by Evelyn Goodwin, CCA Manager VET Policy & Projects, 14 September 2017
I was fortunate to able to participate in the Victorian VET Development Centre (VDC) conference on 6-7 September 2017.
Designed to meet the needs of VET practitioners from novice through to more experienced, VDC did a great job of engaging all comers, reinforcing messages with humour and supporting research.
The conference was focused on developing practitioner skill with strategies in the classroom and the workplace and in building the resilience required to lead. MC Adam Voigt – an experienced educator and ‘personality’ – expertly chaired the proceedings, with learnings pulled together in insightful and entertaining ways.
Futurist perspectives were explored and followed through with cutting edge practitioner sessions on teaching and facilitation strategies, supported by ‘what to’ and ‘how to’ use technology sessions to give participants the skills and confidence to explore new ways of doing. Snapchat, Quitch, Seesaw, Nenti, Opinion and Plickers were some of the apps explored.
The Victorian Department of Education and Training provided a useful overview of the results of the Victorian Employer Satisfaction and Skills Survey, informed by both employers and RTOs. This survey focuses on the apprenticeship and traineeship element of training provision and has interesting insights into training needs, quality and industry perceptions.
The ‘compliance’ session on managing learner satisfaction in education brought the trainer/teacher in on the compliance journey, clearly making the link between student survey type, timing, what can work and what doesn’t, and considered how to best use results to build training quality and compliance.
The Conference themes: “Connect with Technology, Collaborate with Industry, Capture Student Imagination” were well and truly delivered. A number of the presentations from the conference are available on the VDC website. They are certainly worth a look; go to VDC 2017 Conference Highlights.