VET IN SCHOOLS: THE LONG PROSPECT

							VET IN SCHOOLS: THE LONG
        PROSPECT



SPEECH DELIVERED BY ROBIN SHREEVE
 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL, TAFE
NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND
              TRAINING




      VETNETwork Conference
     Thursday 23 November 2000
Introduction


In 1998, Dr Ken Boston, Director-General of the NSW
Department of Education and Training and Managing
Director of TAFE NSW, told the 1998 House of
Representatives committee inquiry into TAFE Institutes
that he believed that VET in schools had not yet met some
of its primary objectives.

**Dr Boston’s criticism centred around *industry
acceptance of VET in schools programs and the ability of
these programs to count towards *university entrance
scores.

To Dr Boston’s criticism’s I would add two of my own.

**First, though much of the contemporary rhetoric is about
the utility of VET programs for students of all abilities,
many people seem easily to lapse into a suggestion that
*VET for Schools programs are primarily for the less
academic or the disaffected school student.

*Second, many VET in Schools programs appear to be
run more on the basis of what students are interested in or
what facilities the school has rather than on the basis of a
labour market analysis of where the best job prospects
are.

Despite these issues, over the past decade much of the
emphasis of State and Territory governments has been on
increasing retention rates in schools through increasing
the numbers of students involved in VET in schools
programs.

The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA)
projections are that in 2000, there will be approximately


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166,700 school students in 90% of schools across
Australia involved in VET in Schools programs.

However, numbers of participants are not necessarily the
best indicator of success.

I therefore propose in the rest of this presentation to
address some of the issues that will need to be addressed
if VET in Schools programs are to be the success that
they deserve and need to be.

**Quality

The fundamental issues raised by Dr Boston in 1998 were
those of *quality and relevance of VET in School courses.

Although many schools now meet state, territory and
national standards for delivery of VET, two recent reports
have raised issues related to the quality of VET in Schools
programs that indicate that in some areas, there is still a
good way to go to ensure delivery is to an appropriate
standard for students and industry.



The most recent opinions on the effectiveness of VET in
schools programs appear in the Senate Employment,
Work Place Relations, Small Business and Education
References Committee’s report called Aspiring to
Excellence. Report into the Quality of VET in Australia.

The report says that the Committee has observed a gap in
the policy rhetoric on VET in schools and the reality of its
implementation.

It acknowledges the sentiments of support given to VET in
schools by the ANTA Ministerial and the Ministerial


                             3
Committee on Employment, Education, Training and
Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) but says that this support is
compromised by uncertainty about the quality and value of
educational programs and credentials.

Concern was also expressed about VET in schools
courses being conducted by *teachers who in some cases
may have insufficient practical experience in the industry
whose skills they are trying to teach.

The Allen Consulting Group’s Review of the ANTA VET in
Schools Program also addressed the issue of the quality
of teacher training.

During the consultations undertaken by the Group as part
of the review, some key challenges raised were that
industry regards school-based training as a compromise
model and teachers for their part do not want to be turned
into trainers.

A suggested solution is *greater mobility between
TAFE/VET sectors. This was in fact one of the intentions
of the recently negotiated teachers award in NSW and the
bringing together of schools and TAFE into one
Department.

However, where schools do prefer to deliver VET
programs themselves, the provision of industry experience
for teachers is important to both ensure quality and to
overcome industry concerns not so much about the
pedagogical competence of teachers but their
understanding of the contemporary culture of industry.

Another quality issue is that of *registration of schools as
registered training organisations (RTOs).




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According to the Allen Consulting Group, a variety of
arrangements is currently operating across the country.

The Group says that progress towards full adoption of the
National Training Framework by VET in Schools might
also need further consideration if the national objectives of
VET in Schools are to be attained.



The report points out that school systems use VET in
secondary schooling to serve a wide range of purposes
including skill formation; broad vocational orientation;
introduction to ‘experiential’ learning and familiarity of the
workplace; and to encourage retention in schools for
young people at risk of leaving early without a qualification
for the job market.

Although the NSW VET in Schools program would be
seen as meeting all these purposes, since 1995 the
emphasis has been on addressing the issues identified by
Dr Boston as causing concern in the VET in schools
program.

This has involved strengthening VET within the reformed
HSC and promoting VET courses as an integral part of the
curriculum for ALL students. A major recommendation of
the McGaw review of the Higher School Certificate was
that all existing VET courses, both school and TAFE
delivered, be brought within a coherent curriculum
framework under broad industry groupings, consistent with
the State Training Profile.

