1. Enterprising ACE ACE and workforce development in small and
medium enterprises
John McIntyre
ALA Research Fellow
Download report at ALA site
or jamc.com.au

2. ALA’s research brief
How are ACE organisations connecting with SMEs and their workforce skill development needs?
How do ACE organisations perceive this kind of business development in relation to their overall philosophy and strategy.

3. Framework
Context and demographic. How do ACE providers understand the local market for their services? Capability. How have ACE providers developed a capacity to meet the skill development needs of SMEs? Customisation. To what extent are ACE providers customising ‘on-demand’ training for SMEs? Client relationships. How do providers build relationships with SMEs compared to other clients? Commercial intelligence. What sources of information are important in developing capability? ACE as business organisations. How do ACE organisations see themselves as small businesses and as social enterprises? How does this influence their work with SMEs?

4. Research issues
What drives ACE organisations to innovate, create new services and reach new clients?
What are policy and funding pressures are causing ACE organisations to diversify and innovate?
Where is the VET agenda taking ACE? Is this bad or good for organisations? Is it limiting or expanding their social and economic contribution?
Now workforce development is the new focus for the VET system, how is ACE positioned to assist with this in SMEs?
Why is working with small business the untold ACE story—a hidden contribution?

5. A hidden contribution?
Perception of ACE: bridging and pathway development is uppermost—Bowman identifies five other functions including ‘work skills development’
Sector advocacy emphasises personal and social benefits such as community building, rather than economic outcomes e.g. Allen Consulting 2008
National policy gives no priority to a small business development role for ACE e.g. in the Ministerial Declaration and the ‘VET Roadmap’)

6. ACE Outcomes (Clemans et al)

7. Six case studies
Aimed to select cases from different States, look for lesser known organisations working with SMEs.
Camden Haven Adult and Community Education (NSW)
Griffith Adult Learning Association (NSW)
Tamworth Community College (NSW)
Southern Grampians Adult Education (Victoria)
Meadow Heights Learning Shop (Victoria)
Caboolture Adult Literacy Group (Queensland)

8. Tamworth Community College (NSW)

9. Griffith Adult Learning Association (NSW)

10. Camden Haven Community College (NSW)

11. Camden Haven Community College (NSW)

12. Meadow Heights Learning Shop Inc (Vic)

13. Factors in success
A high strategic priority to engage with local business through strong networks and linkages
Build quality reputation through rigour and participant-centred systems
Focus on sustainability achieved by diversified funding sources and good business systems
Focus on capacity-building to reach new clients through partnership and networked delivery models.
Engage in adaptive business development to take ‘niche market’ opportunities opened up by a maturing training system — ‘strategic adaptation’

14. Conscious capacity-building
Quality: building credibility as a provider of first resort
Client focus: Delivering training that is client-focused in every respect in (content, venue, mode, cost-effectiveness and quality)
Embedding and promoting the organisation in local business networks
Retaining quality staff who can assure the quality of design, delivery and assessment of training
Making the adult learning experience central in developing educational services

15. Strategic adaptation
Sustainability. The business imperative to diversify, develop as a quality provider of educational services. Community needs. There is a broad view taken of education and training needs of the community Strategic innovation. The capacity to deliver is carefully developed so that the organisation does not overreach itself. Partnership and collaboration. Embedding the organisation through strategic networking, building capability through partnerships and consortia

16. Implications: Ministerial Declaration
Strategically position ACE to deliver vocationally focused courses
Remove policy and other obstacles to ACE fulfilling its vocational role
Develop pathways and bridging through partnership and auspicing
Optimise capacity to deliver ….
Promote best practice among ACE providers, share resources and examine flexible learning options
Extend participation …
Increase participation by socially excluded groups
Strengthen the delivery of services—career, employment and skills assessment.
Demonstrate quality …
Leverage the research base to improve policy and practice eg. barriers to access, issues in service delivery

17. Recommendations
Further research investigate organisational innovation in enterprising ACE organisations, its extent and character
Further analysis of the factors that build capability in ACE organisations, especially those associated with qualities of adaptivity and enterprise
Greater advocacy ACE’s role in local workforce skills development and its contribution to economic outcomes

18. Data footnote—ACE in VET
New provider level data clearly shows ACE’s role in national publicly funded VET
23 large ACE organisations in the largest 200 providers
the ‘top fifty’ ACE providers include innovative orgs
TAFE Institutes dominate (66 organisations deliver 80% of all hours)—then a very ‘long tail’ of all other RTOs operating in niche markets
ACE is favoured by the emphasis on adult learning in the new ‘workforce development’ agenda
Skills for Prosperity (VET roadmap) recommends inclusion of ACE in national funding agreements

19. ACE in VET perspective 79% of total hours 11% of total hours

20. Source:NCVER, Australian VET Provider Collection 2010, Students and courses publicly funded training providers

21. Further information