MSA would like to congratulate Jeanette Allen, CEO Service Skills ISC, winner of the inaugural Leadership in Quality Award and TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute, winner of the Skills for Sustainability-Educational Institution Award. Congratulations also go out to finalists, Lewis Vaughan –TAFE SA Adelaide North Institute (Laboratory Operations), Steve McMahon-Canberra Institute of Technology (Metal Fabrication & Welding), Jonte Pike-Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology (WA), Nigel Vogler-Certificate IV in Applied Fashion Design and Technology (Qld) and Calvin Buckle-Certificate III in Engineering (Electrical/WA) from the Australian Training Awards held in Brisbane on Friday 25th November 2011.

The Australian Training Awards are the national awards for the vocational education and training (VET) sector. These awards recognise and reward organisations and individuals for their contribution towards a skilled Australia.

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Effective learning pathways provide people with the skills and knowledge needed to gain employment and manage their careers . The Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector has been set ambitious targets to increase the number of working aged Australians who have a formal qualification. 

The second round of funding is for the Higher Qualification Pathways Project which offers opportunities, through targeted funding, to develop e-learning approaches to support learner pathway programs which lead to higher level qualifications and/or improved employment outcomes. The funding will provide support for learners to gain higher level VET qualifications, recognition for higher skill sets and/or entry into higher education and enable workforce development initiatives for individuals seeking to upgrade their skills. 

The Higher Qualification Pathways Projects seeks expressions of interest for funding of up to $30,000 to develop innovative technology-based delivery/support models which allow individuals to gain higher VET qualifications, skills sets and/or entry into higher education. 
Delivery or support models may include:

• the co-delivery of Diploma level qualifications and/or above which involve both VET and Higher Education (HE) learners

• to support learners transition from VET to HE through articulation or credit transfer pathways

• for supporting recognition of prior learning (RPL) at a Diploma level and higher VET qualification(s) or skills sets

• for enabling workforce development programs at Diploma level and higher VET qualification(s) or skills sets

• to help disadvantaged/non-traditional learners or learners with a disability progress to a Diploma level or higher VET qualification(s) and/or skills sets which support learners with a Certificate IV to progress towards a Diploma level or higher VET qualification(s) or skills set(s)

The National VET E-learning Strategy (which replaces the Australian Flexible Learning Framework) will seek co-investment to promote the growth in broadband-based training; support the adoption of industry-wide e-learning programs; develop e-literacy; and improve access to training.

Interest in the initial round of funding opportunities for the National VET E-learning Strategy for the first six months of 2012 has been high. 

Information about the Higher Qualifications Pathways Project can be found at www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/NVELS-funding-opportunities-jan-jun+2012.

The E-standards for Training website has been redesigned and now features improved navigation, simpler categorisation of material, and a fresh and clean site layout.

The new website makes it simple for users to understand that the project is concerned with undertaking research on and creating e-standards, and providing any necessary implementation support.

The project’s outputs can now be found in one of 3 new menus;

•  a research menu that contains all reports and background information gathered in e-standards’ research projects
• a technology standards menu that contains all of the ratified vocational education and training e-standards
• an implementation menu that contains user guides and tools for implementing e-standards.

To visit the new site and for more information: e-standards.flexiblelearning.net.au

In June 2011 it was announced that Training Packages @ Work (TP@Work) was to publish its last newsletter, however due to the overwhelming support of VET bodies, government departments, industry skills councils, state and territory training authorities and other supporters, TP@Work has received funding to continue until July 2012.…read more

The Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment (MCTEE) agreed to dissolve the NQC from 30 June 2011 and establish the National Skills Standards Council (NSSC) from 1 July 2011.

NSSC will undertake many of the functions carried out by the NQC, including the development and maintenance of the national standards for the regulation of vocational education and training (VET) and the endorsement of Training Packages. The NSSC comprises nine expert members and three ex-officio members. Membership has been drawn from academia, industry, the VET sector and government, with members appointed based on their own expertise. Appointments to the NSSC have been made by the Australian Government Minister with responsibility for vocational education and training, in close consultation with State/Territory Ministers.

The NSSC will be supported by the National Advisory for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (NATESE), which has been established to provide the new secretariat structure to MCTEE and many of its advisory councils. Further information regarding the NSSC and NATESE can be found on the NATESE website.

Click here for more information

  The Training and Education Training Package (TAE10) version 2.0 has now been released and is available for download from the Training.gov.au (TGA) website here. This is a major milestone in the development of the Training Package and represents a significant achievement in the development of a full service offering for the VET professional workforce.

The Training Package in summary

TAE10 now offers VET professionals a wide variety of options and in particular a Diploma of Vocational Education and Training that has been widely tested and agreed as being fit-for-purpose to support advanced practice in VET – a qualification that IBSA will be promoting as representing the preferred qualification to be held, as a minimum, for all experienced VET professionals. Read the full overview of the TAE10 Training package and what it offers you here.

To view the report, visit www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2381.html

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The AUSTAFE 2011 Conference will be held at the Novotel Canberra from 12-14 October 2011

Themed ’20-20 Vision’, the conference will explore what the future holds for the vocational education and training (VET) and tertiary sectors in Australia. A range of national speakers will address the impact of future changes.

The conference also provides an opportunity for delegates from throughout Australia to come together to network, and consider the new and innovative products and services showcased by the sponsors. For more information, or to be added to a mailing list, contact the Conference Secretariat on austafe@conferenceaction.com.au or visit www.austafe.edu.au

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Australia’s independent skills and workforce advisory body, Skills Australia has released a report which recommends a sweeping overhaul of the country’s vocational education and training system

Key recommendations include: 

• Full public subsidy for those undertaking vocational courses up to and including certificate III, and all foundation skills courses. For certificate IV and above, a partial public subsidy, with co-funding between individuals and governments, supported through an income contingent loan.
• Extension of Student Start-Up Scholarships to VET students on Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy.
• The creation of an industry-led Enterprise Skills Investment Fund that would consolidate a number of existing funding streams and be available to enterprises on a shared cost basis for skills and workforce development.
• Better targeting and prioritisation of financial incentives for employers, apprentices and trainees so funds are linked to sustainable careers, or equity or priority economic objectives, and linked to workforce development outcomes.
• A workforce development program to lift the professionalism and skills of the VET workforce.
• Improved transparency and availability of user-friendly information on the critical performance measures of registered training organisations, and publication on the MySkills website.
• A shift from input-based to output and outcomes-based funding of training providers, including a funding model which rewards course completions in nationally recognised qualifications.
• Additional funding to support the learning needs of disadvantaged students and for language literacy and numeracy programs.
• Regulation of apprenticeships and traineeships at the national level, and the establishment of a high level apprenticeship advisory body to provide independent leadership and expertise.

.…read more