The Globalisation of Vocational Education Standards
[caption id="attachment_1048" align="alignleft" width="400"] Above:Thousands of Chinese tradies will need training in basic OHS and construction skills[/caption]
Recently, Australia participated in the "China Australia Vocational Education and Training Strategic Policy Dialogue", which brought together officials from both our governments, policy leaders and leaders of industry to discuss ways in which we can collaborate.
According to Hon Simon Birmingham, Australia's Assistant Minister for Education and Training, these talks "have advanced the opportunities for China and Australia to collaborate in terms of the development of qualifications, the recognition of those qualifications, the involvement of employers and enterprise and industry in ensuring qualifications are fit for purpose and relevant to jobs, and ensuring the highest quality of training that is provided, especially by those Australian operators providing training in China."
An MoU has been signed between the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) and the China Education Association for International Exchange, to strengthen the skills and VET relationship with China and ensure the ongoing quality of training.
How can Australian training providers ensure that the quality of training they offer in China is the same quality as the training they offer here? With staff located thousands of kilometres away, how can it be cost effective to set up operations in a foreign country and monitor the way training is conducted? If this scenario sounds like a nightmare to you, then you will be pleased to know that Australia is also a world-leader in innovative software for education.
The best way is to use a cloud-based Training Organisation Management System (TOMS). This is far more than a Student Management System, or a Learning Management System. It combines both of these, and everything else an RTO requires, into a seamless integrated system that allows training to be conducted and monitored anywhere in the world, from anywhere you want.
A Training Organisation Management System allows a student to log-in in China, and be assessed by a trainer in Sydney. A trainer in Perth can watch an carpenter in Ireland erect scaffolding in Dublin, using his smart-phone. It allows a compliance manager in Melbourne, to check on the progress of a trainer in Abu Dhabi, before issuing a certificate by email to a student in Fiji. All without buying an airfare. It allows an RTO manager in Perth to update the policies and procedures of the RTO's office in Columbo, update the resources to the latest training package in 5 countries and check the CPD of a new trainer in Taiwan. Before lunch.
The facts and figures surrounding the globalisation of VET are staggering. China plans to train 8 million people in vocational education over the next 5 years, up from the 30 million today. In countries such as China, the skilled occupations we take for granted in Australia, including trades, construction, and designing, are only just beginning to demand qualified workers. The opportunities this presents Australian training providers are mind boggling.
Smart RTOs are utilising existing purpose-built software platforms to prepare themselves for rapid expansion. On-line resources and e-learning portals can easily be customised for clients, which may include large employers in foreign countries who want flexible work-place based training when and where it suits them. Cloud-based systems allow 'pop-up campuses' to be set up quickly and easily, anywhere they are needed.
Best of all, cloud-based TOMS enable an RTO to remain compliant no matter where they operate. Assessments can be standardised across multiple operations, ensuring that the benchmarks set in one country are the same as those on the other side of the world. An auditor in Sydney can examine the records of an RTO office in Shanghai.
This is no longer futuristic. It is possible right now.
By Daniel Wurm - E-learning consultant at Construction College
