1. Erica Smith and Annette Foley, University of Ballarat Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG)

2. Why are universities interested in VET teacher-training? The Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) is the peak association of the deans of faculties and heads of schools of education in Australian universities and other higher education institutions. 15 universities provide teacher-training qualifications for VET practitioners, through Faculties of Education, with a few through Faculties of Business. Approx 2000 students enrolled, all adults and most already VET practitioners. Courses include degrees or associate degrees for those with only VET- sector industry qualifications, and graduate diplomas or masters for those with degrees in industry/discipline areas. All VET teacher-training courses offer pathways from the Cert IV TAA and some offer additional credit for the Diplomas. A working party from 15 universities was formed to respond to the Productivity Commission draft report on the VET workforce. This working party has now become the standing ACDE Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG). See www.acde.edu.au

3. An overview of the history of VET teaching qualifications Hugh Guthrie’s recent history is on the NCVER web site. Full-time TAFE teachers used to undertake a degree or higher education Diploma. In the 1990s the States gradually rolled back their requirements, ending with NSW in 2007; Tasmania is now moving the other way. Some States retain a salary bar for higher education quals. The minimum requirements of the AQTF have introduced a false ceiling as well as a floor. Development of the Cert IV TAA was contaminated/ confused by the parallel development of the AQTF. The new Dip VET offers hope but also potential disappointment.

4. How do university courses engage with the Cert IV TAA? Brennan Kemmis, R. and Smith, E. (2004). Report of workshop: Implementing the Training and Assessment Training Package across the sectors. AVTEC. Melbourne, 22-23 November. (On AVTEC web site) Cert IV is entry requirement prerequisite/ concurrent Joint delivery of Cert IV: RTO & Uni Cert IV qual is part of entry level credit Uni degrees – Grad Dip, Bachelor VET qual Embedded Course based credit – discretionary Subjects credit

5. Why do VET practitioners need a university qualification in VET pedagogy? Benefits for them Provides underpinning knowledge for their practice; skills to critique, interrogate and update practice; evidence-based teaching, based on research; Provides a chance to mix with experts and other teachers/trainers; Provides general educational development to function at an appropriate level when interacting with industry; Provides a foundation for career pathways within VET, in industry and within the tertiary sector; Pathways to higher-level qualifications eg masters and research degrees

6. What are the barriers ? Personal challenges include… Workload constraints Feelings of inadequacy. Cost Time Motivation to undertake any further qualification Pay-off Accessibility Flexible Online Face to face

7. What are the barriers? Institutional cultural expectations Cost Staff expectations Institutional expenditure Time allocation Workload factor

8. Comparability Other sectors (school-teaching, Early Childhood) require and/or encourage degree qualifications; Other countries require degree qualifications eg UK (Qualified Teacher Status ) and Germany (require Masters); The Australian government expects 40% of the population to have degrees; VET educators should certainly be within this 40%

9. The changing VET environment As identified by the PC, VET practitioners need to deal with the following: Deliver a higher volume of training; Respond to unpredictable fluctuations in demand for training in a climate of policy change, economic volatility and shifting international ties; Deliver more training at higher levels of qualification; Deliver more training in foundation-level language, literacy and numeracy skills; Handle a more diverse student population; Engage in more flexible modes of delivery; Develop stronger ties to industry and engage in more employment-based delivery; Adapt to overlapping boundaries with schools and higher education; Undertake a greater volume of recognition of prior learning and recognition of current competency. These issues are all covered in detail in university VET teaching/training qualifications but most are barely addressed in the Cert IV TAA

10. What did we recommend? (Recs 1-5) 1. VET practitioners should be encouraged to undertake VET teaching/training qualifications above the Certificate IV level. Career progression for full-time VET teachers and trainers, and part-time staff where appropriate, should be related to the progressive acquisition of higher-level VET teaching/training qualifications. Relevant industrial agreements should reflect this progression. 2. Establish formal arrangements between IBSA and the relevant universities to provide a pathway from the Certificate IV through Diploma to a university VET teaching/training qualification. ** 3. Universities should collaborate to achieve more consistency among their VET teacher-training courses. ** 4. The delivery of the Certificate IV in TAA should be undertaken by a teacher/trainer holding a Diploma in Training and Assessment or a university VET teaching/training qualification. *** 5. A Diploma in Training and Assessment or a university VET teaching/training qualification should be the minimum qualification for those supervising staff without the Certificate IV TAA.

11. Recs 6-8 6. A minimum of 25% of RTO staff should hold a university qualification in VET teaching/training and this should be considered during AQTF audits (Standard 1). *** 7. RTOs and governments should be aware of the role of university qualifications in VET teaching/training in building leadership capability in RTOs and policy settings, and into academic careers in the discipline. 8. Further targeted research should be carried out into VET teachers and their qualifications. This should include the contribution of VET practitioners' teaching/training qualifications to teaching practice, quality and student satisfaction, and the impact of the nature of the workforce on career progression and take-up of higher teaching qualifications.

12. What is ACDEVEG doing? a mapping of the ‘body of knowledge’ in higher-education VET teacher training programs; the possibility of a standard credit package for the new Diploma of VET; promoting a better understanding of the nature of higher-education VET teacher-training courses; the implications of the strengthened AQF for our courses, particularly with regard to credit offered for Cert IV and vocational qualifications; a textbook on VET teaching and learning discussing with stakeholders the potential for standards against which HE courses in VET teacher-training can be accredited, which can be presented to the sector as a possibility;

13. Why qualifications rather than (or as well as) PD? For staff – qualifications provide transferability among contexts, broader understandings and reflection, personalised assistance that is not scrutinised by the employer, a testamur, a pathway to higher level quals; For organisations – assessment provides confidence that learning is undertaken and retained, broader understandings of the topics, staff with higher levels of education, ‘training’ that is subsidised by the Commonwealth, scrutiny by Academic Boards, a guarantee of quality when someone transfers among VET employers; … in fact just the same arguments VET providers use to employers!

14. What programs does UB offer? Associate Degree in Training & Education: embeds Dip VET Practice, will embed Dip VET from 2013 ( subject to Academic Board approval ) Proposed new Bachelor in Tertiary Teaching and Training: embeds the Associate Degree and Grad Cert in HE teaching, as well discipline subjects; from mid-2013 (subject to Academic Board approval) Each offers credit for Cert IV TAA/TAE, Diplomas, & vocational quals. PhD Masterclass for senior VET managers, commenced 2012 All offered by distance with optional workshops

15. Contact details Professor Erica Smith e.smith@ballarat.edu.au 03-5327 9665e.smith@ballarat.edu.au Dr Annette Foley, Sub-Dean for Education, a.foley@ballarat.edu.au 03-5327 9764 a.foley@ballarat.edu.au Council of Deans of Education www.acde.edu.au