Research
Industry currency and professional obsolescence what can industry tell us?
Summary
- Item:
- 10468
- Title:
- Industry currency and professional obsolescence what can industry tell us?
- Type:
- Managed research project
- Project no:
- 21184
- Status:
- Project in progress
- Date commenced:
- 1 October 2011
- Estimated publication date:
- 30 December 2013
- Theme:
- Teaching and learning > VET practitioners
- Contact:
- Bridget Wibrow
- phone: 08 8230 8450
- email: bridget.wibrow@ncver.edu.au
- Principal researcher:
- Berwyn Clayton
- Victoria University
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to take an industry focussed approach to investigating the issues of professional obsolescence and industry currency and how they apply to VET practitioners. The research will examine the issue of professional obsolescence and how it is managed through the lens of knowledge-based organisations in professional areas relevant to the VET sector such as management, engineering, the sciences and health. At the same time the issue of understanding and managing industry currency will be investigated through the lens of what employers and AQTF auditors think about these issues in the industry areas of plumbing, graphic design/printing and hairdressing.
The aim of the research is to bring these views together to identify models of effective practice for addressing professional obsolescence and industry currency that are likely to have applicability to training organisations in the VET sector.
Approach
Qualitative
Research questions
The questions to be addressed in this research are:
• What do key industry stakeholders, primarily employers and AQTF auditors, think about industry currency and what VET practitioners need to do to stay current?
• In what ways do knowledge-based organisations manage the various forms of professional obsolescence in their professional workforce?
• In what ways can approaches to these problems drawn from industry and professional bodies be applied strategically in VET organisations?
• In what ways might individual practitioners and RTOs use this knowledge to better maintain their vocational competence effectively and efficiently?
Methodology
Both national and international information on employer views will be reviewed and used to scope and support the direction of the research. An environmental scan of relevant training packages will assess what advice is provided about the vocational competencies required by assessors, and the types of evidence VET practitioners can use to demonstrate that they are maintaining currency of their vocational competence.
Research Strand 1: In order to understand employer views of industry currency a total of 15 interviews involving 3 employers and two AQTF auditors from each of the three industries (graphic design/printing, plumbing and hairdressing) who are actively involved with workplace training will be undertaken. A representative from the relevant industry/professional association and the ISC for each of the industries will also be interviewed to round out the industry perspective on industry currency (a total of 6 interviews). Employers will be sought from different states to assess any jurisdictional differences in perspectives.
Research Strand 2: From the perspective of professional obsolescence, 2 knowledge-based organisations in each of the industry areas (engineering, health and human resources) and one professional body for each industry area will be identified. Semi-structured interviews will be undertaken with individuals responsible for organisational development, HRD or its equivalent in each of the organisations (a minimum of 6 interviews). These interviews will be informed by information provided in participant questionnaires. In addition, semi-structured interviews will be undertaken with individuals within professional bodies actively engaged in addressing vocational competence and Continuing Professional Development amongst their membership.
Data from both research strands will be analysed by hand using key categories and coding strategies to determine common themes and variations in approaches and perspectives. The combined research findings will then be analysed to distil possible models of effective practice for addressing the issues of industry currency and professional obsolescence. This will then be used as stimulus material for a focus group consisting of 8-10 HRD managers/organizational development managers or equivalent drawn from a representative sample of public and private training providers. The purpose of this focus group discussion will be to test the applicability and feasibility of the research outcomes for VET training organizations.
Organisations
The Work-based Education Research Centre (WERC)
The Work-based Education Research Centre is a newly established centre within Victoria University. Designed to build the capability of VU as a significant multi-sector provider, WERC conducts research into critical questions about how learning takes place in, through and for the workplace. A key role of WERC is to transfer the outcomes from this research into innovations in policy and teaching and learning practice across the University and the broader VET sector.
The Victorian TAFE Association (VTA)
The VTA is the peak employer body for Victoria’s TAFE sector. VTA members include four dual sector Universities, fourteen stand-alone public TAFE providers, AMES and the Centre for Adult Education. Victorian TAFE providers are actively engaged in VET at the state level as well as nationally and internationally. Services provided by VTA to members include governance advice, workforce relations advice, industrial relations advice and representation, education projects, research, government liaison and representation and professional development.
