The CCA 2022 Conference took place on 13 & 14 September 2022, commencing with a Sydney Harbour cruise on 12 September. Participants joined us for a celebration of Australian community education successes, achievements and new possibilities, as we develop a vision to rebuild our communities.
2022 CCA Annual Conference: Rebuilding Community
The Community Colleges Australia (CCA) Annual Conference returned to Sydney for an in-person event, with an inventive and invigorating two days of expert presenters, challenging panel discussions, and stimulating adult and community education (ACE) specialists.
Our theme was Rebuilding Community, following more than two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impacts on Australian post-secondary education, training and communities. We dealt with big and small questions: What’s next in ACE, post-secondary education, training and skills? How do we “build back better”? What long-term impacts will the pandemic have on how we learn, how we teach and how we construct our communities? How do we address current challenges? What structures and approaches need to be changed and which ones kept?
Our speakers: View the speaker list here.
Community Education Trainer of the Year Award: The conference dinner on 13 September was the venue for the Awards ceremony of CCA’s first-ever Community Education Trainer of the Year Award, which celebrates the work and underlines the importance of Australian ACE trainers and teachers.
Location and venue: The 2022 Conference took place at the Marriott Hotel in Sydney’s CBD, adjacent to Sydney’s bustling Circular Quay ferry terminals.
Supporters, sponsors and services: Our popular services and products exhibition sold out this year, with sponsors reporting a great deal of interest from Conference delegates.
WHO WAS THIS CONFERENCE FOR?
Not-for-profit adult and community education (ACE) organisations
- CEOs and other senior managers
- VET managers and senior trainers
- Boards of Directors and senior volunteers
- Marketing and Promotions managers
- Coordinators, planners, project managers, liaison officers and outreach specialists
Government, researchers and other organisations
- Policy-makers working in post-secondary and secondary education roles for Commonwealth, state or territory governments who seek a deeper understanding of the ACE sector’s challenges, opportunities and possibilities
- Researchers in education and training who are keen to share their findings with one of the most engaged conference audiences in Australia
- Consultants working in ACE, VET, universities, life-long learning, the future of work and the demand for skills in the next decade of the 21st century
- Thinkers, thought-leaders, journalists and others engaging with the breaking trends of Australian post-secondary education and training
- Teachers, trainers and educators seeking a strong dose of intellectual stimulation and the cutting edge of community education practices
- Not-for-profit organisations that work with ACE providers and support our learners and communities
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAID ABOUT THE CCA SEPTEMBER 2022 CONFERENCE
“Great content and great networking”.
“Quality of speakers exceeded my expectations.”
“Staging another excellent conference even after being absent for a couple of years due to COVID.”
“The organisation of the whole event was seamless to me as a participant, I felt informed and welcomed.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the conference; it was great to meet everyone in person and the workshops were extremely useful.”
“Overall, the conference was a 10/10.”
“The networking events were fantastic. The MC was great, I thought it was brilliant how she summarised each session and had questions at the ready in the event that others didn’t have any and kept everyone engaged.”
“Wide range of sessions, practical, theoretical and policy based.”
“Range of relevant topics and quality presentations.”
“I found the energy in the room (vibe) to be positive, engaging and collaborative. The CCA team were outstanding, keeping everyone informed and on track.”
“Being able to connect with bureaucrats and academics with ease and progress advocacy.”
“Variety of useful sessions and breadth of knowledge in all.”
“Range of topics and information offered was good.”
“Foundation skills afternoon session on last day – Lost for Words and Neville was fantastic I loved the workshop sessions with BSL and Huber Social.”
“Gala dinner was an excellent opportunity to showcase CCA talent.”
“The networking is always valuable.”
“The quality of the presentations was outstanding- relevant, inspiring and useful. The Day 2 block on Foundational Skills was one of the best parts for us. I also found the ASQA sessions, ACOSS sessions very useful.”
“Great variety of content and relevant!”
