Using `big data’ to Understand, Find, and Attract your Ideal Student

You have probably seen a lot of news stories lately about how our phones are listening to us and our social media apps are tracking what we do. This is the tiny tip of the big data iceberg. However, there is a positive side for RTOs. It is now easier than it ever was to analyse the demographic and psychographic profile of your ideal student, and then identify a target audience of more people `just like them’.

By using the intersection of technology and psychology to determine your target audience you can stop `broadcasting’ (putting your content in front of everyone e.g. on TV or radio which can be expensive) and start `narrow-casting’ (placing it just in front of the target audience).

All of the tools you need to do this are either free or very cost-effective! In this session, Melanie will show you some case study examples of how RTOs have applied this science, and show you step by step how to do this in your own RTO. She will also answer questions, offer solutions, and hear ideas from delegates on what they’ve tried in the past which you can then adapt, adopt or apply in your RTO.

This session was identified by the presenter as being a Deep Dive (pitched for those who have 5-10 years experience but still want validation of their knowledge/understanding)

Future Proofing Your RTO!

There is at least one certainty in business, especially RTOs, and that’s change.

Society and our industry are constantly evolving so if we (our RTOs) don’t keep up, we will quickly fall behind, making our RTO’s systems, processes, products and services old and out of touch.

 With the challenges of 2020 already making an impact on the VET sector, as well as the ever-evolving regulatory framework heavily influencing our day to day operations, it is now more critical than ever to consider the evolution of our business. While this may seem daunting, ignoring the issues will not make them go away.

 How do we ensure that we stay current with the needs of industry and our students while balancing compliance requirements? How do we evolve our processes to introduce things like autonomy into our business? How do we stay ahead by working smarter and not harder? And how do we protect our business and investment?

 Learn how to grow and future proof your RTO in 2020 and beyond by exploring the use of basic business principles, integrating them with a systematic approach to compliance and operations and utilising freely available programs and apps to assist.

This session will look at strategies, processes and techniques you can take back and apply within your RTO to help embed compliance, product development, and good business practices into your RTO.  It has been pitched by the presenter a being relevant to those who have RTO compliance experience but who might be looking for validation of their knowledge and some new ideas or ways of thinking when it comes to looking beyond 2020.

Literacy Tech Tools and Student Wellbeing: They go hand in hand

This session has been designed to specifically assist participants to explore practical strategies using digital tools to ensure that all students and trainees, regardless of the barriers that currently exist for them around the literacy demands of vocational education, are actively engaged in their own learning.  It is designed to help practitioners ensure that students and trainees are not reliant on institutional support, but actively personalising and owning their own learning.

Attend this session to gain an understanding of how student agency and student wellbeing are interconnected!

Using Brain Science to Guide Education

Psychology, Neuroscience and Education research share important fundamentals - they all relate to the function of our brains, and specifically, learning.

This session will provide a brief introduction to the topic of advances in neuroscience, psychology and education research and how this can easily be applied in all our training. 

For those who are experienced trainers the session will serve to answer the questions:

• What are the best ways of applying neuroscience to your teaching practices?
• How can you guarantee better learning outcomes than you ever have before?
• Why do these techniques work? The amazing facts behind the results

The session will highlight the effects of each of these  on training outcomes and will take a 'deep dive' into the 'how' we can apply these fundamentals to our training to maximise the learning experience and outcomes of our students.

Participate in activities that will highlight the effects of each of the key points on training outcomes and have your questions answered!

Future Work, Future Jobs

The presentation will focus on key findings from Jobs Queensland’s Future Work project and how these findings can impact decision making across all industries including Vocational Education and Training (VET).

The economy and labour market are changing; our population is growing, and new industry sectors are emerging. The population is also living and working longer and alternative ways of working offer new possibilities for jobs and skills.

A highly skilled workforce is needed to underpin our future prosperity, and VET plays a major role in the supply of skills. What is unclear is how the VET system will need to transform to support the future workforce.

In late 2019, Jobs Queensland released Future Work, Future Jobs: Preparing Queensland for the evolution of work. The research and consultation undertaken to develop this report identifies five key areas in which action needs to be taken if we are to have a prosperous and harmonious future:

• Change is inevitable; however, we can manage transitions.
• Skills drive social and economic prosperity.
• Access to quality work is essential.
• Place-based leadership creates stronger regions.
• Lifelong learning and skills attainment underpin Queensland’s future.

Our decisions today can influence the role VET has.

Afternoon Tea & Networking

Retention of Evidence

RTOs are faced with a variety of record-keeping requirements scattered across the Standards for RTOs, the Australian Qualifications Framework and the Data Provision Requirements. Where an RTO delivers courses to overseas students, they are also subject to such requirements in the National Code. 

