Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) - The conversation

Worked through the latest issue of Research Today, the newsletter published by AVETRA - the Australasian Vocational Education and Training Research Association. The majority of the articles in the issue, were also featured on 'The Conversation' at the end of 2018, in a series on 'The future of VET'.

All the articles have a strong Australian contextual slant, but there are many messages within the articles which are common through VET systems internationally and these provide food for thought for all VET researchers.

In NZ, we are about to recieve details on two major policy documents this week. These are on the reform of the VET system in NZ and the ITP roadmap - for restructure of the NZ Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics sector. It will be interesting to see the details and to evaluate how NZ moves forward in comparison to other VET systems.

Back to the articles, brief overviews and links below, as per my perspectives with the NZ VET reviews in mind.

1) E. Smith on 'Teachers and trainers are vital for the quality of the VET sector, and to the success of learners'. Provides an overview of the Australian shifts to lower qualification requirements for VET teachers (Cert IV) and its consequences. A survey conducted from 2015 - 2017 indicates a call for higher qualifications and finds having a 'degree' makes a difference. Caveat being would be the author teaches at at university that provides degree level qualifications for VET.
In the NZ situation, most VET teachers complete a level 5 Diploma but this is not compulsory. There are also post-graduate Diplomas for VET teachers as the NZ ITP sector spans a wider range of learning and offer programmes up to Master level. Some NZ VET teachers, teaching at post-graduate level, will have higher qualifications in their discipline and undertake the post grade VET teaching qualification. Ako Aotearoa, the NZ Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, has been exploring the need for all tertiary educators to complete teaching qualifications or be accreditated as educators through various professional organisations e.g. Higher Education Academy etc.

2) S. Billett on 'We need to change negative views of the jobs VET serves to make it a good post-school option'. Details the 'old chestnut' of poor regard and low standing for VET and the jobs they provide education and training for. This is a very long and ardous approach requiring deep societal change. There are similar challenges in NZ but hopefully the coupling of the reforms suggested for VET in NZ will be better aligned with the review and reform of school outcomes and qualifications. One of the goals being to provide better pathways for learners from school to 'work' via VET / higher education.

3) L. Simon on "VET needs support to rebuild its role in getting disadvantaged groups into educatin and work' is a call to ensue VET provides opportunities for learners from a range of non-traditional and challenged backgrounds. From my perspective, I think NZ has always been cognisant of the challenges and worked at meeting them. The current system puts emphasis on parity of outcomes for Maori, Pacifica and other learners. The Tertiary Education Union (TEU), which represents VET teachers, put out their 'stake in the sand' last week' with call to ensure NZ VET was availed to all and an end to 'competitive funding'.

4) R. Shreeve on 'A national set of priorities for VET would make great social and economic sense'. Provides a overview and rational for the need to support VET and proposes a way forward, given the rapid changes wrought by societies shift into 'the future' of work, education and learning.
Includes a call to review the competency-base approach which in NZ is now tampered by all Level 1 - 6 qualifications being based on 'graduate profile' outcomes.

Overall, timely arrival of these articles which provide good overviews and background of the Australian VET systems, some of which inform the NZ reforms.

Summary - op ed from Gavin Moody on 'what Australia can learn from England's plans for vocational education

Read through Gavin Moody's opinion piece last week on the conversation. Some interesting aspects, with several relevant to the NZ context.

The report Gavin refers to is the proposal  for Degree apprenticeships put up by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. In summary, there will be TWO routes post school - the college based academic and the employment based pathway to 'degree apprenticeships'. The report proposed 15 routes (industry sectors / discipline areas). Other recommendations are to reject 'market qualifications' and competency-based training'. Additionally, public funds should not be allocated to for-profit providers. A levy on employers would fund apprenticeship.

The above draws from two recent reports in the UK. One on post-16 skills published in July this year and the other called the 2012  'Richard's review' - full report available at this link.

There has been much debate and review in the of post-school alternatives by the UK government of late. Mainly, to try to engage their large number of NEETs and to ramp up skills to meet the demands of the post- industrial age. A major challenge has been (and still is) the stratification of the class system and a general attitude of non-academic / non-university qualifications as being inferior.

The Richard's review sets the scene by "redefining apprenticeships, focusing with greater rigour on the outcome of an apprenticeship, and using recognised industry standards to form the basis of every apprenticeship". A goal of 3 million apprentices has been set for 2020. Employers are to feature with the Institute of Apprenticeships set up to regulate apprenticeship quality, encourage better gender, minority participation across all trades, and a UK-wide levy for employers to pay out more than 3 million pound annually.

The post-skills report intention is to have all students move into either an academic or technical option post-16. Students should be able to move between these two routes seamlessly as well.

The technical route is an applied education pathway into skilled employment and may be attained through college-based or employment based (apprenticeship) options. Of note is the recognition of degree equivalency through wither pathway.

15 routes (industry sectors / discipline areas) have been identified. A ‘road map ‘ towards implementation of all the recommendations by 2020 included in the report.

Some learning from the above for NZ. We currently has 'vocational pathways' set up which is steadily gaining momentum. Credits gained at school or through shared 'tertiary college' programmes held in partnership with polytechnics or similar, may be used towards completing the National Certificates in Education at levels 1 - 3 (these are the school-base qualifications). Apprenticeship still has a way to go to gain parity with university qualifications, although the intend of the NZ Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has always been to have qualification levels as stepping stones from level 1 (foundation) to 10 (PhD). However, there is difficulty, especially at the university level, to transfer credits across levels or for credits gained through vocational education into university degrees. There is movement, especially through various 'recognition of prior learning' arrangements - and example being the Centre for Assessment of Prior Learning (CAPL) at Ara. Skills and expertise gained through work are aligned to qualifications offered at ARA, providing a means of qualification attainment without having to commit to an entire programme of study.

Therefore, important to keep up with the play as various countries seek contextualised solutions to meeting the skill and work demands of the future.