The annual National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) 'no-frills' 31st conference three day conference begins today. The event is online and is run on Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) which is 2 and 1/2 hours behind NZ time. All sessions are pre-recorded and run as each session comes up on the programme. Presenters answer questions that may come up in the chat.
This year's conference begins with a welcome from Phil Loveder (NCVER). He begins with an overview of the conference platform. Simon Walker from NCVER then provides the opening address starting with a welcome to country. He summarises the reasons for the conferences' theme 'VETs role in transforming the future'.
Hon. Brendan O'Connor MP, Minister for Skills and Training then officially opens the conference. The minister was also in office in the government 9 years ago and has returned to the position again. He outlines the government's strategies to ensure Australians maintain their skills across the many challenges of the present and into the future. Currently, there is (as with Aotearoa) a shortage of skilled workers in many industries. Detailed the areas with large demands and almost all require VET. 9 out of 10 jobs going into the next decade, requires post-school education. The current government is committed to restoring TAFE with large investments into VET. This is to ensure that skills training is availed to all and training and education targeted to the correct areas of current and future skill needs.
The day's keynote is sponsored by ADCET - Australian Disability Clearing House for Education and Training.
The first keynote is with Sophie Renton, a social researcher and MD for McCrindle Research on the topic 'the future of vocational education: Now and towards 2032'. Introduced self, the organisation and what 'social researchers' do (i.e. telling the story of people). Went back to the year 2020 to set the scene and especially the effects of Covid-19 has had on the present and into the future. Within the edncation sector, shifting to online learning, having to 'learn/work from work' etc. have created 'change fatigue' and 'change apathy'. However, to move forward, we need to cope with, respond to, and move towards the future. Lots of topics in 'the future' and one way to try to move on into the future, is to understand better, our students.
Current students are digitally integrated. 75% of Gen Z check their devices 3 minutes after waking. Their greatest fears are now low wifi, low battery or slow upload! Gen alpha (12 and under) were born the after the iPad was released - will probably never use fax, GPS, credit cards, analogue clocks. 74% of Gen Z cares about global issues with the pandemic highlighting for them, many social issues. There are no limits geographically to opportunities and they have a 'global reach'. Post-school pathways are no longer linear and much more eclectic. Mobility is a given with social and digital literacy. TL:/DR - too long; don't read - is a mantra. Use Tik Tok (especially females), instagram, and YouTube (males) daily and then parents to learn things.
Work is also changing. 1) Manual tasks are being moved (or have already move) to automating/digital. Jobs like blockchain developer, UX manager, cybersecurity expert etc. did not exist until recently. Lifelong learning required by all. 83% of students agree there is a need to engage with further study beyond graduation. VET programmes are shorter and require less economic investment. Micro-credentials proposed as required. 2) Technology has to be more human. Foundational literacies are still important by creativity, collaboration, critical thinking etc. important. But even more important now is self-awareness, adaptability, leadership, curiosity, collaborate. The most valuable skills will be human skills. 3) Fixed to flex. work from home has benefits and flexible working arrangements are now mainstream. 82% of students prefer hybrid working compared to 62% of current workers. This is also in for learning - 72% preferred flexible learning arrangements. Only 14% are looking for traditional. working arrangements. (not sure about this one as many occupations do not have options - nursing, aged care, trades, hospitality etc. etc.). 4) Profit to people. well-being is important, work is not just a job but a lifeline to social interaction, meaningful activity and challenge. People-centric approaches attract better, more committed workers. 5) Generational divide. Gen z currently 17% but by 2032 over 50% will be Gen y and gen z. Boomers are exiting the workforce and there is a need to fill the gap. Generational inclusiveness, valuing wisdom of boomers and intentionally creating inter-generational interaction is important. The 'apprenticeship' model is useful. 6) Security to purpose. not only job security but purpose in work, aligned to workers' core values. Not just endless opportunities but purpose, which drives engagement. More on 'equipping students for work of the future'.
Concurrent sessions begin. I attend the session with Nerida Volker from TAFE NSW and Catherine Maloney, CEO for SARRAH, present on 'services for Australian rural and remote allied health (SARRAH) & TAFE NSW: a collaboration case study in rural allied health and vocational education'. Began with rationale of the project and the objectives of both TAFE NSW and SARRAH. Shared aspirations and responsibilities include the need to provide access to health and skills training services, meet rural services commitments and help people meet their potential and perhaps move to higher education. Defined the allied health professional, their role and responsibilities and diversity (25 health disciplines across healthcare, disability, aged care and mental health care. Allied health assistants support the allied health professionals including therapeutic programmes under delegation and supervision of the health professionals. Over 1 million jobs over the next five years in this sector. Shortage especially challenged in rural contexts. Provided details of the Allied Health Assistants in Cert III and IV. Shared case study to document the collaboration and the impact of the collaboration between SARRAH and TAFE. Explored the system enablers, training access, cross sector relationships and training quality. Closed with plans for next step.