This session will provide an overview of these requirements and discuss the importance of having strong and efficient administrative processes to ensure these are complied with, without overloading the organisation in ‘administrivia’. This will include requirements for retention of assessment materials and issuance (and re-issuance) of certification.

WVAR: A Paradigm for Design

When we think about the future of our learning content we need to remember that learning design is a complex process that requires logical pragmatism balanced with creative inspiration. This session explores a simple paradigm for designers to follow in order to achieve a balance between pragmatism and creativeness.

Geoff will unlock his WVAR (waiver) for design, a four-step process for making better instructional design decisions and delivering more targeted and effective learning solutions. Get your free pass to improved design!

The Presenter has identified that this session has been pitched for those who have some experience but still want validation of their knowledge/practice, those fairly new to VET, or those who are looking for fundamentals refresher.

I See You! Ensuring your website ticks the boxes

Access to RTO’s information via the web has never been easier. As our stakeholders embrace the convenience of this information source, it has never been more important to ensure that your RTO’s website’s content is accurate whilst putting your RTO’s best foot forward.

With your stakeholders including the VET Regulator and funding bodies alongside industry and potential applicants, this workshop will work through the kinds of information which will capably serve all audiences.  It will also share ‘dos and don’ts’, mapped to the relevant Standards for RTOs  (2015), to support you to prepare great content and to ensure your website is accessible by all.

This session has been pitched by the Presenter as suitable for those fairly new to VET or who are looking for a refresher in the fundamentals.

Self-Assuring Your Assessment

As VET practitioners we live and breathe a world of education change.  Assessing evidence produced as a result of consistently documented instructions, and gathered through a range of methods and techniques, is a race often lost against ever-changing packaging requirements and industry relevance.  This session explores self-assurance strategies that enable not only compliance confidence but the implementation of continued quality assurance across your assessment systems and practices.

The intent of this session is to equip you with some essential strategies for taking control of your own assessment practices and resources. Whether you are an RTO Manager leading a team of trainers and assessors or if you are the one responsible for designing, developing and conducting assessment, this session puts the spotlight on the differences between what is and what isn’t compliant assessment.

Meeting the requirements of the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, as outlined within the Standards, may seem straight forward to some but, yet, validation and audit outcomes highlight anomalies where most thought they had got it right. With this in mind, Melanie Alexandra will use this session to highlight best practice approaches across the development of assessment tools and conducting of assessment, enabling you to put the reigns of self-assurance firmly back into your own hands. 

Content covered will include:

• the purpose behind clear and consistent, documented task instructions and how this may impact upon the audience’s interpretation of what they are required to produce for assessment
• making your assessment tools and practices valid ensuring they always meet training package and industry requirements, and
• gathering assessment evidence correctly to inform valid assessment judgments.

This session is suited for:

• RTO Managers responsible for monitoring and approving assessment materials and practices
• Assessors who conduct competency-based assessment, and
• Authors of assessment materials and resources.

VET for Secondary School Students: Trends and destinations

This presentation reports on findings from NCVER research that investigates the uptake and five-year employment and further training destinations of students who participated in VET for Secondary School Students (VfSSS) programs in 2011, and the relationship between these courses of study and ensuing destinations. The research links data from the 2011 National VET in Schools Collection to data from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. Comparisons are also made with findings from earlier research in which data from the 2006 National VET Collection are linked to data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing.

The findings show that doing a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship increases the likelihood of VfSSS students gaining full-time and on-going employment in an occupation of choice five years down the track. They also show that doing a trades or trades-related program also has similar outcomes.

To find out how destinations vary between students who do VfSSS programs and those who do not, researchers also undertook an exploratory analysis using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY 2009 commencing cohort). When analysing the LSAY data, it became apparent that students who undertook VfSSS programs were not a homogenous group, and that a significant proportion (45.2%) also achieved an ATAR. A preliminary analysis indicated some significant differences between the outcomes of VfSSS students who achieved an ATAR and those who did not achieve an ATAR. Statistically significant differences were found between the employment and further training destinations of students who do VfSSS programs and those who do not.

Networking Lunch

‘Glimpsing the future: why supply chain careers just became the new black’

Supply chains are radically transforming! This presentation will deep-dive into what that transformation looks like, the economy-wide implications for industries and jobs, and the future skills required by industry in Australia and globally.  It will stimulate and challenge business development managers and practitioners in VET to think and plan how they might best connect with this untapped yet booming area and ultimately deliver a suite of new Skill Sets recently developed by supply chain experts in Australia.

Explore ‘Supply chains in 100 seconds’ and the contemporary, digitalized, supply chains that exist today. This session will dispel the stereotypical image that it’s all freight and trucks – and illustrate how supply chains are literally all around us, across all industries and across the globe, continually moving people, goods and data.  

As an attendee of this session, you will look at some of the qualitative and quantitative data that will help you understand the current composition (job roles), demographic and size of the supply chain workforce, and how digital transformation and automation of supply chains are eliminating some job roles but already creating dynamic new ones, which will, in turn, revolutionise whole industries!  

