Vocational Education and Training

Vocational education and training (VET) is training to acquire skills for work.

VET has strong links to most industries and is now offered in secondary schools, TAFE institutes and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) or as part of a New Apprenticeship. More information on VET is available from the following sources:

  • The Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE) is responsible for the planning, regulation and delivery of a range of education and training programs and services in Victoria.
  • The Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST)
    The Department of Education, Science and Training helps the Australian Government achieve its agenda for post-school education and training through three distinct, but closely interrelated, areas:
    • quality policy advice and other support provided to the Minister, underpinned by capabilities in research, analysis and evaluation that also inform the policy debate within the vocational education and training and higher education sectors
    • efficient national programme management
    • effective working relationships with state and territory governments, industry, education and training providers, and other stakeholders.

Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA)

Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA) is one of ten Industry Skills Councils for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system recognised and funded by the Australian Government. IBSA covers:

  • Business Services;
  • Cultural and Related Industries;
  • Education;
  • Financial Services;
  • Information and Communication Technologies; and
  • Printing and Graphic Arts.

IBSA develops competency standards and qualifications for workforce skills development and training that are recognised throughout Australia.

SERVICE SKILLS

Service Skills Australia is the Industry Skills Council for the Australian service industries. Skills Councils are the recognised peak national bodies providing advice on industry training and skills development needs to government and industry. Service Skills represents the interests of almost 640,000 businesses across sectors including retail and wholesale, sport, fitness, community recreation, outdoor recreation, travel, tours, meetings and events, accommodation, restaurants and catering, caravans, hairdressing, beauty, floristry, community pharmacy and funeral services. Service Skills supports skills development for our industries by:

  • working with our industries to identify skill needs
  • providing advice and assistance to industry on skill development and engaging with the vocational education and training system
  • providing advice to government on the key skills development issues for our industries
  • developing and maintaining products - including Training Packages and Support Materials - that support skills development in our industries. We currently manage a total of 14 industry Training Packages.
  • The National Training Information Service (NTIS) is a database on vocational education and training in Australia. It contains detailed information on courses, qualifications, training packages, competency standards and training organisations.
There are six VET qualifications available: Certificate I, Certificate II, Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma, and Advanced Diploma.

The Manager of the 21st Century

Innovation & Business Skills Australia (IBSA) commissioned The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to undertake a study into how the role of Australia’s senior managers is likely to change between now and 2020. The result was a report titled 2020 Vision, The Manager of the 21st Century.

The report is a must read for those involved in skilling our nation for the future. I believe it bodes well for those in the SpArt sectors as we are already skilled in dealing with a diverse, multi-generational workforce with lots of contractors and part-time workers. We already work creatively and run dynamic organisations cost effectively and are aware of conflicting stakeholder demands, all of which are important skills going forward.

The report has concentrated on exploring 3 key areas of the future. They are the changing world, workplace and mindset. Some trends identified include the continuing shift to services in the economy, greater focus on people performance, the ageing workforce and managing a multi-generational workforce.

The report indicates that the workplace of the future will be more dynamic and less structured. There will be a demand for flexible working in response to the changing requirements of Baby Boomers and the preferences of Generation Y. Problem solving and creativity skills will become increasingly important as will managing a environment which includes greater numbers of contractors and part-time workers.

The full report is available for download here