“The speakers were outstanding as well as of course the ability to choose your own stream.”
“I loved the panels and how the MC summarised each session. I valued the breakout sessions.”
“The mix of speakers and topics and the impressive line-up of speakers – well done CCA!”
“The Gala awards night was great – the nod to CEOs past and the Trainer of the Year stories were very good.”
“Congratulations to all who was involved in the preparation of the conference; it was fabulous few days, my takeaways formed our 3-year strategic team planning day.”
“I absolutely loved it. I would love to bring more of our team next time provided topics relate to their work roles eg Course Coordinators, Compliance Officer, Admin Team Leader.”
“All sessions in themselves were good – well done.”
“Thank you it was very interesting and thought provoking.”
“Amazing job overall. The MC, Chemene Sinson, was fantastic, positive outlook, great at summarising the content and take home of each speaker, sensitive.”
“Congratulations CCA on staging a wonderful conference.”
PREVIOUS CCA CONFERENCES
SPEAKERS
Managing Director, TAFE NSW
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Senior Advisor - Employment, ACOSS
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Senior Research Fellow, Youth Opportunity Team, Social Policy and Research Centre, Brotherhood of St Laurence
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Director, Future of Work, PwC Australia
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Social Researcher and Employability Specialist
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Executive Director, Training Services NSW
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NSW Shadow Minister for Skills and TAFE, and Shadow Minister for Tertiary Education
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Co-Founder & Client Success Officer, Audit Express
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Melissa Davis
Deputy Principal - Wellbeing, Youth Off The Streets
Co-Founder and CEO, Audit Express
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Chair, ACE Community Colleges
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Integrated Infrastructure Director, PwC Australia
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Integrated Infrastructure Director, PwC Australia
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Consultant & Honorary Senior Fellow, Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
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Director, Program Implementation at the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
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The Hon Alister Henskens SC MP
NSW Minister for Skills and Training & Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology
Chief Operating Officer, Audit Express
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Manager, The Reading Writing Hotline
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CEO, ACE Colleges & CCA Board Treasurer
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CEO, Digital Skills Organisation
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Centre for International Research on Education Systems, Victoria University & Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
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Chair and Founder, Spark Strategy
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Professional Development and Learning Facilitator, Q Blue Solutions
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(Voluntary) Board Director of Strategy & Wellbeing MNCCC Ltd; Honorary Research Associate at the Centre for Disability Studies, Sydney University Medical Faculty
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CEO, Youth Off The Streets
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Manager, Service Development & Practice, National Youth Employment Body, Brotherhood of St Laurence
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Manager, Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
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President, Australian Council for Adult Literacy
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Professor, Macquarie University
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Director, Social Equity Works
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CEO & Founder, Hello Coach
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Distinguished Professor, QLD University of Technology
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Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council
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Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Member for Gorton
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Chief Customer Officer, Digital Skills Organisation
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CEO, Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
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CEO, Victorian Skills Authority
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CEO, Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO)
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CEO, Community Services & Health ITAB
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First Assistant Secretary, Apprenticeships and Foundation Skills, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR)
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Group CIO at the Atlantic Group, CEO at LQD Technology, and Founder and Advisor at Oggin
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Learning Specialist & Conference Chair, Blackwater Projects
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Program Manager (Indonesia), Australian Volunteers Program
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Measurement Lead, Huber Social
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CEO, Byron Community College
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Co-Founder and Director, Latitude Network
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University Fellow, Charles Darwin University
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CEO, Kiama & Shoalhaven Community Colleges
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PROGRAM
Monday 12 September, Conference Welcome Drinks
Harbour Cruise 5.30pm-7.30pm
Tuesday 13 September, CCA 2022 Gala Dinner, including the inaugural Trainer of the Year Awards
Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel 6.30pm-10.30pm
Tuesday-Wednesday 13-14 September, Conference
Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel 9.00am-5.00pm
The Conference Program is available to download and view (PDF).We are pleased to highlight following sessions, presented by more than 45 speakers.
