Australian VET Sector – A Critical Evaluation

摘要

The Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is a comprehensive, national framework designed to provide quality outcomes for learners and meet the needs of potential employers. The interdependent checks and balances provide mechanisms for validating quality and relevance. Regular national surveys demonstrate that both students and employers are satisfied with their experience of the VET sector. However, whilst positive feedback is necessary it is not of itself sufficient. In effect it is a false benchmark. To provide best practices in teaching and learning necessitates lecturers having the appropriate skills and underpinning knowledge something that the mandatory Certificate IVE in Training and Assessment does not provide. A more valid benchmark is an objective analysis of the quality using a learning taxonomy such as SOLO. This preliminary analysis of a range of VET courses unequivocally found that course material was well below best practices expectations. However further work is needed.