As supply chains branch into every aspect of our lives and become ever more sophisticated, it’s become clear that many of the new and emerging skills are common across industries. Explore three such skill areas – blockchain, traceability and ethical practice. It will also illustrate how supply chains, and the jobs within them, are starting to tackle some of the most pivotal issues of our time such as sustainability, transparency, modern slavery and ethical practice.  

The presentation will also showcase the 10 cross-sector Supply Chain Skill Sets that have been developed by industry and are now available for delivery! It will include a deep dive into:

• the target learner audience and industries
• the skills and knowledge covered by each Skill Set
• the Companion Volume Implementation Guide (CVIG) ‘compendium’ which is packed with high-quality supply chain resources for each unit of competency and each Skill Set (videos, blogs, websites, articles, reports, social media channels and links)
• how Australian Industry Standards is trialling the CVIG compendium as a ‘living document’ and will be continually updated to enable VET practitioners to contextualise delivery and easily stay up to date with current practices and events.

Attend this session to get a full picture of the emerging supply chain careers and pathways, and how supply chain skills will enable people to move between industries, along with different aspects of a supply chain and work in countries around the globe.  It will include marketing and promotion materials developed to help training providers create demand for their own business!

Analyzing Learning Effectiveness

This session typically applies to learning and development practitioners, course development consultants and middle to senior management of RTOs and industry training departments; CEOs, TAFE Directors, Principles, RTO Senior Management, RTO owners & managers, Training managers and Enterprise RTO management representatives. It has been identified by the Presenter as being relevant to experienced professionals - those who have been in the VET Sector for 5-10 years.

Why do we educate? What is the value proposition of our core business?

This session addresses skills and knowledge needed to reflect and evaluate training to measure the effectiveness value proposition of programs within your organisation. There will be strategic critical thinking goalposts used to analyse the impact of training of learners, the role of trainers and the benefits to relevant stakeholders including the learners, employers, organisations and the community.

It will explore:

1. An overview of the Training Evaluation Model
   1. Understanding Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation Model to prioritise the goals of training to match the intended result and develop training to meet this need.
      1. Level 1 – Reaction
      2. Level 2 – Learning
      3. Level 3 – Behaviour
      4. Level 4 – Results
   2. Understanding Philip’s (additional) fifth level of Evaluation – Return on (Training) Investment (ROTI)
2. Integrating Phillip’s Training Evaluation ROTI model to begin to translate that impact of training into monetary terms and compare it to the total cost of the program to calculate ROTI (Return of Training Investment)
3. Guidance towards calculating the Cost-Benefit Ratio (CBR) to populate training evaluation tools.  
4. Shared strategies for continual improvement and development with like-minded RTO management stakeholders

Training the Learning Magician...it's a skill and incredibly enjoyable

This session has been pitched by the Presenter suitable for those who have some experience but still want validation of their knowledge/practice.

If you are a great Trainer and Assessor, then here’s a title to add to your resume.  As a great Trainer, you are, in effect, a “Learning Magician” because in Training, magic is the name of the game if effective transfer of knowledge is to occur.

“Magician?” I hear you say, “not me!”

 Well yes, it IS you, and there can be light and fun in the training magician’s world – and we’ll prove it.

The Experience of Learning needs to be more than just ‘consumption’ of information. You may have your students physically present but getting them mentally and attitudinally present is the key.

For real learning and transfer of skills to take place, there must be a connection created within the learners’ brains. Your role is to become a Learning Magician in assisting this process to happen. Learning is about connecting brain cells.  We need to closely look at what we are offering students in our training delivery.

 Do we ...

• stimulate their brain’s curiosity?
• touch their hearts?
• shift their headspace and thinking?
• equip them with hands-on skills?
• move their feet into action?

This Presentation will both challenge you and have you experience what this means for you and your learning and delivery design. Be prepared to have fun and to shift mental mindsets. It will not be a talk feast but an experience where magic will happen, and practical skills learnt.

The Keys to RTO Administration Success!

Administration of systems, processes and practices in an RTO is critical to its success!

Understanding and continuously improving the administration of an RTO is something RTO Managers, Operational Managers, Administrators and Trainers and Assessors ALL play an important role in.

So, what are the things we need to be aware of/focussing on when it comes to student files, trainer files, enrolment processes, preparing for validation, record keeping/retention requirements, AVETMISS reporting and assessment outcomes?

This session will unpack these important components of Administration of an RTO. It has been identified by the presenter as suitable for anyone who plays an administrative role (or manages administrative processes) within an RTO. 

Content has been designed to support those fairly new to VET or who are looking for fundamentals as well as those who have some experience but still want validation of their knowledge/understanding.

