Australian Government report - Our Gen AI transition: implications for work and skills

 Job Skills Australia have published a report on the implications of Gen AI on work and skills. 

The report collates data on the adoption of Gen AI across industries. Importantly, it recommends several important ways forward for the country, including the need to ensure that tertiary educators are provided with professional development to integrate Gen AI into their curriculum as they are the vanguard for the preparation of the workforce to work ethically and critically with Gen AI. 

There is no comprehensive Aotearoa equivalent although the government has set up some of its intentions in a ministerial document from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise.

Of note that New Zealand performs poorly on AI-preparedness indices relative to small economy comparators and is the only OECD country without an AI Strategy, negatively impacting global perceptions of New Zealand as a location for digital innovation and AI investment;

An opinion piece from RNZ indicates that perhaps New Zealand's advantage lies not in chasing abstract, easily automated work, but in deepening its strengths in sectors AI cannot yet touch - food production, care and infrastructure.

All in, AI and the implications on work and in turn skills development and vocational education curriculum, requires careful consideration. However, there is a need for some urgency, given how quickly the technology is developing, to ensure all citizens are prepared for and able to work critically with AI, in whatever form its evolves to. Without doing so, we are ill-equipped to push back, when AI is imposed on occupations, whereby the management may only think about the bottom line. 

Ako Aotearoa Southern forum

 Presenting and participating in the Ako Aotearoa Southern Forum today, held at the University of Canterbury Student Union building.

The mihi whakatau brings delegates into the meeting space.

A welcome is then presented by Tai Samaeli, ACE Aotearoa who MCs the event.

Then an official welcome is from Cheryl de Rey Tumu Whakarae Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury. Connected the theme of the forum - cultivating thought leadership and excellence in teaching - with the founding premises of the University of Canterbury. To provision education for the region and nation. Education has the influence and power to transform, individuals, whanua, communities and societies. Challenged the need for the many changes being imposed on the current education system. However, change is a fundamental part of education. Especially if changes improve access, and contribute to the greater good of society. Reflected on current developments and reminded us that change and difficulties have always been part of human history. Now, education is much more accessible at all levels. It might feel that the world is in turmoil but this uncertainiy has always existed. Universities are part of the fabric of change. Shared the three Rs of education. Resilience, responsiveness and relevance as being fundamental to higher education. Business as usual no longer sufficient as change accelerates, Change can be a source of optimism and hope. Graduates, to be usefully contributing need to understand the context, to have critical thinking and to be able to communicate complex concepts. 

The first keynote is from Dr. Eruera Prendergast-Tarena, Kaiwhakatere, Tokona Te Raki on 'Beyond 2040'. Following on from Professor Del Rey's presentation, Erurera recommended the need to think like a tūpuna - in a time of great uncertainty to remember the future and re-engaging with hope and possibility. Shared the story of his Ngai Tahu ancestor who survived the Kaiapo massacre, and instituted land claims even in times of great deprivation and disadvantage. It was seven generations later, before the claim came into fruition. Introduced Tokona Te Raki as a social innovation lab to address the complex social problems we are being challenged. At present, many focus on the present, but it is important to look into the future. Introduced the Aotearoa futures barometer - 60% see no other country but concerned about the future and where the country is heading. In developed countries, many (30% thereabouts) feel that their children will have a better life (opposite in the global South). Top concerns in NZ include lost of trust in government and religious institions but education and NGOs still high (60% upwards). Polarisation is seem to be driven by rise of social media. Amongst youth (73%) and Māori see Te Tiriti as important. Shared a 2022 report from Treasury that delivered the warning that the next generation may not be better off than the current generation, Three forces converging in 2040 - climate reality, demographic shifts (older population, strain of superannuation, 40% of labour market entrants will ne Māori, Pasifika or Asian), and technology (elimination of entire categories of work, transform education, employment, human purpose etc. ). Recommended 2019 book on NZ and the future of work. Summarised the implications for education. The old playbook will not work - systems are inherently human and we need to work out a way forward. We need collaboration, partnership, investment and imagination. 

2040 selected as it is the bicentenary of Te Tiriti. It may provide an opportunity to open a window for transformation - for example, communities came together post-quake in Christchurch - and the city has been shifted from being more English than England, to being a city in Aotearoa. The future will that wait, will we be ready?  Shared imaging Aotearoa 2040 - to make a better country for our mokopuna- from control/fragmented to stewardship. Everyone needs to pitch in - young people and Pacifica workers reaching their potential, skilled migrants welcomed and supported, the diapora given reasons to return, knowledge transfer across cultures and generations, and everyone contributing to shared prosperity. Education remains trusted and is a vehicle to contribute towards the transformation. Therefore, to shift to shared futures from rear to hope, division to unity, isolation to cohesion, short term thinking to long term, reactive to proactive, superficial to transformative, and hyper individulism to collective responsibility. Challenged the audience as education leaders to model partnerships in our instituions, prepare tauira for collaborative futures, create spaces for difficult conversations, and champion long-term thinking. Staring with Te Tiriti as our guide, building our shared story, bridging differences and embedding inter- generational stewardship. We have the opportunity to weave the future together. 

