VET DIPLOMAS NEED TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE
A new report by Sue Foster and colleagues published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) examines the value placed on vocational education and training (VET) diplomas by industry.
It finds the value of these qualifications differs across industry sectors.
‘The challenge for the VET sector is to make its diploma graduates more competitive. We know that many graduates with a VET diploma are employed in jobs not on par with their qualification level,’ says Dr Tom Karmel, Managing Director, NCVER.
‘Entry-level job applicants with these qualifications are competing against workers who have a university degree or high-level technical competence obtained over many years of experience.’
In industries that are highly regulated, such as nursing and in the disability services, employers have clear expectations that employees will hold certain VET qualifications.
Other employers, on the other hand, focus on a range of attributes.
For example, in the engineering and electronics/electrotechnology industries, employers value relevant qualifications and workplace experience. Typically, employers prefer university graduates or higher-level skills gained from a trade background and augmented by workplace experience.
In the creative industries, such as multi-media design, experience and talent are preferred over qualifications. Where qualifications are required, the majority of employers preferred higher education graduates over VET graduates.
To improve the competitiveness of VET diplomas, the authors recommend these qualifications emphasise generic skills, such as the ability to deal with change and solve problems, and incorporate substantial work placement/experience opportunities.

This newsletter highlights the latest curriculum related teaching resources, student activities and statistical tools that have been developed by ABS Education Services as well as other ABS resources that are useful for schools.

Contents

Census 2006 - Community Profiles
Election Special
Australian Social Trends, 2007
An Idea for the Classroom
Conference Participation
CensusAtSchool 2008
Recently Released Publications

New NCVER Publication: Vocational education and training for adult prisoners and offenders in Australia: Research readings

Learning leadership
Learning Leadership

December 5, 2007 - 4:00PM

Sally Helgesen reported on the Richard Strozzi-Heckler approach leadership development.

Strozzi Heckler built upon has built his knowledge and experience in the martial arts to inform his approach to leadership develpment.  His approaches are reminiscent of the fusion of eastern and western approaches populrly espoused through the "Thick face Black heart" theories of a few years ago.

It is also interesting to see the resurfacing of the Sun Tzu "Art of War" fundamentals which appear to appreciate the nature of leadership and strategic planning arising from a militaristic paradigm.

 http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/aiming-to-be-first-class/2007/12/05/1196812824526.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey results released - ABS -    28 Nov 07

 The ABS released the analysis of the 2006Adult literacy and life skills survey.  This survey is designed to identify and measure literacy which can be linked to the social and economic characteristics of people both across and within countries. The ALLS in Australia was jointly funded by the Department of Education, Science and Technology (DEST), the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ALLS measured the literacy of a sample of people aged 15 to 74 years.

The survey focuses on four domains: prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem solving.

Given the greater focus on generic skills within the VET sector planning, the results and findings of this survey will be of interest to VET professionals.

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4228.0?OpenDocument

NCVER recently released a new online dynamic resource, the 'Atlas of Australian public VET', which may be of interest to VISTA members.
 
This new resource provides student and course data across all regions in Australia at three levels--national, state/territory and by statistical division--and enables users to compare their region with others.
 
The data is presented in a selection of maps and tables at the national and state/territory levels, and in tables for the statistical divisions. This information is mostly taken from data sourced from NCVER's Students and courses, and Apprentices and trainees statistical collections. As further information becomes available, the resource will be updated.
 
More information, including how to navigate this resource, is available from the Resources tab on NCVER's website www.ncver.edu.au

VISTA Conference 2008 “Skills Warming: Storm clouds or clear skies?”