OAM in 2020.

The Victorian budget for 2022-23 was handed down by the Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas on 3 May.

It is wide ranging, but in VET terms touches on two key issues: VET delivered in secondary schools and approaches to skilling Victorians.

In one of the other articles in this issue of VDC News we talked about the importance of networks for VET staff and suggested there is a need to refocus on them as a means of improving quality.

Let’s now focus on what a 2006 paper said about what networks we might consider and what they can help us do.

Professional learning networks: are these something we need to be taking more seriously now?

Networks, communities of practice and special interest groups have been around for a long time in VET, but maybe the time is ripe to re-invigorate and better support the concept?

ASQA has developed and released details of its “draft model for self-assurance” using a co-design process with the sector and other stakeholders.

The link above also includes a summary of what they have been told about what the self-assurance process needs to involve. This is a really good read and we recommend you have a look at it!

This latest report from NCVER, released in early February 2022, reports on how Australian employers have been affected by the pandemic and how, in turn, this has affected their current and future training requirements.

The report found that nearly a third of employers are expecting to increase the amount of training they provide to their staff in the next 12 months. Digital skills are a key training need, as are health and safety and infection control.

Late last year NCVER provided its annual student outcomes report.

It provides details for qualification completers and part-completers, short course completers and part-completers and subject only completers. You can download  a pdf of the full report here.

Applications are now open for the VET International Practitioner Fellowship provided by The International Specialised Skills (ISS) Institute and the Department of Education (DET), Higher Education and Skills (HES). The fellowship supports Fellows to drive best practice, innovation and to create a lasting impact within the Victorian VET sector. More than ever, Australia needs a skilled community of scholars, teachers, craftspeople, tradespeople, professionals, care workers, innovators, artists, and creatives.

Applications are open between 1 February – 8 April 2022     

In 2021 UNESCO published a preliminary “conversation starter” on micro-credentials authored by Deakin University’s Emeritus Professor Beverley Oliver.

The paper suggests that “acceptance and recognition of micro-credentials by employers and policy makers is hampered because, among other challenges, there is no universally recognised definition that clearly communicates to lay users, particularly learners and employers, what micro-credentials are.”

Veteran VET researchers Kaye Bowman and Victor Callan looked at what influences employers to engage with the national VET system and nationally recognised training.

Developing closer partnerships between employers and registered training organisations is the challenge, and the key, in upskilling the Australian workforce and addressing skills shortages.