After morning tea, I provide an update and details of the 'using Gen AI to support foundation/bridging ākonga' (full report now published), funded by Ako Aotearoa. I summarised the rationale for the project, the project team, the caveats (AI is not benign and must be used carefully so that it does not replace learning but supports learning), findings, recommendations and future projects. 

A discussion session on 'sector collaboration in tertiary education' followed. We discussed collaboration across our organisations and what teaching excellence is.

Then Tākuta Phil Borrell, (University of Canterbury) who was awarded the 2004 Te Whatu Kairangi Kaupapap Māori Award, speaks on Ngākau pono - the importance of authencity in teaching practice. From all the previous speakers, critical thinking was a common theme. Through narratives, went through his main themes informing the importance of being an authentic educator. Good teachers inspire and model possibilities. Importance of bringing practice and theory, usually by bringing experiences into teaching. Allowing your ākonga to know more about you help them empathise and find connections. Used Claire Good's keys to teaching excellence to provide characteristics. Extended and presented examples of being an authentic teacher. We should have fun in teaching using humour and honesty. Share stories and use it as a pedagogical tool. Teachers need to want their ākonga to succeed. 

After lunch, Graeme Smith presents his mahi/work on 'designing intelligence: building tools for the education we need next'. Drew on the presentations in the morning. Partnerships, change, long term thinking, fun, narrative warfare, value/s, possibilities, making better long term decisions, weaving, transformation, systems, humaness ---. Shared experiences building customised AI agents. Encouraged those who are AI-reluctant to use tools that are designed to achieve specific purposes. What needs to be done to build the AI infrastructure - we need to be involved in designing, otherwise it will be done to us. Emerging patterns include braided funding partnerships, values-led, and memory organisations. We need to stop managing delivery and start designing intelligence. Our role is not to preserve the system but to evolve it. Need to build - by adopting and adapting existing tools, think in braided partnerships and imbue values. 

A panel discussion follows with Tai Samaeli chairing and panel members including Josie Ogden Schroeder - CEO of the Kind Foundation, Dr. Cheryl Doig - Kai Ttiro Wāheke / futurist, Dr.Mahmah Timoteo - Māona Vā, and Sandra Fernandes Videira Gordon - Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. 

Introductions follow the panel discussing a few questions.

First question is around how we prepare learners for the future, for jobs and technology that do not now exist. Agility in thinking, doing. Prediction is linear but anticipation envisages many scenarios, some may be implausible, but there is a need to think through these. Creativity, curiosity, communication and critical thinking (4 Cs centre to access digital resources for those who do not have the opportunities). Help learners to build community. Questions then opened up. Where is the future for kids who now face disadvantage. We educators are the ones who need to take up the baton. It only takes one carer to bring a change. Relationships between teachers and students are important. Connection to community also effective. 

A celebration of Ako Aotearoa is led by Jennifer Leahy summarised the many endeavours and initiatives undertaken since 2007, when Ako Aotearoa was set up. The Southern Region has been productive across all spheres :) support the many sectors and objectives of tertiary education 

Followed by the close of the forum. 

ChatGPT - study mode, Google guided learning, Claude learning mode and University of Sydney Cogniti - are they similar or different?

 There has been a flurry of activity in the Gen Au space of relevance to teaching and learning. First up was the launch of ChatGPT5.0 which allows for the use of it in 'study mode', This allowsa for a shift in the emphasis of using Gen AI to 'provide answers' towards using it as a 'study coach'. 

A few days later, Google also joined the move with its 'guided learning' in Gemini. 

Whilst, Claude has provided a learning mode for some months.

The above join University of Sydney's Cogniti as possibilities for teachers and learners to move towards personalised learning environments. There is also a recent start up - Wild Zebra - which provisions personalised tutors to students. 

However, as with all the 'vanilla' Gen AIs, each has things it does well and things it will struggle with. 

For example, here is a comparison of ChatGPT's study mode with Claude learning mode by Toms Guide. 

Using chatgpt to compare university of sydney cogniti with chatgpt study mode yields some differences.