VET Student Loans – past, present and future

This presentation will outline the learnings from the operation of the program since its introduction, the findings from key reviews, the impacts of covid and any proposed changes to the program.

How to Prepare for an ASQA Audit

Regardless of the role you have in your RTO, Re-registration audits can sometimes feel burdensome! But if we approach them armed with a good understanding of ASQA’s requirements, and a plan of attack when it comes to preparation, your RTO can be in a great place when it comes to compliance.

This presentation will explore the ASQA audit approach and discusses how RTOs can use this framework to prepare for an audit. The presentation logically follows the student life cycle (as per the Chapters) and discusses tips for achieving compliance or strengthening compliance, common non-compliances at audit, etc.

With a focus on the Re-registration audit, topics covered will include trainer compliance (trainer files, PD evidence, industry currency, mapping competencies), Training and Assessment Strategies (volume of learning, amount of training, industry engagement, identifying cohorts, etc.), financial viability (common traps, key considerations when submitting to ASQA), complaints and appeals, fit and proper persons, marketing and recruitment practices, pre-training review and enrolment procedures, validation and continuous improvement.

This session has been pitched by the Presenter as designed for those who might be fairly new to VET or who are looking for a ‘fundamentals refresher’. However, it may also be of benefit to those who have some experience and looking for validation of their knowledge/practices.

Engaging the Unengaged

There are many reasons why our students become unengaged. This session will not only explore these reasons but provide trainers with some practical strategies to …. Engage the Unengaged! Bring your phone and an open mind and walk out with a tool kit of ideas. 

Key topic covered:

• Why students are disengaged in the first place
• Why student expectations are not matching delivery
• What does 'engagement' look like?
• Universal Design for Leaning
• Strategies and practical ideas that reengage students that trainers can implement straight away including technology and old school approaches

This session has been identified as being relevant for those who have training experience but would still like validation of their knowledge/understanding.

Collecting Meaningful Evidence

Compliant assessment requires the development of assessment tools that are directly linked to the requirements of the unit, are relevant to the learner needs and reflect industry practice.  As practitioners, we need to be sure that these tools are likely to produce quality evidence and need mechanisms in place to make appropriate decisions with this evidence collected.  

However, do we spend enough time on ensuring that we truly collect meaningful evidence? This session will help you to identify how to collect relevance and meaningful evidence that clearly links to the unit of competency requirements and appropriate AQF level indicators.

The presenter has identified that this session content has been pitched as relevant to those who have some experience but still want validation of their knowledge and/or those fairly new to VET or who are looking for fundamentals refresher.

The Future of Work Start with your Own VET Workforce

The future of work is predicted to be significantly disrupted by digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, robots, visualisation and automation (NCVER, 2019).  At the same time, the demand for digital literacy skills in job advertisements has increased by 200% (FYA, 2016).

This has serious implications for all industries and will require the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector to provide the skills needed to allow Australia to remain competitive in global economy.  However, this must start with a VET workforce who has the digital capability and experience to not only deliver the technical skills for Industry 4.0 but to also be able to do this using progressive training methodologies which adopt digital technologies to deliver and support training and assessment (TAFE Queensland, 2016).

This session will take participants on an Appreciative Inquiry journey using a range of easily accessible digital tools to discover how their current trainers' digital literacy compares with their colleagues in the room.  The presenter will encourage attendees to dream and design a VET workforce of the future for their organisation using established digital skills frameworks for building capability in the vocational education and training sector.

The presenter has also identified this session has been designed for those who have been in VET for 5-10 years, who have some experience but who could be looking for validation of their knowledge.

Some Observations on Observation

Session Overview Coming Soon!

Morning Tea & Networking

Motivational Speaker

Strengthening Career Information in Australia, National Careers Institute

Welcome to Day 2

Trainer & Assessor Compliance and Effective Industry Engagement

When offering vocational education pathways amidst a predominantly timetabled academic curriculum, a school’s primary focus is the integrity and relevance of content provided and the success of course outcomes.  This session analyses the expectations of trainers and assessors delivering VET in schools unpacks legislated requirements and how these impact upon those training and assessing, and describes how effective engagement with industry representatives can play an integral role when implementing industry relevant practices.  

Delivering vocational education and training (VET) in schools certainly has a wide range of implications to consider and not least of all for those teaching across both academic and vocational programs. 

The primary focus of schools lies within the provision of quality education for its senior students.  Those providing nationally recognised training within schools, therefore, have an obligation to ensure that they themselves represent the current practices associated with the vocational training area being delivered. 

So, as trainers and assessors of VET in schools, how can we maintain the integrity of current and industry-relevant content and outcomes amidst a predominantly academic curriculum? 

Just as importantly, what can schools do to enable and support their trainers and assessors in ensuring the highest level of currency within their respective vocational training areas? 