Other states and territories have different arrangements
and priorities, which makes it difficult to assess the impact
of VET in Schools programs at a national level.



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These differences can also affect industry and community
perceptions of the quality of VET in Schools programs. It
is therefore important that each jurisdiction takes steps to
promote the VET in School programs and makes sure the
quality criteria are clear, rigorous and easily understood by
those outside the system.

The current action by the ANTA Ministerial Council to
improve national consistency in VET will also impact on
schools as they will be required to meet the new national
registration standards in order to deliver nationally
accredited VET programs.




**Work Placement

Another critical issue for VET in Schools that also affects
the quality of provision, is that of work placement.

This issue of *sourcing work placement for VET in schools
students is of particular concern in NSW as work
placement is a mandatory requirement of the NSW Board
of Studies for VET in schools courses.

The Allen consulting Group report says that feedback from
*industry indicates that there are two key infrastructure
components still lacking in the VET in School
arrangements.

Firstly, in most jurisdictions, there is no comprehensive
database of employers, or potential employers, willing to
participate in structured work placements. As a result,
schools tend to return to the same employers, term after
term, seeking to place students.



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Secondly, an extremely widespread comment from
industry groups was that employers are given very little
information about their obligations under a VET in Schools
work placement, particularly in relation to course
requirements and assessment. The report concludes that
this indicates that employer support materials are a key
area for the future development of the program.

Although metropolitan schools often find it difficult to find
sufficient work placements due to the increase in students
requiring them, this is even more of a problem in rural
areas.

Industry is limited away from large centres and transport
from small centres to large centres is either non-existent
or expensive. Thus the young people most in need of a
choice of work placements in order to be able to find
employment outside their local community, are the least
likely to be able to access it.

*Following the recent changes to the VET in schools
program with the mandatory requirement for work
placement, the NSW Board of Vocational Education and
Training (BVET) allocated funds to broadly support and
enhance work placement activities for school students
participating in VET in School programs.

The funds have been allocated to projects on a cross
sectoral basis conditional on the development of plans for
co-ordination of work placements which meet criteria
endorsed by BVET. These co-ordination plans must
ensure that:

 Strategies are set out to ensure sufficient work
  placements to accommodate all school students
  undertaking VET programs with a focus on expansion in
  the number of quality work placements over time;


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 Industry plays a critical role in decisions relating to the
  allocation and utilisation of work placement co-
  ordination resources;

 Processes at the school district level facilitate links to
  existing structures and resources and ensure the
  involvement of all school sectors and TAFE in strategic
  collaboration;

 Partnership arrangements and structures at the local
  level are designed to facilitate the involvement of
  individual employers in offering and supporting actual
  work placements.

The work placement co-ordination funding for 2000 was
provided to build on existing relationships. BVET worked
closely with the Australian Student Traineeship
Foundation (ASTF) to ensure that areas of need across
the State were addressed. Extra funding was provided to
rural and remote areas in recognition of the problems of
distance and small labour markets.




Although it is still early days as this program only
commenced this year, initial results show that most
projects are progressing well. There are certainly
increasing demands on employers for work placements
and the BVET funding has enabled the employment of
additional co-ordinators who are establishing close
working relationships with industry in their local areas to
address this demand.

However, although the allocation of these funds have
made some improvement, finding sufficient, quality work


                             8
placements to meet future demand is likely to continue to
be a challenge. *A major constraint is that generally,
industry sees work placement as a cost, not an
investment.



**Status of VET

*Recently VET in schools has been deemed to be a good
thing for all students. Yet as I said earlier we can never
seem to refrain from lapsing into the habit of regarding
VET as a retention strategy for the less academically
talented or the disaffected.

Students and parents need to understand that VET in
Australia requires high intellectual and practical standards
and high levels of achievement. In many ways courses in
VET are more quality assured than those in university.

The issue of the status of VET in the eyes of the
community, industry and other sectors of education is an
important one.

One of the issues that emerged in NSW from the
introduction of the new HSC, was the *need for improved
recognition of VET HSC courses by universities for
university entrance purposes.

In NSW, students can have only one VET in schools
course included in their University Admissions Index (UAI).
This is seen as limiting choice and acting as a disincentive
for students to participate in VET in schools courses. In
order for the results of VET in schools courses to be
eligible for inclusion in the UAI, students must sit for an
optional external exam. The examination is independent of
the competency-based assessment undertaken during the


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course and has no impact on student eligibility for AQF
qualifications.

