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Association for Tertiary Education
Management Queensland Branch
Conference 26 May 2006
VET innovations: some challenges associated with the
development and implementation of the new vocational
graduate certificates & diplomas
Alicia Toohey, Lynda Robertson & Liz Ruinard,
Project Managers, Educational Partnerships Unit, Southbank Institute
Presentation Overview
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Policy surrounding the emergence of Vocational Graduate Certificate
and Vocational Graduate Diploma (VGC and VGD)
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Challenges in writing the curricula
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Pedagogical underpinning to delivery of curricula
Commonwealth and State policies
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At a national level by MCEETYA – need for qualifications at a graduate
level with “outcomes oriented to the specialised needs of industry and
enterprise” www.aqf.edu.au
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100,00 people can’t be wrong - “Each year, more than 100,000 people
with university qualifications enter training.” National Skills Shortage
Strategy, DEST, http://getatrade.gov.au/training.htm
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At a state level - Queensland Skills Plan 2006 – policy reform agenda
for the state’s Vocational and Education Training sector
Characteristics of VGC/Ds
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Support development of high level vocational capabilities in broad and /
or specialised areas of knowledge and skills
www.aqf.edu.au
Curricula written in competency standard format for national
consistency
Strong emphasis on the application of knowledge and demonstration of
skills in a workplace setting, not just the acquisition of theory
May be designed to articulate into higher education programs at
Graduate Certificate or Masters levels
6 months full time and 12 months part-time for the VGC
Formal qualifications not required for entry
Examples of VGC/Ds: Queensland
Qualifications being developed by the public sector
• VGC Architectural Digital Illustration
• VGC Adult Literacy and Numeracy Teaching
• VGC / D Project Management
• VGC / D Sales Management
• VGC / D Entrepreneurship
• VGC / D Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
• VGC / D Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management
• VGC / D Strategic Business
Examples of VGC/Ds: nationwide
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VGC Community Services Management Challenger TAFE, WA
VGC Management (Leadership)
ESSET, Tasmania
VGC Education (Leadership)
ESSET, Tasmania
VGC Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Teaching Institute - Western Autistic School, Vic
Refer: www.ntis.gov.au
Context of curriculum writing
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Project based at SBI with a lead responsibility with the Educational
Partnerships Unit.
Qualifications to be developed across a range of vocational areas
reflecting industry advice and potential market demand, e.g.
VGC in Architectural Digital Illustration
VGC/D in Culinary Arts & Kitchen Management
VGC in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Teaching.
Curriculum to be developed according to specific guidelines for their
structure, form and language.
Accreditation responsibilities rest with the Department of Employment
and Training through the Product Services Unit.
The writing: Model
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EPU project managed the writing through drawing on the skills of
teaching teams in SBI faculties and external consultants.
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EPU set up Curriculum Development Advisory Committees (CDAC)
who ensure that industry needs are met.
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SBI funded by the Department Employment and Training to write
curriculum and then prepare initial resources.
The writing: Challenges
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Identifying the ‘look, content and feel’ of the VGC or VGD. What are
they?
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Needing to ‘educate’ our SBI directors, teams and teachers as well as
CDAC members about what they are and are not.
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Balancing the vocational flavour with the requirements of qualifications
at AQF 8 or 9 – at graduate level.
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Balancing the practical, underpinning knowledge with the academic
rigour and graduate level.
More challenges
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Learning to think and write in competency based format at this level.
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Making sure that the responses and thoughts of the CDAC members
are incorporated in the final documents.
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Conforming to VET guidelines for writing.
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Progressing the process of consultation, development and curriculum
editing in the context of the departmental funding timelines.
The writing: Positives/Challenges
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Expanded horizons for VET programs - “In general it was a pleasant
experience seeing the generation of something new and exciting” (Mike
Gibson).
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Positive and enthusiastic responses from industry and higher education
partners – “It was good to be involved and we found it rewarding”
(CDAC members VGC in Architectural Digital Illustration).
Pedagogy of vocational graduate
products
• Consisting of competencies encoded with Employability Skills
but delivered in a manner that seeks to be as learner-centred
as possible
• Delivered in a mode that aims to facilitate situated learning as
far as possible
• Implemented in a fashion that seeks to privilege the principles of
andragogy
VGC/D Culinary Arts & Kitchen
Management
• Competencies in culinary arts, management, financial
management, innovative marketing, strategic leadership,
entrepreneurship
• To be delivered in lectures, tutorials, practical workshops &
sessions in the kitchen, industry forums, field trips
• To be conducted in tandem with the establishment of industry
mentoring networks
VGC Architectural Digital Illustration &
VGC/D Sales Management
• Training to be delivered using the classroom as simulated
workplaces or as liveworm studios
• Simulation to be supplemented with some connection with a real
enterprise in order to supply some of the human, social and
organisational dimension of transactions with a real world
organisation
VGC/D Applied Biotechnology
• Curriculum being written in conjunction with skills audit being
conducted through teacher consultation with industry
• Networking with industry facilitated through SBI teachers’
participation in Office of Biotechnology and Dept of State
Innovation - Pharmaceutical/Nutraceutical Industry Strategy
Focus group
• Training will be delivered in SBI laboratories, in laboratories in
and on behalf of industry and possibly in concert with
internships in industry for students
Potential impact of vocational graduate
products
• Possibility to reinvigorate suite of products offered in vocational
sector
• Possibility to challenge/blur to a certain extent cross-sectoral
divide
• Possibility for vocational sector to construct a discourse around
higher-level skills and knowledge
• Possibility for vocational sector to develop capacity for practical
research, praxis and innovation
Acknowledgements:
In preparing this presentation/paper we consulted with the following who
contributed their ideas and thoughts:
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SBI teachers and curriculum writers Mike Gibson, Ann Kelly, Jonathan
Edwards, Alison Taafe, Richard Egelstaff, Richard Bowen
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Product Services team, TAFE Qld, especially Peta Day, David Spray
and James Knynenburg