VET practitioners delivering VET in schools are gleaned from a variety of situations.  They may be:

• a school teacher delivering a vocational program from the scope of an external RTO,
• a teacher for a school that is an RTO in its own right, delivering training products from its own scope of registration, or
• an externally provided trainer and assessor delivering training either directly or under contract for an external RTO. 

Whichever approach your school, or RTO delivering VET within schools, uses to engage its trainers and assessors, each of these individuals is subject to the same trainer and assessor requirements.  

Throughout this 90 minute session, we shall endeavour to:

• cut through confusions surrounding the expectations of quality trainers and assessors in schools
• explore the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ behind the legislated requirements and how these impact upon those who deliver VET in schools,
• look at strategies that schools may apply to enable and support its trainers and assessors in their pursuit to stay engaged and current, and
• describe how effective engagement with industry representatives plays an integral role for trainers and assessors when maintaining vocational currency.  

Permission to Play

As children, we embraced the joy of exploration, the wonder of discovery and the excitement of creativity. But as adults, we often lose our way, which is why we need to give our learners and ourselves permission to play.

In this session, we will explore why it is important to play, how we can influence play around us and finally set a plan to introduce the concept of play into our regular practice.

This session is designed to empower attendees to be creative in their training approaches, the Presenter has pitched that this session could be for those fairly new to VET, or for those who are experienced trainers looking for validation of/ideas about new approaches.

Building a Kick Ass Strategy for the New Decade

Why do our strategies not hold firm, or get lost somewhere in the G:/Drive only to make an appearance at the annual staff meeting? - Because it’s not KICKASS! Much like ourselves, our organisation, individual departments and the amazing staff within them get lost without a map, and our strategy is the company road map to tomorrow. So, if you too get lost without a map, let us be your Google Maps to a session created just for you!

Building a kickass strategy for the new decade will encompass a whirlwind of techniques and skills to embed within your own company strategies to help build a business that becomes a force to be reckoned with. You will not only learn all about building a kickass strategy for the new decade, you will also have the opportunity to manifest your very own business/department strategy. The Maven Effect’s CEO and Founder will guide you on your journey to:

• Create a VISION that inspires your staff to jump out of bed every morning.  
• Build a MISSION that connects with your staff, and translates to their individual roles.
• Design ACTIONS that defy and challenge stereotypes of the industry.
• Weave the chain that binds teams TOGETHER, helping staff understand each department and their importance to an effective workplace.
• Communicating the kickass strategy to your teams, to ensure that everyone knows HOW they fit into the puzzle, and WHAT they can do to contribute to the game plan.

WARNING: This session is not for the faint of heart. Building a kick-ass strategy for the new decade requires – courage, tenacity, passion, inspiration, and an attitude to rise to the occasion with an open mind.

This session has also been identified by the presenter as being pitched at those who have been in VET for more than 5 years, not requiring fundamentals.

Tips and tricks for DIY digital learning resources

The recent massive shift to online and digital learning has meant many Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have needed to pivot quite quickly to a different mode of delivery. For many, this has simply meant putting learner guides online and conducting webinars with students. For others, a huge investment has been made in paying for professionally produced online resources. However, is there a middle road? How much of this can an RTO develop in-house without an eLearning expert? The answer is – a lot!

This session will take you through some practical tips and tricks, including demonstrations, of how to develop cost-effective digital learning resources using a combination of free or low-cost tools that don’t require you to be a coding expert. Join the session to learn about:

• Basic equipment you may need
• Developing a course plan
• Accessibility considerations
• Creating and curating images
• Creating and curating simple videos using a number of easy-to-use tools

Compliance: The annual approach

This session will assume you already have a strong understanding of the obligations of the Standards for RTOs 2015 and instead of explaining these obligations we will explore proven strategies that RTOs can implement to achieve and maintain compliance.  

Creating a culture of compliance rather than functioning via a reactive approach often means first identifying the key areas of risk, gaining a ‘where we are at now’ status and unpacking the potential consequences of not identifying and addressing non-compliance.  Once this occurs an RTO can then truly look at developing and implementing strategies to manage compliance obligations as a part of everyday business.

This Deep Dive session aims to shift our thinking from looking at one person within the organisation as being solely responsible for all-things-compliance, to sharing the compliance obligation across the organisation.  An approach where the key compliance person is responsible for overseeing evidence gathering and supporting others to achieve compliance as an embedded practice, through targeted activities that scheduled across the year to ensure that compliance evidence is current. Attendees will explore the importance of thoughtful planning, identification processes and action, action, action!

This session has been identified by the presenter as suitable for those who have been in the VET industry for 5 or more years who do not require fundamentals.

Afternoon Tea & Networking

ASQA Session 2

Session Overview Coming Soon!

Enhanced Retention and Recall with Lessons from the Cognitive Sciences

One of the central roles of educators is to find ways of interrupting the processing of forgetting and help students to develop mental models about how to perform tasks and solve problems. Unfortunately, many learning strategies advocated in the past and still employed today, fall short of helping students learn and may even hinder their progress.

