Standards to Support National Cooperation in Applying Technology to VET
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Communications Flows in the
VET Sector
The Business Model
Technology Trends -
the Next Two to Five years
The Spectrum of
Standards
Open Standards and
ANTA Objectives and Barriers
1. Communication
Flows
2. Choosing
and Designing the Training Course
3. The Learner, the Class
and the Teacher/Trainer
4. The Perspective of the
Training Provider
This project aims to set standards for electronically mediated communication between people involved in VET education. This involves a wider range of communications than between a teacher and a class.
Three diagrams below attempt to show the more significant types of communication which are entailed in the complete cycle of VET education. These diagrams are not exhaustive or intended to be specific. They are intended to depict who certain participants in the process need to communicate with; there are no arrows representing communication flows.
The first diagram depicts both the employer and the learner in the centre - at a time when they are deciding whether to commence a course, when they are searching for VET providers and while they may be negotiating with providers to devise courses tailored to their specific needs.
In some cases there will be a single learner searching for a course, with or without the involvement of their employer. In other cases the employer may take the initiative, on behalf of one or more of their employees. The training providers are typically TAFE institutes or commercial training colleges, but may include training divisions of the employer. In larger, geographically distributed companies, local managers may wish to choose between all three in finding the best source of training for the learners they are responsible for.
The top of the diagram depicts the VET sector: training providers and the state/territory VET agency. All three are likely to approach or be approached by the learner and/or employer seeking training. It is vital that, in addition to normal channels of advertising, open-days etc., there be a straightforward path by which an employer or learner can find out what training resources are relevant to them. This ability to `browse' the available resources could be achieved with a single Web based search / index facility which links to the sites of the providers and the VET agency. Similarly, a single phone enquiry system and a printed catalogue would achieve the same aims for the many employers and learners who do not have Internet access.
Which training resources are relevant is determined primarily by the vocational nature of the training, for instance automotive mechanics or fish farming. However, with successful flexible delivery strategies, there need be no geographic restriction on the location of the training provider.
The best form of training may or may not involve learners going to TAFE or private providers sites, or engaging in distance education directly with them. Training may be provided by the employer's specialised training officers, or by some combination of on-the-job training and work with external providers.
The above pre-supposes that suitable training courses already exist, but in a rapidly changing world this may not be the case. In that case communication between the employer and the ITAB is vital. Employers are most likely to make contact with the relevant ITAB through an industry association, rather than directly.
Neither the learners (or learners-to-be), the employer, nor the industry association are part of the VET sector, and it is important that the various VET institutions make themselves available via a variety of communication modes to those who may have little understanding of what the sector has to offer.
This diagram depicts the learner at the centre of the people, institutions and physical and network based resources they need to communicate with as part of their training. It also shows the teacher and/or workplace instructor and their need for communication with their colleagues and with course creators.
The class is the primary zone of communication, whether in a classroom, at the workplace or via electronic communications. The ability of learners to work with other learners is likely to be just as important as their ability to communicate with the teacher / instructor.
The role of teacher/instructor and course creators are shown separately here, but a significant part of the course creation may be done by the teachers and trainers. No diagram could comprehensively depict the types of communication required in a rich vocational education environment; the aim here is to show the diversity of people and resources which the learner may need to communicate with, whilst emphasising the strong need for interpersonal and text, file and other kinds of communication within the class.
In addition to their day-to-day contact with learners, the staff of TAFE institutes, private training providers and employer training divisions need to work with a variety of people and institutions. The hardware, software, communication links and skills which are needed for the directly class related activities of training providers should also serve to improve their communicative ability in the other aspects of their work.
This diagram is suggestive of the variety of purposes of communication. In addition to face-to-face meetings, letters, faxes and phone calls, both email and World Wide Web communications are well suited to finding, learning about and interacting with other people and institutions.
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Last modified on February 26, 1998.