Notes from the SA Training Forum Sector – 26/06/08

Brian Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer, DFEEST
SA Skill Strategy for the Future

It’s about how change is managed

2006 Statistics for South Australia
Student numbers - University - 51,000 vs VET - 122,000 (of which TAFE SA - 78,000)
20% of VET AQF Levels are Diploma

Required – 2008-2018 an additional 133,000 workers for newly created jobs + 206,000 workers to replace retiring workers = 424,000 potential qualifications over next 10 years

Need a paradigm change in the way we delivery training

Our quality of training is excellent – world class – but break through improvements required to respond to demands of industry

Skills for the 21^st Century
- New Training & Skills Development Act (going through parliament as we ‘speak’)
Training and Skills Commission – 5 year SA Skills Workforce Development Plan – which will be updated annually
- Review of Industry Skills Board – ISB’s need to take a lead role in training
- SA Skills Strategy – TAFE SA needs to be more responsive – was created for training needs of the 1970’s. Will be operating in a more competitive market for public training funds.

At any one time in SA:
10,000 job vacancies with:
- 40,200 unemployed people
- 95,100 who want work
- 117,200 who want more work

Federal Government role to fund training - $1.9 billion over 4 years – For SA by 2012 – 17,500 place for new entrants, 29,300 places for upskilling & retraining, $70 million contestable training funding – from 25% to 50% contestable by 2012 – a market driven training model – SA Purchasing Plan = State Non-contestable funding + State & Federal Contestable funding from 2009.

By 2009
Blueprint for Contestability
TAFE SA Reforms

Dr Jane Figgis, Director AAAJ Consulting Group
Innovation in the VET Sector

Why is innovation so important?
“Swampy Lowlands” – the environment where educators need to work
- major influences/drivers of innovation in VET has been Reframing the Future and the Australian Flexible Learning Framework
- Advanced technical skills still required at Cert IV & Diploma, as well as the managerial skills
- the importance of learner controlled/centred environments
- project based learning works with disengaged learners
- RPL – generic questionnaire to draw out skills of learner before enrolling – and then designing the training around the skills gaps
- valuing informal learning in a mix with formal learning
- understanding the ‘cultural’ of a workplace
- tools of technology – the ‘e’ can not be separated from learning in e-learning – all encompassing
- reflective practice or ‘Stop and Think’ – content of learning is changing – concerns about quality of learning – RPL helping to improve individualizing learning – using e-learning tools – need to have recent workplace experience
- take the teacher out of the equation – teacher and student working together to achieve outcomes

Any learning environment has 3 components:

Tasks - tasks for the learner which are real, authentic and challenging,

Support - the support given to the learner through the building of the relationships between the teacher and the learners as well as the learner and fellow learners; - ‘coaching’ the learners; - Mixing the different qualification levels together to undertake learning ie Cert 3 students being mentored by Diploma students; - listening to learner feedback

Learning resources – situational/scenario based learning, role play, technology,

Where does assessment fit in here?

Reflective practice = people being strategic and looking at the big picture

Embedding innovation – local to skills, knowledge and attitude of what’s needed to provide a learning environment for their learners – don’t have a lateral spread of innovation in our educational/training environments.

Critical Reflection is paramount to being innovative – Brookefield

Don’t be afraid to do something new.

What will you be expected to be delivering in the next 4-5 years for your industry? And what will you need to do to achieve this?

If you ask the right questions – you’ll find the answers you are looking for.

“You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps” & the “art of building bridges whilst were are crossing them”

DECS DFEEST “School to Work” Strategy
Tanya Rogers, Jillian Blight, Kim Clayton: DECS

Innovative Community Action Networks (ICANs) and Alternative Learning Option Programs (ALOP)

Career Development is driving the “School to Work” Strategy:
- self awareness
- learning and work exploration
- career building – employability skills

Australian Blueprint for Career Development

Australian Career Development Studies (ACDS)

Personal Learning Planning (PLP)

Problem based and Project based learning opportunities which include contextualized literacy and numeracy skills

Future SACE will commence in 2010, with the PLP unit commencing in 2009

Some thoughts:
- what are the expectations of young people in the workplace?
- workplace systems which are more 'people centred' are required to retain staff
- What role does small business play in career pathways?
- increased need to engage educators to participate in upskilling and reskilling processes
- why are proving your existing abilities so difficult? why don't we value the skills someone brings with them?

This is What We Want! Holistic Workplace Training & Assessment aligned to Business Needs & Values (Enterprise Training)
Rob Conwell, National Pharmacies

- Start mapping skills sets to workplace skills and needs
- individualised training programs
- Keeping good training records for employees helps with RPL processes
- Assess first – Train later = reduced training costs
- The term RPL is not a well received ‘concept’, the term ‘skills recognition’ is better received
- Achieving RPL in one qualification encourages people to undertake training in a higher level
- important to celebrate and recognize when individuals complete their certificate
- moving away from calling workplace training by a qualification title
- industry best practice – units mapped to skills sets; client needs & organizational skills; included employability skills and industry skills; RTO workplace trainers and assessors
- industry want to know how training will benefit their ‘bottomline’- workplace training really does improve the bottomline
- an automated induction and tracking systems has been successful – Manta-tas – Training Administration Software - Prodata Solutions – currently looking at how this system will align to AVETMISS – allows security settings which manages who can see different levels of information

Career Development – what, where, how for SA?
Careers SA – Framework to Facility (SA Works – linking people, skills and jobs)
Ian Buchanan, Drew Thomas: DFEEST

What are the competencies needed to manage your career? – Australian Blueprint for Career Development

What bother with Career Development – benefits – economic, social inclusion, individual