Preferred Standards to Support Technology in VET
The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) National Flexible Delivery Taskforce was established by the ANTA Board in mid-1995 to provide advice to the Board on how to proceed, at the national level, to make training more flexible. The ANTA 1997 Flexible Delivery Implementation Plan put into effect the outcomes of the Taskforce by commissioning ten Flexible Delivery Projects in 1997. Those projects with a technology focus were referred to the EdNA VET Advisory Group (EVAG) in its wider role of monitoring the national application of Flexible Delivery as endorsed by the ANTA Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Committee.
One of these projects was the 'National Cooperation in Applying Technology to VET' (stage one). The project was conducted by the Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies (CIRCIT) and concluded in December 1997. It proposed a Standards Policy and a Standards Maintenance Process, which were endorsed out of session by the ANTA CEOs. The CEOs also agreed on a further round of detailed consultations in 1998 to reach agreement on the individual draft standards developed by the project during 1997.
It was recognised that the Maintenance Process was also suitable for developing the preferred standards. This process was therefore the basis for the subsequent project, the 'National Cooperation in Applying Technology to VET' (stage two) conducted by CIRCIT in 1998. The purpose of this project was to identify preferred standards in those technologies which support flexible delivery in the VET sector by conducting an extensive consultation process across the sector. Workshops for each of the seven technology areas were held with State and Territory representatives to identify the preferred standards. Consultation papers were written for each of the technology areas and revised on the basis of workshop discussions.
The Project Report, which includes the revised consultation papers, was endorsed by the EdNA VET Advisory Group.
In recommending the report to ANTA CEOs, the EdNA VET Advisory Group highlighted the utility of preferred standards as an agreed platform for the application of technology that ensures a high degree of national and international interoperability. Such interoperability positions Australia well in a competitive global market, and ensures that there is minimal duplication of resources across States and Territories, thus providing significant cost benefits in the medium to long term.
At the meeting on 2 March, 1999, the ANTA CEOs Committee endorsed the following recommendations:
(i) that Chief Executive Officers endorse the Preferred Standards to support national cooperation in applying technology to VET.
(ii) that Chief Executive Officers agree to implement the Preferred Standards in a manner appropriate to their jurisdiction, with due regard to 'whole of government' negotiations in their particular State or Territory, but with the intention of achieving the maximum feasible level of implementation and interoperability for the VET sector.
(iii) that Chief Executive Officers recommend that the costs for the regular Review and Maintenance Process previously endorsed in 1997 be met from National Projects funding and managed through the EdNA VET Advisory Group on behalf of the ANTA CEOs Committee.
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Last modified on June 28, 1999