VET News

Orange is the New Black – Who Would Have Thought?

Who would have thought orange would be the popular choice?  For anyone looking to add to their collection of iconic Velg Training satchel bags, that’s exactly what seemed to dominate this year at the VET CEO Conference.  Of course, the satchel bag is not the absolute highlight of the whole day, but it certainly is one of the first thinking points on arrival.  In fact, as it turned out, at my own table of random strangers, we all had chosen orange.  Apparently, it is the new black.  First excellent choice of the day taken care of.  Tick.

Next, time to settle and prepare for the day of learning ahead. 

And what a day it was!  Fantastic presentations by people willing to share their experiences in business; growing a business, building a positive culture, marketing and management perspectives, and of course, compliance of a business within a regulated industry.

Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, the Hon. Karen Andrews spoke about the importance of raising the status of VET, ensuring young people are aware of, and know, the various pathways available to them, and the need to maintain quality within the sector.  

Minister Andrews highlighted the government’s concern – which mirrors industry’s worry – regarding the decline in Australian Apprenticeships (which encompasses apprenticeships and traineeships).  The Skilling Australians Fund will commence 1 July 2018, but is yet to be taken up by any of the States.  

Interesting discussion points were raised about how the VET sector should look and operate so that it can provide the skilled workforce necessary for tomorrow, and comparisons made with other vocational training systems internationally.

Resonating with everyone in the room was the statement that there is a need to change public perception of VET, and to change the perception that VET is a second-choice option when it comes to tertiary education.

Naomi Simson from RedBalloon echoed the sentiment in her keynote when she talked about education giving the opportunity to meet people (one’s ‘tribe’), and the power of a qualification because of the critical thinking and problem-solving skills it instills in the student.

And whilst I have talked about the trending colour for this year’s satchel, fortunately, experience is something that will never go out of fashion.  As Naomi put it: “Customers want to be able to count on us, to believe in us”.  As purveyors of education and training, RTOs are in a prime position to be one of those businesses we need to trust.

Mr Mark Paterson AO from the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) talked about the Regulator’s recent efforts in ensuring our industry is operated by businesses worthy of student and sector trust.  He cited an example of one of the worst cases of risk in VET whereby some RTOs “sell qualifications for no training”.  Fortunately, this type of business is not being granted the opportunity to build on their experiences as a dodgy dealer, with ASQA taking a solid stance against this type of operation. 

By his own admission, this example is an outlier and Mark maintains an “intentionally positive view of the quality of VET providers”, saying any regulatory action taken by ASQA is usually because an RTO has failed to train or failed to assess.  Without doubt, anything to purposefully undermine the reputation of VET is likely the type of practice diametrically opposed to the efforts made by those in attendance, and this was acknowledged by ASQA’s Chief Commissioner and CEO.

The day continued with other great sessions that moved more toward the building, strategy and sustainability of business in the VET sector, and ended with a discussion panel addressing audience-driven topics.

Much of the crowd self-reported as being a returning delegate and am I absolutely positive, that despite being the new black, the high proportion of repeat attendance at this year’s CEO Conference had very little to do with orange satchels. 

Date posted May 24, 2018