2022 VET CEO Conference

Dan Aubin is interested in making ideas come alive in ways that create engagement and connection for the greater good. His company Daring Humans helps organisations and individuals develop in the areas of communication, creativity and movement through presentations, workshops, education and coaching.

For the past seven years, Dan was a lecturer at Charles Sturt University in the School of Communication and Creative Industries and worked as the discipline leader of the innovative Theatre/Media program. Dan has a background as an international acrobat, physical theatre performer, director and educator. He developed his foundations at the Olympic Training Centre as a Canadian national gymnast and coach. From 2006-2010 he was the Artistic Director and CEO of the South Australian Circus Centre, home of Cirkidz.

He now shares his passion and innovative pedagogies as a speaker and consultant for universities, companies and communities. His mission is simple: To dare himself, and those he works with, to think differently as we strive towards growth in business, education, art and life.

Jason Blinman is currently the Chief Executive Officer & Founder of The Maven Effect, but more recently, feedback has founded him to be classified as “A Unicorn; a majestic creature to behold both personally and professionally yet amazing to watch in action due to our limited comprehension of its magical abilities”. 

Jason has held Senior, Executive and Board roles in RTO’s, Corporate L&D, Human Resources and Operations arenas. 

Before opening The Maven Effect, Jason held the role of Operations Manager of a prominent club in Sydney Australia. Combining exceptional strategy building techniques with “out of this world” people skills, Jason lead the company to boost its profit growth by $15 million in one financial year. 

Jason is a highly regarded Leader of industry, who brings a wealth of experience to each interaction, working with and learning from some of the World’s most recognised and loved brands such as The Disney Institute and McDonald’s Australia’s RTO. Jason's Vision - "I want to change the hearts of Leaders everywhere".

Paul is an energetic and engaging public speaker and a highly experienced VET professional having held roles such as Quality Manager for a large national RTO. He is passionate about high quality, modern, flexible education and loves to share ideas and connect with others to build a first-class Australian VET sector.

Paul is the founder and Managing Director of Accellier Education, an RTO with over a decade of service to and success in Australia's VET sector including the delivery of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.  Accellier education provides a variety of services to a range of industries, government and defence sectors.

Paul is a self-confessed nerd with a software and digital media background. He loves crafting streamlined, highly automated business systems using tech, freeing his RTO team to do what they do best; serve clients with a delightful course experience.

 Saxon is a seasoned executive who has held senior international business development and management positions in the private sector, as well as senior positions in government and the public sector. Having extensive expertise in areas such as vocational education and training (VET), international education and universities, skills and employment, employment services, and a variety of topics under the attorney-general, immigration and foreign affairs, defence, and trade portfolios.

Her political experience includes serving as Assistant Minister for Technical and Further Education and Chair of the Ministerial Industry Commission, where she was responsible for skills, training, TAFE, apprentices, foreign education, and universities.

Saxon is an inspiring leader who is motivated by a desire to help others and achieve results. She has been focused on the implementation of internal reforms since 2019, making significant progress to improve engagement with training providers to help improve the quality of VET.

Tony Kirton is an instructional designer and facilitator with more than ten years’ experience in learning and development. Senior Designer at resource design consultancy Engage Learning and Development, which contracts to the public and private sector, he develops traditional learning programs as well as e-learning using Articulate Storyline. Tony has extensive experience in the application of learning design theory, having designed many training programs and more than a thousand assessment resources.

Tony’s recent instructional projects include major programs for:

• Deloitte – A major project involving assessment design and review for a leading NSW RTO.
• Hunter Valley Operations (Glencore): Design and development of a six module training program aimed at contract and project management.
• SafeWork NSW – Design and Development of learning and assessment resources for the Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Government (Workplace Inspection).
• Australasia International School - Designing learning tools for Diplomas of Leadership and Management and Project Management, specifically for students with English as a second language.

Known for his engaging and evidence-based approach to workplace learning, Tony also facilitates training with some of Australia’s leading training providers including the NSW Health, SafeWork NSW as well as guest presentations with TAFE Western Australia, TAFE Queensland, Velg Training and many others.

Tony holds a Master of Business and Commerce (sp. Human Resources) as well as several Diplomas in Education Design and Delivery.