Drawing on research from the cognitive sciences, this presentation will discuss the benefits of retrieval practice and spaced retrieval, two research-based learning and instructional strategies are proven to enhance retention, recall and even increase student satisfaction. We’ll discuss ideas for implementation that are applicable to classroom, eLearning and even work-based learning environments.

Expect a presentation that will provide you with effective and relatively easy to implement instructional strategies that improve learning outcomes.

Instructional designers, trainers, assessors or anyone interested in improving retention and recall should attend.

Bring your internet-connected mobile phone or tablet to get involved.

The presenter has pitched this interactive session as being designed for those who have some experience but who would still like validation of their understanding/application of this content.

How to Rectify Non-Compliances Following an Audit

When your organisation has been through an audit and has had adverse findings and non-compliances, its sometimes daunting to know how and where to start the process of rectification. This session will look at how to take a strategic and systematic approach to rectifying and re-mediating non-compliances.

This session will cover:

• How to review and analyse the non-compliance
• Undertaking a root cause analysis
• Determining if similar non-compliances exist
• Analysing the possible and actual impact on your stakeholders
• Implementing relevant corrective actions
• Reviewing and monitoring the corrective actions

How to ensure that your VET in Schools, School-based Apprenticeship and Traineeship Delivery is Audit Ready

VET in Schools (VETiS) has proven to be agile and flexible during the pandemic and continues to create engaging learning opportunities for students. It is a state, territory and national priority and continues to remain an area of creativity, inspiration, debate and regulatory focus.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) Regulatory Strategy 2020-2022 identifies VET in Schools as Target area 2. In 2018 the number of VET in Schools students was 230 700 with school-based apprentices and trainees representing 7.9% of all VET in School students (NCVER 2020). VET in Schools continues to provide pathways for our diverse cohorts and provides many and varied opportunities and experiences.

With ASQA’s continued focus on VET in Schools, this session will provide some insights on current VETiS trends and what good might look like. You will explore the two distinct models of VET in School delivery and assessment, Secondary School (standalone RTO) and Secondary School (Auspiced Arrangement with partner RTO), with a focus on how to achieve best practice in teaching and learning whilst maintaining a compliance lens to support quality outcomes.

You will leave this session with a clear understanding of the differences and benefits of each model. Unpacked and discussed, will be the regulatory obligations a Secondary School with Auspicing agreements is required to meet, as well as how to achieve these and continue to create an enriched VET in School learner experience. This session will share audit insights and provide tips on where to focus your quality and compliance resources for your VET in School, school-based apprenticeship and traineeship programs.

Key points covered within this session:

• VET in Schools key trends
• Standalone RTO verses an Auspiced Agreement with an RTO – which is best?
• Audit insights, what does the quality consultant and auditor look for in a VET in Schools audit?
• School-based apprenticeship and traineeship audit
• Useful audit hints and tips

The Presenter has pitched this session as being for those who have some experience in the VET sector.

Principles of Adult Learning for the Future

The principles of adult learning underpin how we help people develop the skills and aptitudes they need to thrive at work. Join Chemène as she offers a version of the principles of adult learning for the 2020s—one that brings together recent research and discoveries about adult learning and performance.

This session aims to help you answer the ‘so how’ question: ‘So how can I use these latest insights?’

You will have a chance to reflect upon and identify ways to incorporate the updated principles of adult learning into your own practice.

The Presenter has identified that this session could be for anyone in VET (experienced or new) who is interested in adult learning principles.

Networking Lunch

Welcome to VET: Intro to the Standards Part 2 of 2

The role of the RTO within the Australian VET system is pivotal to the future supply of skilled workers. All RTOs are governed by the legislative instrument, Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015, which outlines the requirements that an organisation must meet to be [and stay] an RTO.

In an NVC first, ‘Welcome to VET’ is a dual session with Parts 1 and 2 running on the Day 1 program.

Presented by Michelle Charlton, ‘Welcome to VET’ is specifically designed to offer a helicopter view of the Standards. Michelle will go through each of the eight Standards and their underlying Clauses, and give a summary of what these mean and how they apply to an RTO, its operations, its staff and overall requirements. Throughout, Michelle will offer guidance on interpreting the Standards, and how your RTO can use the Standards to inform its operations and overall compliance.  

After providing overall context for the Standards and where they fit in the provision of vocational education, Part 1 of ‘Welcome to VET’ will discuss the role of the National Regulator, and will give a summary of the eight clauses and what they mean for your RTO.  Part 2 will review Standard 1 which contains the requirements to provide nationally accredited training and assessment, and also the Clauses against which RTOs have most difficulty at audit.