Key Differences Summarized:

Feature	Cogniti	ChatGPT Study Mode
Focus	Educational context, feedback, integration	General problem-solving and learning
Integration	Canvas and other learning platforms	General use
Accessibility	Equitably available to all students	Requires access to ChatGPT
Feedback	Personalized and standardized	Interactive and conversational
Tracking	Tracks student-AI interaction	Does not specifically track
Bias	Potential for bias from training data	Potential for bias from training data

Therefore, each tool has pluses and minuses and as per all of our recent studies into  integration of Gen AI into VET, Gen AI tools need to be carefully selected, and learning planned and structured. 

A caveat with using Gen AI systems as 'tutors' is provided in a recent article by Flenady and Sparrow (2025). Their warning points to the often disregarded conceptualisation of Gen AI - in that it is NOT intelligent but build on algorithms for pattern recognition. They argue that Gen AI systems are 'epistemically irresponsible'. It is therefore important to always take heed of this warning and to ensure that all users have this at the topmost of their minds whenever they use Gen AI.

AI in Oral assessment - Food and Fibre CoVE project presentation

 Attended part of a presentation organised through Scarlatti to present the work funded by the Food and Fibre CoVE. It is one of a range of projects on artificial intelligence.

The presentation shares work undertaken to use AI for oral assessments.A report is available, summarising the pilot and findings. 

The presentation showcases the AI agent for learner oral assessment and shares perspectives from users as to the AI agent's efficacy. 

Began with sharing of a 'case study' comparing conventional (paper-based requiring travelling to an assessment centre) to the piloted (mobile, oral, AI supported). Then a couple of warm up sessions followed by short overview of F & F CoVE. They have completed 109 projects over the past 5 years!! Also introduced Scarlatti, and the research team from Fruition, F & F Cove and the WDC. 

Then the sharing of using AI agents in Oceania followed by the demonstration of the AI agent.

AI agent oral assessments came about as written assessments were a barrier for many learners and an Ai agent needed to be tested. 

Began with sharing the AI in Education  articles - which was the way to find out what was being done. AI agents being used more by universities in Australia. Most agents created using Cogniti or custom GPTs. Most were in a text-based mode. Not as much use in vocation education or in NZ and most were focused on learning rather than assessments. 

Showcased the AI agent (VEVA) with proviso that it is still a prototype :) tested in a dairy training context. The agent does provide the answer if the assessee indicates they are unsure or unable to answer the question. Using this for formative assessment would be more pertinent. It works well if correct answers are provided but does fall over if the candidate is unprepared!

Transcripts are archived and can be used to grade the conversation. With the small number of candidates (14 + 11) the moderation of the grading, showed accuracy. 

Important finding included that an off the shelf product would not work. This was because a controlled conversation was required, precise outputs was also required, and funding/payment needed to keep the agent. 

Therefore, two agents were used. The 'examiner agent ran using Open AI Real time Voice API) and the Assessor ran on GPT 4o text mode.

A demonstration (akin to our own experiences with Ako AI) in that responses from AI can sometimes be difficult to predict. The controlled conversation was primed with standardised questions. Prompting content included course materials, assessment rubric and example answers which had been graded.  RAG (retrieval augmented generation) was used to search course information as there is too much course information to put in. Ethical guard rails were included. 

Will update these notes after I have had time to catch up with the recording!

The pilot findings and Q & A follow but I have to leave to go to another meeting. 

Supporting the digital transformation of Vocational Education and Training - JRC (European Commission) publication

The European Commission has published 'Supporting the digital transformation of Vocational Education and Training' report. 

It is one of several prepared by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to provide an evidence-base to inform policy and practice across many aspects of education and industry.

The report begins with an introduction which provides context, rationale and brief overview of the two main chapters.

Two chapters follow to provide an overview of digital transformation of the VET sector. 

The first chapter is on 'enabling the digital transformation of the VET sector. The enablers include" career education and guidance; development and use of information systems; ecological approaches and collaborations; flexible accreditation processes; holistic development of learners' skills; inclusion and sustainable human development; pedagogical and transformative potential of digital technologies; and teacher training for changing roles.

The second chapter summarises 'emerging trends and technologies in VET'. It brings together a synthesis of secondary grey literature, VET Erasmus+ projects and Centre of Vocational Excellence initiatives, and consultation with experts. The report stressed the importance of VET when compared to other educational sectors, due to its close alignment with industry. Emerging technologies included AI, AR, VR and blockchain-based digital technologies. 

A section provides case studies (Austria, Spain, The Netherlands and Albania) and the report concludes with an short overview on the impact and implications of AI on VET. 

A good overview of ongoing work undertaken across the EU to ensure VET is kept proactive with regards to digital technologies.