A paper prepared by the NSW Department of Education
and Training for the ANTA Ministerial Council meeting of
November 1999 stated that the decision to take a VET
course should open up options and opportunities, not limit
them. The advantages of taking vocational courses should
be that school students:

 Gain industry recognised AQF qualifications

 Have improved chances of employment in a particular
  field

 Are able to complete advanced AQF qualifications
  sooner than would otherwise have been possible

 Are eligible to apply for admission to universities and be
  able to compete for university selection on the same
  terms of other students.

The paper states that if the outcomes and scope of these
VET courses result in universities treating them
unfavourably in their admissions process, they will not
attract students who might aspire to university entrance.

However unfairly, this may perpetuate the view of VET as
second best and low status and deter some students from
participating. Work is continuing within the ANTA MINCO
forum to develop strategies for greater recognition of
school vocational course outcomes in university selection
procedures.

The Senate Committee report mentioned earlier says that
in ‘an environment of profound and rapid change, the
ability to adapt, to learn and to apply new skills and


                             10
knowledge becomes crucial for all:                   individuals,
organisations, corporations and nations.

Central to the adaptive process is education, both learning
for life and learning which aims to equip individuals for the
world of work’. The report points out that for the
foreseeable future, university graduates will continue to
form a minority – though a sizeable and growing minority –
in the Australian workforce. For the majority, access to
high quality, relevant, flexible education and training,
including vocational education and training, will remain of
central and continuing importance.

VET in schools will have an even more crucial part to play,
not only in providing greater choice for students and a
better understanding of the world of work but also in the
provision of pathways from school to further education,
training and employment.

The report also says that there are many negative
perceptions within the community regarding VET. These
perceptions are ultimately reducible to the belief that VET
is somehow inferior to university study, with its attendant
prestige, status and respect. Thus VET is seen as a poor
second option for those not ‘bright’ enough to attain
university status.

This brings to mind a book by Robert Bell and Nigel Grant
called A Mythology of British Education. It contains a
chapter called The Islands of Sainted Scholars which talks
about much of modern educational perceptions being
based on myths.

One example given is that of the ‘belief that all subject
matter (whatever its context) can be taught in two ways,
‘liberally’ or ‘illiberally’. To teach a subject liberally – or to
assert it is so taught – fits it for inclusion in the academic


                                11
canon, no matter how mundane or intellectually
undemanding its concerns. A satisfactory definition of
‘liberal teaching’ is rarely demanded, assertion is all.

As it happens, the factors determining a subject’s
inclusion have usually been economic or sociological.
Liberalism is easily discerned in a subject that brings in
endowments and research grants. Thus Commerce,
Sociology, Engineering, Education (not to mention
medicine, architecture, engineering or even history and
modern languages) were all at one time excluded from the
university curriculum on the grounds of their essential
‘illiberality’. Their ‘liberal’ qualities have manifested
themselves readily enough as student demand or, later,
research grants have justified their being granted
respectability’.

It is interesting to note that a century ago, universities in
England provided the vocational preparation for the three
great areas of upper and middle class employment: the
army, law and the church, these presumably being
regarded as ‘liberal’ occupations as the occupations of
‘gentlemen’.

*The time has come to dispel the current myths about the
differences between university and VET courses and the
superiority of one over the other. As history shows, views
and values change over time. It is time we moved away
from the vertical view of the value of various sectors of
education to a more horizontal view based on “fitness for
purpose”.

*VET and university qualifications should be seen as
complementary rather than competitive. Each has their
role to play in preparing people for employment. They are
equal but different. For example, VET courses play an
important role in preparing people for self-employment


                             12
whereas university courses generally prepare people for
employment within public and private bureaucracies.

It is interesting to note that in recent times, there has been
a increase in the number of people with university degrees
enrolling in TAFE courses to supplement their university
degrees with a more vocational qualification in order to
make them more competitive in the labour market. In
1999, 15,639 students enrolled in TAFE NSW courses
had completed Australian degrees. Another 10,335 had
completed overseas degree courses.

The view of VET courses being inferior to the more
traditional, academic courses is also reflected within
schools. Recent research undertaken by Richard James
for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research
(NCVER) found that 90% of a sample of senior secondary
students reported they would prefer to undertake tertiary
education after school. Around two-thirds of the sample
said they would prefer to go to university while only one-
quarter reported a similar desire to go to TAFE. However,
in reality, only 29% of school leavers proceed straight to
university.




*The report states that ‘while the level of commitment
among young people to tertiary education and training is
reassuring, the dominant interest in ‘going on to uni’
provides evidence that many school-leavers are poorly
informed in their aspirations.




                              13
VET does not have a high profile among school students
and TAFE courses do not enjoy the status associated with
degree courses. Many young people may be unaware of
the VET opportunities and outcomes available to them.’