‘Welcome to VET’ is positioned as ideal for anyone new to the VET sector, new to RTO operations and/or anyone who would like a refresher or confirmation of their own practice.  Information will be at beginner level and there will also be an opportunity for Q&A.

Learning Differently - Addressing the challenges faced by students with Dyslexia and other learning differences

Up to 20 % of the population are impacted by Specific Learning Disorders such as Dyslexia and Auditory processing disorders. Although not currently researched, the number of students accessing VET programs, in particular, would appear to be much higher as students access alternative methods of learning that are more hands-on.

This session aims to provide attendees with an understanding of how SLDs such as Dyslexia present, how to identify a student who learns differently, as well as insights into some of the day-to-day learning challenges these students face in the classroom. It will also provide some practical, easy-to-implement strategies that will progress student learning – without funding – that will make your classroom accessible to all your students, especially accommodating students who need to learn differently.

This session has been pitched by the Presenter as being designed for those who have been working in the Sector for 5-10 years.

Influences of AQF on assessment questions

Units don’t have an AQF level – that’s what we’re told. However, the AQF combined with other schema are essential considerations when deciding the type and complexity of questions to ask in an assessment event. They also impact on how, and indeed whether, technology can be used as the assessment medium. This session outlines the importance of AQF, LLN, Foundation Skills, Bloom’s taxonomy and technology in the design of effective knowledge assessments for a unit or cluster of units of competency. 

This session has been identified by the presenter as being relevant for those who are either new to VET or who might be looking for a fundamentals refresher.

What Auditors are Looking for in Completed Student Files

Our students are at the core of the Vocational Education and Training ecosystem. Student administration and specifically the contents of the student files are critical to the success of the student, the teacher and the Registered Training Organisation.

This session will look at a student file from the auditor’s lens. What are the must-have documents to meet your regulatory obligations, what are the maybe documents and the nice to have documents in a student file? What is a student administration file verses a student assessment file? Which approach and tools are best to manage student files and how do we encourage a culture of inclusivity where everyone is responsible for student files?

How long do we need to keep student files, and what is the best approach for preparing our student files for an internal audit and an external audit? What are the differences in audits and preparation, and how do you ensure ongoing compliance and quality processes?

You will leave this session with a clear understanding of the requirements and regulatory obligations for student files, including advice and tools on how to prepare a student file from the auditor’s lens for a best practice to support the student experience and best practice outcomes.

Key points covered within this session: 

• Student Administration File versus Student Assessment File
• Key differences and why I need both files
• Which approach and tools are best for student file management?
• What must be in a student administration file and student assessment file
• How does the Auditor know what is missing?
• How to rectify missing student file documents?
•  Next steps, how do I prepare for our student file audit?

Identified by the presenter as suitable for those who have some experience but still want validation of their knowledge/understanding

Re-Defining Competency: Time for a new approach

When we think about a Vision for the Future in the VET Sector, we ask ourselves, what might it look like? Take a Deep Dive into a new perspective in this session, where participants will have the opportunity to step back from their day to day management or leadership role and consider the bigger picture of the role of the VET Sector!

What does it mean to be work-ready, competent or proficient? This presentation seeks to define these terms in a way that would allow the VET sector to play to its strengths and reduce the current levels of compliance required by RTOs, whilst increasing the level of trust by industry.

There has never been a more important time to have a vibrant and flourishing VET sector. Massive and unprecedented technological advancement is changing equipment, skills and processes, therefore fundamentally altering the way work is done. Yet not all enterprises move at the same pace, and the “old ways” of doing things are just as relevant for many workplaces, including those in transition, so the VET sector needs to be able to provide for both current and future skills needs.

The sector is enthusiastic about meeting these and other challenges, yet it is bedevilled by issues such as the need to access to an unrealistic definition of competence and a compliance system which limit VET's ability to deliver much-needed services across all industries.

VET delivery hours represent less than .005% of all hours worked in the Australian economy.  How can these delivery hours provide the best value to industries to support them with the skills required to compete domestically and globally?

Every person in the room is making a key contribution to the sector. This session will explore and recognise the value of that contribution with a focus on how we could all deliver so much more, in a VET reform environment open to policy changes that could make a huge difference.

The Presenter has pitched this session for those experienced VET professionals who have more than 5-10 years in the industry via a deep dive into a potential new approach for VET!

Welcome to VET: Intro to the Standards Part 1 of 2

The role of the RTO within the Australian VET system is pivotal to the future supply of skilled workers. All RTOs are governed by the legislative instrument, Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015, which outlines the requirements that an organisation must meet to be [and stay] an RTO.

In an NVC first, ‘Welcome to VET’ is a dual session with Parts 1 and 2 running on the Day 1 program.

Presented by Michelle Charlton, ‘Welcome to VET’ is specifically designed to offer a helicopter view of the Standards. Michelle will go through each of the eight Standards and their underlying Clauses, and give a summary of what these mean and how they apply to an RTO, its operations, its staff and overall requirements. Throughout, Michelle will offer guidance on interpreting the Standards, and how your RTO can use the Standards to inform its operations and overall compliance.

