Reassessing VET in schools

Why are secondary school students so positive about VET, asks John Mitchell. Some experienced practitioners have long held the view that VET programs in schools are token gestures delivered by bored geography teachers who have no knowledge of the world of work. And now a recent NCVER report (CR, 15.09.09) has noted with some concern that TAFE’s traditional student base is “being eroded from below from schools offering VET in schools”. Are there any positives for TAFE or for the overall system of VET programs being offered in schools? Far from seeking to erode TAFE, Michael Hyam, director of the Vocational Education in Schools Directorate in the NSW Department of Education and Training, sees TAFE as a partner in his department’s massive VET in schools program. “We would describe it as entry-level training and in partnership with TAFE we provide an extensive array of courses. Close to 60,000 students in public schools are taking VET as part of their higher school certificate studies and about one in three students has VET as part of their program of study,” says Hyam. From talking to Hyam it is clear that TAFE benefits immediately and long-term from the VET in schools program. In the short term there are jobs for TAFE teachers who teach school students in the local TAFE college, and further down the track many students enrol in TAFE or other post-secondary programs. “Over a quarter of our students take their courses at a TAFE college,” notes Hyam. And he points to research which shows that 40 per cent of the people who finish school having completed a VET component make the transition into a VET career pathway. Types of benefits The benefits for the young people of VET in schools programs are profound, says Hyam. “When students are subject to research and evaluation, a significant number talk about VET as being really helpful in terms of making decisions and getting jobs and other post-school options.” So why is VET so popular? “They are looking for something different,” says Hyam. “They’re not content to be at school just studying English, maths, science and geography. They want to be connected to the real world; they want to be connected to post-school options.” Hyam doesn’t consider it a failure when a VET in schools student decides not to enrol in a VET program immediately upon exiting from school. Instead, he places a high value on students increasing their optional pathways and acquiring transferable skills. “We have not designed VET in schools courses specifically to meet skills shortages. What we’re really doing, more than anything else, is opening up pathways, and one of the ways to get that pathway is to have some really generic and transferable skills. “For example, in the three most popular courses - hospitality, retail and construction - the skills are transferable. The customer service skills learnt in a retail program transfer into anything else. Transferability is one thing that students absolutely recognise.” Hyam’s colleague, Margaret Broun, coordinator of VET curriculum support, agrees that VET in schools helps students gain self-knowledge. “Students say it enables them to have a better understanding of the skills they already hold, and it also gives them the opportunity to expand and develop new skills, as well as getting a qualification before they leave school. “It also builds on their confidence. VET in schools allows them to apply and practise skills in the workplace and helps them decide on both their job and vocation pathways.” Hyam highlights research undertaken by BVET and the University of Melbourne which shows that young people value VET training as much as they value academic subjects. “It provides them with something significant, and that’s a grounding in real life and a pathway into the future.” “Transferability of skills is really important in terms of a broad and well-rounded education. I would argue that customer service skills are as equally important as Pythagoras’ theorem, in the sense that it’s about the journey and it’s about thickening young people’s story lines and its how the young people sit in the context of post-school options.” <<<Contact Michael.Hyam@det.nsw.edu.au and Margaret.Broun@det.nsw.edu.au Dr John Mitchell is a VET strategist. Seehttp://www.jma.com.au/JMAAnalytics.aspx&gt;&gt;&gt;

Reassessing VET in schools

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Head of Teaching & Learning | NAISDA

Australian Signals Directorate

Assistant Professor in Real Estate / Sustainability / Technology

Director of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality

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