The research also showed that the although parents are
the most importance source of advice to students about
their future, the advice of teachers and careers advisers is
considered to be more important by students than that
offered by friends and other family members such as
siblings.

Therefore people such as yourselves, who are involved in
VET in schools should be playing an important role in
provision of advice on VET post-school options and
raising awareness within the school community of the
many options and pathways that are now available to
students when they leave school. As parents have a
significant influence on young people’s educational and
vocational aspirations, more needs to be done by all VET
providers to raise awareness and the status of VET within
the general community.

As a matter of interest, the UK Sunday Times ranked the
top 500 state primary and secondary schools on the basis
of their students academic achievements, especially in
public examinations and national curriculum tests. As was
to be expected, current and former grammar schools
ranked well. However one of the schools that ranked close
to the top was a comprehensive school which only
provided VET courses.

**Some Models for Delivery

One way of improving the understanding of TAFE and
providing high quality VET in schools programs is by


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strengthening links between schools and their local TAFE
Institutes and developing partnerships between the two.
This not only provides more options and choice for school
students but can also improve efficiency by reducing
duplication of effort and making better use of existing
facilities and resources. Partnerships provide a greater
range of **models for delivery of VET to school students.
These models include:*

   VET by school teachers in schools*
   VET by TAFE teachers in schools*
   VET by TAFE teachers in TAFE Institutes*
   VET by school teachers in TAFE Institutes*
   VET by other providers

**Toyota Partnerships

A key strategy for the NSW Department of Education and
Training in 2000 has been the establishment of
partnerships with large corporations to become involved in
the school based part-time traineeships. *An example of
such a partnership is the partnership with Toyota, TAFE
NSW and Toyota dealerships, known as T3.

Under the partnership, TAFE NSW is the nominated
training provider for TMCA and Toyota dealerships across
Australia and the Pacific Basin. A suite of customised
training programs is being developed and provided across
all divisions of the company — from automotive
technicians, spare-parts specialists and vehicle painting
and body repair staff to sales, office and other
management staff. TAFE NSW will be responsible for the
training of cadets, apprentices and trainees, as well as the
training of existing staff of TMCA and Toyota dealerships.

An important element of the T3 Program is the upgrading
of the skill levels of current employees of both TMCA and


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the Toyota dealerships, including the formal recognition of
the skills, knowledge and experiences, which these
employees have attained throughout their working lives.
The T3 Program will require TAFE NSW to create new
relationships, partnerships and alliances with VET
providers in other States and offshore to meet Toyota’s
national training needs.

*The initial focus of the T3 Program is on school based
part-time traineeships for students in Years 11 and 12
attending both government and non-government
secondary schools across NSW. In 2001, the school
based part-time traineeship programs will be provided
through six TAFE NSW institutes across the State.
However, these arrangements will be extended to other
areas of NSW in 2002.

For the first year of the program, approximately 50-80
Year 11 students are being selected for employment as
school based part-time trainees with Toyota. *During their
last two years of schooling, these students will spend
*three days a week on their HSC subjects, *one day a
week at a TAFE college studying automotive or office
administration courses, and *one day a week in paid
employment with a Toyota dealer.          On successful
completion of the traineeship, these students will be
guaranteed a job with Toyota. The traineeship program is
being promoted as gender inclusive.

BENEFITS

This program is highly attractive both to parents and
employers (the Toyota dealers). *For parents, it provides
their children with a career, a TAFE credential, a Higher
School Certificate and a university entrance score. For the
Toyota dealers, it provides them with a pool of highly
qualified applicants and so makes the recruitment process


                            16
simpler and more effective. However, one difficulty that
has been experienced in implementing this program, is
convincing schools that it is Toyota that has the ultimate
responsibility for the recruitment of their employees not
the schools.

As the Toyota example shows, there are significant
benefits for all parties (students, schools, VET and
industry) by the developments of partnerships with
industry groups and businesses. Not only is the quality of
educational provision improved by close association with
industry but opportunities for young people are increased
and innovative pathways developed.

Given the rate of growth in popularity of VET in schools
courses since 1996, and within an environment of static
funding, future growth will be dependent on making the
most efficient use of resources available in the community.
The models I have just mentioned, and other partnerships
and co-operative arrangements with other providers,
industry and community group will be essential if growth is
to be continued and choice and diversity expanded.


**Relevance to employers

One of the reasons for the development and
implementation of VET in schools was to better prepare
young people for the world of work. Therefore it is
important that the programs are understood and valued by
employers.