After providing overall context for the Standards and where they fit in the provision of vocational education, Part 1 of ‘Welcome to VET’ will discuss the role of the National Regulator, and will give a summary of the eight clauses and what they mean for your RTO.  Part 2 will review Standard 1 which contains the requirements to provide nationally accredited training and assessment, and also the Clauses against which RTOs have most difficulty at audit.

‘Welcome to VET’ is positioned as ideal for anyone new to the VET sector, new to RTO operations and/or anyone who would like a refresher or confirmation of their own practice.  Information will be at beginner level and there will also be an opportunity for Q&A.

ASQA Session 1

Session Overview Coming Soon!

Making Micro Credentials Work in Your RTO

This session has also been identified by the presenter as sitting under the Deep Dive category (and will skip the fundamentals, diving straight into the content).

The Australian Vocational Education System is at a crossroad and is needing to re-establish its purpose and relevance for the future. Current NCVER VET data confirms that enrolments into nationally recognised programs (qualifications) are declining year-on-year, whereas enrolments into stand-alone enrolments (single units, skillsets and microcredentials) are increasing year-on-year.

RTOs need to look closely and carefully at the way they structure, design and deliver AQF qualifications, skillsets and stand-alone units. In doing this, RTOs should be considering the role of microcredentials and digital badging in the development and delivery of their training programs. This session will unpack the definition and concepts of micro-learning, micro-credentials and badging, and will explore the benefits that each of these can offer your organisation. You will leave this session with a clear understanding of the difference between microlearning, microcredentialing and digital badging. You will also gain insights on how to start offering micro-credentials in your RTO.

Key points covered within session:  

• What are the differences between microlearning, microcredentials and digital badges?
• What microcredentials could my organisation offer?
• What role should digital badges play in my organisation?
• What is happening across the globe in relation to this multi-billion-dollar microlearning and microcredential industry?

Mental Health or Myth? How we can help our students.

Who would have foreseen ‘Mental Health’ being one of the biggest issues facing adolescents in the 21^st Century? Sadly, alarming statistics are on the increase and, as Teachers/Trainers and Assessors, we find ourselves working with adolescents who are oftentimes labelled as having behavioural issues.  So, how do we support those who struggle with this illness?

In this session, we will look at some statistics on mental illness and ways to recognise this in our students.  We shall explore what that means for us, as VET in Schools practitioners, working with and supporting these adolescents in a VET environment.

We will also have an opportunity to look closely at two of the most prevalent mental health conditions namely: anxiety and depression, as well as dispel some of the common myths and misunderstandings about them.

This session has been designed to explore how Mental Health affects us all within our Schools, RTOs and workplaces generally and what we can do to help those affected, including ourselves.

Key questions that will be unpacked:

• How do we support a student experiencing mental health problems?
• How might we spot the signs of a mental health problem in our students, colleagues and stakeholders?
• If I sense something is wrong, what should I do?
• How do we look after ourselves whilst looking after others?
• What are some of the ways we can encourage and enable our students to equip themselves with strategies to cope?

Innovation in Adaptive Skill Set Development for Future Employability

While the intent to deliver and develop foundation skills is always present, having the tools and curriculum to support such development across a range of different VET courses, and finding the time to focus on them, is another issue.  On reflection, we try to make Training Packages suit everyone and every need and fit every change and technology and every generation …. In the end, they are too big, too complicated, too costly too unwieldly to adapt, update, deliver etc etc

PEER aims to have the most sought after apprentices in South Australia and to achieve that goal, we need to ensure the employability skills of our graduates are first class.  

“There’s a major shift happening in the skill sets people need to stay relevant……One of the most important ingredients to success in life and business is the ability to adapt as technology changes and new trends emerge…….You can start preparing yourself for the future of work by investing in yourself and what matters to you.”

What if there was an innovative way to support shifts in skill sets, adaptive to new technology and new trends?

This presentation reports on a trial we ran with the Inventorium, an innovative online skills-based curriculum, to boost the 21st-century work skills of our pre-apprentices.  The trial revealed some fascinating results and we are now extending the use of the platform to our VET in schools, and apprenticeship programs to see if we can replicate the results.  Of particular interest was how an online platform managed to increase skills confidence and bring around an attitudinal shift compared to a control group, as we took part in this innovation project.  The presentation outlines what we did, how we did it, how the platform operated, what the results were, our key learning going forwards, and an update on where we are now.  

Morning Tea & Networking

Housekeeping

National Skills Commission Update, Adam Boyton, National Skills Commissioner

ASQA Update, Saxon Rice, Chief Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, ASQA

(Invited) Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business

Official Opening - Velg Training

Welcome to Country

Registration