Building VET workforce capability
Facing
a major shortage of skilled tradespeople in industry areas such as
automotive, plumbing, electrical and carpentry, the education challenge for
Australia has become glaringly evident. To ensure more people take up these
vital careers, training providers need to deliver innovative, engaging and
relevant programs that are responsive to industry needs.
UniSA has taken a leading role in winning national research funding of $600,000 to establish professional development practices and models for Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers aimed at building Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) for the future.
The research involves a consortium led by VET research centres in two universities and a TAFE institute. Professor Roger Harris from UniSA’s Centre for Research in Education, Equity and Work is the consortium director, with co-directors Associate Professor Clive Chappell (University of Technology, Sydney) and Berwyn Clayton (Canberra Institute of Technology).
UniSA researchers Dr Michele Simons and Associate Professor Chris Provis are part of the 16 member team of respected Australian VET researchers named in the consortium. Funded by the Australian National Training Authority and managed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, the consortium aims to build the workforce capability and professional standing of the VET workforce.
Prof Harris said that traditional VET workforce development practices no longer satisfied the demands of the contemporary work environment. This led to renewed interest in finding sustainable learning solutions to workforce development that address issues involving skill and knowledge transfer, different organisational structures, financial and time constraints, commercial pressures and the changing nature of work.
“Examining the ways in which VET organisations make decisions about the allocation of resources for workforce development and finding ways to secure and develop a workforce with the capabilities required for their future sustainability, will be an essential part of the research,” Prof Harris said.
The research program will focus on three areas of workforce development that together build organisational capability. They include developing people, cultures and practices. Researchers will work actively with RTO partners and stakeholders to identify, evaluate and implement sustainable, creative and innovative approaches to building a professional VET workforce.
By focusing on these areas, the consortium will contribute to a knowledge base that can underpin ongoing developments in policy and practice, capacity-building models that reflect the variety of real-world constraints and possibilities of RTOs, and an active network of leaders within RTOs around Australia who are engaged in constructing and implementing new and improved practices.
UniSA has conducted VET teacher education since the late 1960s and has a long history of credit arrangements with the VET sector.
“The win recognises our national reputation for VET research and confirms the University’s commitment to collaborative partnerships with industry, in this case the VET sector, including state training authorities and different training providers.”