Training and Skills
- National VET regulator ASQA update from CEO Saxon Rice, and a workshop on ASQA performance assessment, monitoring and registration renewal, with Sean Heffernan, A/g Executive Director, Market Performance and Engagement.
- Digital skills and digital literacy, with Patrick Kidd OBE OAM, CEO of Digital Skills Organisation (DSO).
- Update on activities and opportunities with TAFE NSW, with Stephen Brady, Managing Director, TAFE NSW
- How Victoria has approached skills planning – along with reflections on current national training issues, by Craig Robertson, CEO, Victorian Skills Authority, one of Australia’s most experienced VET leaders.
- Aged care workforce training, considering the outstanding capacity of ACE providers to make a difference, with Jodi Schmidt, CEO of the Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO); Susan Scowcroft, CEO, Community Services & Health ITAB; and Professor Gabrielle Meagher, Macquarie University expert on aged care workforce and markets.
- NSW Training update from David Collins, Executive Director, Training Services NSW.
- Update on Commonwealth skills policy development, including foundation skills and outcomes from the early September Jobs and Skills Summit, with Clare Sharp, First Assistant Secretary, Apprenticeships and Foundation Skills, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR)
- New Commonwealth employment services model by Dr Simone Casey, ACOSS Senior Employment Advisor.
- What’s new in foundation skills, with Vanessa Iles (The Reading Writing Hotline), Jo Medlin (ACAL) and a research summary from Robin Miles (Social Equity Works).
- Challenges facing young people in education and employment, with presentations from Lex Nadine Lutherborrow (CEO) and John Martin (College Principal), Youth Off The Streets; and Kira Clarke and Elle McLachlan (Brotherhood of St Laurence), including innovative responses by the ACE sector, with Helen Zwicker, Kiama & Shoalhaven Community Colleges, and others.
- Mature Australian VET markets analysis with national VET expert Dr Don Zoellner.
- How RTOs deliver and measure deliver quality: What it means for community education providers, with VET researcher Hugh Guthrie
- Inclusive principles aim to improve the attraction, engagement, retention and success of students with disability in VET, with Lizzie Knight, Centre for International Research on Education Systems, Victoria University & Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
- Supporting students with disability in VET workshop, with Darlene McLennan, Manager of Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET)
- Provider self-assurance and micro-credentials workshops run by Kevin Ekendahl, Matthew Dale and Katrina Higham from Audit Express.
- “Maximising Inclusive Practices in Hybrid Delivery” workshop, with experienced ACE consultant and workshop facilitator Debbie Littlehales, supported by Indah Susanti.
- “Making Space for a Community of Belonging in COVID & Climate Crisis Times” workshop, with Dr Robbie Lloyd, Board Director of Strategy & Wellbeing at Mid North Coast Community College; and Honorary Research Associate at the Centre for Disability Studies, Sydney University Faculty of Medicine.
- Employability and student readiness skills workshop with social research consultant Dr Jim Cloutman.
Leadership
- Crisis leadership, with former Royal Australian Navy Officer Hugh Simpson, who will speak of his experiences leading a team of more than 200 staff in Kyiv during the current Ukraine war.
- Crisis leadership in ACE panel discussion with NSW Northern Rivers colleges impacted by early 2022 catastrophic flooding, including Kerry Johnson, ACE Colleges, Lismore and Murwillumbah; and Richard Vinycomb, Byron Community College.
- George Liacos, Chair and Founder of Spark Strategy, will apply his 25 years of experience in the community sector, and discuss current trends community-facing organisations are experiencing and the innovative and strategic changes that they face.
- Sonia Clarke, Director at PwC Australia, will highlight key aspects of the PwC Future of Work series, with particular reference to The New Equation in hybrid working: how organisations can strike the right balance of time in the office and working remotely.
- Workshop for new ACE provider CEOs on how to lead a new organisation, conducted by professional executive coach.
