Venuto, Sara - South Regional TAFE (SRTAFE)

Related consultation
Submissions - Skills Reform: Improving industry engagement and reforming qualifications in Vocational Education and Training discussion paper
Submission received

Does the role of industry need to be strengthened or expanded across the VET system? Why/why not?

  • What does industry engagement mean to you?
  • How can industry be encouraged to connect with and use the VET system? What does this look like?
  • Are there any roles for industry in the VET system that are not covered or outlined in the case for change?

Response:

1) Industry engagement is:
- ensuring training product currency
- maintaining trainer/assessor currency
- providing current training/assessment
- utilising current resources and equipment
- maintaining meaningful networks
- keeping it real
2) Maintaining strong, ongoing, consistent relations between VET and industry; making industry more aware of VET's role, training product delivery, learner involvement and outcomes; creating and persevering in 'joint ventures' (industry and VET)
3) Guest speakers, participation in industry engagement meetings and other events, mutual visits, input into training design, working strategically together

Are you aware of the current industry-leadership arrangements led by the Australian Industry and Skills Commission?

Response:

Yes

How effective are the current industry engagement arrangements in VET in meeting your needs?

  • What works well and what could be improved? How could it be improved?
  • How well are you (or your organisation) represented by these arrangements?
  • How well do current arrangements allow collaboration across industry sectors on common workforce and skills needs?

Response:

1) Works well: Training Manager and Lecturer consultation with industry during the design stage (new training product); ongoing industry consultation on behalf of certain delivery areas (seems to depend at least in part on conscious effort and genuine value attributed to the process and its designated outcome); industry/VET rapport when a positive relationship is established; trainer/assessors maintaining currency through part-time work in industry; 
Could be improved: overall lecturer currency; more engagement needed in certain areas of delivery
How: encourage part-time work arrangements; encourage time to carry out industry consultation; raise awareness of the value of this activity (PD); provide examples; monitor and coach staff in this direction
2) There is little time available overall; however, there is a lot of PD and opportunities to maintain currency even online now - for certain areas this is not possible though (online wouldn't work)
3) Cross-sector collaboration seems to occur but the statistics on the outcomes are still unclear (to me); ideally it would certainly contribute to stronger, broader and more practically applicable outcomes

What can be done to drive greater collaboration across industries to broaden career pathways for VET graduates and maximise the workforce available to employers?

  • How can workers be equipped with skills that can be applied across different jobs?
  • How can industry support this through the VET system?
  • How can we break down silos and improve collaboration across industry groups?

Response:

1) Better communication and collaboration across courses, delivery areas, industry areas, etc.; skill-sets can value add to courses; learner awareness of pathway availability; lecturer/student mentoring rapport; industry involvement to ensure learner and lectures are aware of the diverse opportunities available; bring industry in regularly; take the students to industry (visits, etc.)
2) Better understanding of the big picture; more frequent conferencing, meetings, networking, etc.; awareness of how the VET sector and its courses can interact with multiple industry areas and even help bring them together

Are qualifications fit-for-purpose in meeting the needs of industry and learners now and into the future? Why/why not?

  • Are the different needs of industry and learners effectively considered in designing qualifications in the current system? What works well and why?
  • Are there issues or challenges with the way qualifications are currently designed? What are they and what could be done to address these?

Response:

1) Not always. Not necessarily. It works well when the cohort is given due consideration during the design stage; there is an overall tendency to put industry consideration in the limelight and for the cohort to be a subsequent consideration.
2) Industry experts often tend to comment that the units do not appear to have been written by an industry expert; perhaps a heavier industry involvement in writing the qualifications/units is required?

Are there any further issues in relation to improving industry engagement in the VET sector that you would like to provide feedback on?

Response:

Collaboration, networking and constructive communication/work between industry and VET needs to encouraged and nurtured as it is pivotal to currency in terms of product, process and outcomes. With the learner and the real world in mind, we need to ensure that those entering the workforce are adequately skilled and prepared. The optimal means for this to occur is industry and VET working together constantly, efficiently and meaningfully.