Then, with Professor Steven Hodge from Griffith University and Dr. Lizzie Knight from Victoria University on 'importance of relationships in creating and sustaining integrated VET-higher education qualification pathways' from a NCVER project completed last year. Began with the project background, then challenges of integration, characteristics of sustainable models, key findings and implications. The project examined the arrangements of integrated VET and HE qualifications and flexible entry/exit points in VET and HE to determine if and how these could be implemented more broadly. Challenges included curriculum mapping (but both VET and HE used different vocabularies and had different policies, practices and customs) which was resource-intensive; industry relevance; student acceptance; and relationships between and within institutions. Key findings include the need to ensure the integration makes sense, be complementary and non-competitive; continually work required to maintain relationships; managing the challenges from within the institutions; professional trust is of the essence; and moving from individual to institutional relationships to ensure sustainability of the integration. Timely advise for Te Pūkenga as ITOs and ITPs come together as one.
Featured speakers are next up.
Megan Lily from the Australian Industry group on 'in 2022 Australian business leaders are turning to education and training for the solutions'. Data from annual survey of organisational CEOs. 73% difficulties in finding and retaining skilled labour. CEOs recognised there were no quick fixes and were willing to invest in training. 96% indicated willingness to put resourcing into staff training. What will businesses do in response to skill shortages. All indicated efforts to engage with training in some form. 61% training existing staff, 26% outsourcing and 21% looking overseas. Digital skills was highest need. from basic digital to advanced data security etc. Most taking longer term and strategic planning to invest in new skills and technologies. Building relationships with schools and tertiary institutes one way to help build relationships and promote industry careers. Digital transformation seen to be necessary and has to be resourced and supported. Businesses embracing upskilling and reskilling activities. Timely training is important. Young people need opportunities to attain skills in demand. The traditional learning pathway is no longer fit for purpose. Lifelong learning a must but relevance of training programmes required. Long term planning required to address the ongoing skill shortage challenges. Some solutions include closer collaboration between HE, VET and industry; higher apprenticeships, implementing review of qualifications, and the setting of digital literacy standards.
Silvia Munoz, SkillsIQ on 'the future of skills needs of service-based industries and VET's role in delivering the skills'. Introduced self and SkillsIQ, background on the service-based industries, the National Skills survey, key challenges - workforce challenges, future skills needs and priorities for the VET sector. The service-based industries include health-care and social assistance (1.4 million work force and largest in Australia), retail trade, and tourism and hospitality including accommodation and food services (severely affected by pandemic but forecasted to recover quickly). All have strong employment and presently have significant workforces supply and skills issues.
National Skills survey to find out from industry their recruitment challenges and skill needs into the future. Workforce challenges for each sector detailed. Covid featured strongly followed by recruitment difficulties and skills shortage. Skill needs were sector specific but common themes of resilience, digital literacy, customer service, communication and teamwork. For VET, need to ensure industry engagement, increase in government funding, and clear employment pathways. Qualifications are up to date and meet industry needs is essential to ensure supply of a skilled workforce.
A panel discussion with both the featured speakers followed.
The last presentation of the day is with Michelle Circelli and Zhenyuan Li from NCVER who present on 'journeying through VET: a case study of LLND/employment skills learner pathways. The project looked into 'who is doing foundation skills programmes?' and 'what are their further study and employment outcomes?' 'What does their journey through VET look like?' 'What are the completion patterns of those who undertake foundation skills programmes?' Overviewed the scope and aims of the study and the overall research method and analysis. The participant sample (2016 and followed to final enrolment event) was detailed. 4 categories of learners - foundation only (largest group - almost 1/2), foundation followed by VET, foundation plus VET concurrently (1/4 of learners) and other VET followed by foundation skills. Foundation only and VET followed by VET were older, mostly born overseas with other languages spoken at home and 15% employed. The other concurrent and foundation followed by VET were younger, mostly born in Australia with English primary language at home and 36% employed. Foundation group only tended to stay in this group for several years. Other VET back to foundation programme tended to also stay in foundation skills. Foundation skills followed by VET moved on to other VET only. Concurrent foundation and VET tended to move to the same programme structures or move on into other VET. Other VET followed by Foundation either stayed in foundation or moved to foundation skills. By 2019, 53% completed a programme. 1/3 of foundation only students had completed the programme. Foundation followed by other VET had almost 70% completion of at least one programme. Concurrent group similar. Other VET followed by foundation had just over 60% complete at least one programme. Learning journey complex with multiple enrolments across several years. Foundation plus a VET more likely to complete a programme. Important to consider the many challenges foundation learners face and understanding their motivations also important. Many foundation skills programme learners indicated personal reasons as main reason impeding their progress.
A packed programme but a good range of presentations.
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