The Australian Industries Group (AIG) report, Training to
compete says that the results of their survey of employers
show that *a significant group of employers are most likely
unsure or unclear about the nature of school based,
structured work place programs. *There is scope for better


                            17
marketing of the potential of such programs. The report
also points out that the potential value of such programs to
link with recruiting is a likely selling point for many of these
companies.

One of the criticisms of *VET in schools has been that
decisions about what courses are to be delivered have
been based on what facilities are available or student
interest rather than on labour market needs and
opportunities.

The Senate report quotes a Western Australian case
study conducted by the South Eastern Metropolitan Area
Consultative Committee into 24 schools. The survey found
that programs tended to be concentrated in clerical and
hospitality businesses while industries with high labour
demand, like communications, manufacturing, science
and technology were almost totally neglected.

If VET in schools programs are to be relevant to
employers and lead to employment for students, schools
need to take into account the labour market needs of their
local communities and particularly target industry areas
where there are identified skill shortages.

For example, a recent paper produced by NCVER for the
Electrotechnology Working Group identified this industry
area as one suffering from skill shortages and said that
currently, there is a very low level of New Apprenticeships
in Schools in relation to the electrotechnology trades. The
paper identified this as an area for consideration when
implementing strategies to boost the uptake of New
Apprenticeships in electrotechnology by younger people.
This would be a good area for partnership arrangements
between schools, TAFE and enterprises as TAFE already
has experienced teachers and up-to-date facilities for the
off-the-job delivery.


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**Pathways

A constant theme of government reports over the last
decade, has been the need to develop pathways to assist
young people to make the transition from school to work
and further education. A lot has already been achieved in
areas of articulation and credit transfer arrangements
designed to assist the transition of young people to further
education and training.

VET in schools programs provide an important way of
developing a wider range of, and more diversity in,
pathways for young people. As I have just mentioned, they
have the potential to provide *easier entry to employment.
They can also provide *easier entry into further education.
*A recent initiative of the NSW Government’s is the TAFE
Scholarships Scheme. The scheme is designed to support
and encourage more school leavers to continue their
education and training at TAFE NSW. Under the scheme,
HSC students who have achieved at least AQF Certificate
Level II in an accredited course, will be eligible for a place
in TAFE NSW with appropriate credit for their HSC
studies.

The scholarships will cover the cost of the TAFE
administration charge for the first year, and provide
students with $200 to help meet the costs of materials and
other resources used in their TAFE studies. Students in
rural and low socio-economic areas will receive a further
$200 in financial assistance to meet travel and further
costs associated with their studies, including the cost of
work placement. The TAFE scholarship will be introduced
in 2001 for students who complete the HSC in 2000. In
2001, the scholarships will assist up to 1,300 students. In
2002, the Government will increase the number to 5000.


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**Conclusion

Before the Kangan report in 1974 and the subsequent
growth in TAFE, technical education was deemed to be
the Cinderella of education. Now it seems to me, that VET
in schools could be described as the Cinderella.

What we have seen over the past few years is massive
growth as vocational education and training is perceived
as a panacea for a range of ills in the school system.
There has not been sufficient discussion of such
fundamental issues of quality, relevance and status. There
has also been little consideration by schools of the labour
market implications of their programs.

An important and cost-effective way of improving the
quality and relevance of VET in schools is through
partnerships. Not only does this make efficient use of
resources but also ensures that VET courses reflect
labour market and industry skill needs.

VET in schools at the moment is in a transition stage.
Having experienced significant growth over a very short
period of time, it is now time to settle in for the long haul.
This will involve consolidating achievements to date,
identifying priorities and strategies for future development
in partnership with industry and other education and
training providers.

I have no doubt that the long prospect for VET in schools
is a bright one.



                      REFERENCES


                              20
Allan Consulting Group (2000), Review of the ANTA VET
in Schools Program. Final report to the Australian National
Training Authority

Allen Consulting Group (1999), Training to Compete: The
training needs of industry. Report to the Australian
Industry Group, Australian Industry Group

Bell, Robert and Nigel Grant (1974), The Mythology of
British Education, Panther

James, Richard (2000), TAFE, University or Work? The
early preferences and choices of students in Years 10, 11
and 12, National Centre for Vocational Education
Research, Adelaide

NSW Government (1997), Securing Their Future. The
New South Wales Government’s reforms for the Higher
School Certificate, NSW Minister for Education and
Training, Sydney

Senate Employment, Work Place Relations, Small
Business and Education References Committee
(November 2000), Aspiring to Excellence: Report into the
Quality of VET in Australia, Parliament of Australia,
Canberra




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