- Governance and leadership workshop for Chairs and Board Directors of ACE organisations.
Building our Facilities
- Ventilation and clean air, by Professor Lidia Morawska, a Time magazine “100 Most Influential People in the World in 2021” and consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO). WATCH HER PRESENTATION ON VIDEO HERE (19’33”).
- How to transform training facilities as we move towards a “post-COVID” era, with PwC Australia’s Adam Graham and Michael Gibson, based on their report Delivering the Campus of the Future.
Political Engagement
Commonwealth and NSW skills and training ministers and shadow ministers: The Conference included video messages from:
- The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, Commonwealth Minister for Skills and Training – WATCH THE VIDEO HERE (3’37”)
- The Hon Alister Henskens SC MP, NSW Minister for Skills and Training & for Science, Innovation and Technology – WATCH THE VIDEO HERE (1’16”)
- An interview with Tim Crakanthorp MP, NSW Shadow Minister for Skills and TAFE & Shadow Minister for Tertiary Education, in conversation with CCA CEO, Dr Don Perlgut. – WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE (8’41”)
Welcome to Country
Uncle Allan Murray, Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, provided the “Welcome to Country” to Gadigal Land.
Our Conference Chair
Conference Chair was Chemène Sinson – former Olympic athlete, national-level sports coach and adult educator with a speciality in TAE – who provided dynamic, integrated and thoughtful facilitation to Conference proceedings.
Our speakers: View speaker biographies here.
Special Events
Community Education Trainer of the Year Award: The conference dinner on 13 September was the venue for the Awards ceremony of CCA’s first-ever Community Education Trainer of the Year Award, which celebrates the work and underlines the importance of Australian ACE trainers and teachers.
CONFERENCE SUPPORTERS
Gold Supporters
Silver Supporters
Welcome Drinks Sponsor
Bronze Sponsors
Print Sponsor
The Community Colleges Australia (CCA) Annual Conference is the premier event for Australia’s adult and community education (ACE) providers. Our program of inspirational speakers, education and training experts, facilitated workshops and networking provides an unparalleled business opportunity for sponsors and supporters to reach Australia’s dynamic ACE providers through an interactive exhibition and social events.
Our supporters form a vital part of our conference, and are welcomed by attendees as colleagues and partners. The smaller, more intimate setting of a CCA conference invites in depth discussions and deeper relationships between delegate and supporter. In fact, many of our returning supporters are greeted as old friends.
Supporters receive acknowledgement prior to, during and after the conference through conference materials, the conference app, CCA’s website and email announcements.
Supporters enjoy significant and extended contact with delegates during the conference and social events – at every morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea-time.
SUPPORTER LEVELS
CCA offers support options at three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze, with special one-off opportunities.
CCA Conference Comments Reinforce an Outstanding and Successful Event
The Community Colleges Australia (CCA) September Sydney conference has been called an outstanding success by almost all who responded to the post-conference evaluation. A sample of the comments received: “Great content and great networking”. “Quality of speakers exceeded my expectations.” “Staging another excellent conference even after being absent for a couple of years due to COVID.” “The organisation of the Continue Reading
Senior VET Researcher Focusses on Quality and Community Education Providers at CCA Conference
Senior VET researcher, Hugh Guthrie (pictured), an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Centre for Vocational and Educational Policy in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, focussed on delivery quality with a community education twist at the recent CCA Conference. Hugh is the co-author (with Melinda Waters) of Delivering high-quality VET: what matters to RTOs? published by NCVER earlier this year. Continue Reading
CCA Conference Takeaways from MC Chemene Sinson
The CCA Conference MC, Chemène Sinson (pictured), provides her Conference highlights below: Two days of outstanding presentations and discussions at Community Colleges Australia's national conference has left me feeling energised and optimistic about changes that are starting to happen in adult and community education, and in vocational education and training. The calibre of speakers was outstanding, including Alister Henskens SC Continue Reading
