astra domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/studyfoxx/public_html/proactivetraining.com.au/news/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131We wrote a bit about skills passports in VDC News in October this year, arising \u2013 as it did \u2013 from the Employment White Paper. In that article<\/a> we noted that while there might be positives about setting such a system up, a key issue was quality control of what the passport contains, especially if it was to contain non-formal education and other information that might be difficult to verify.<\/p>\n Just the other day, Craig Fowler, a former MD of NCVER, has given his insights on that topic in an article in Future Campus<\/a>. He asks whether these passports are a game changer or just a new \u201ce-cover on an old book\u201d?<\/p>\n As he points out, the skills passport notion boils down to having<\/p>\n \u2018easier and simpler\u2019 processes for faster, more reliable and trustful information exchange between employers and employees\/learners concerning hiring decisions \u2013 transactional \u2018win-win\u2019 benefits.<\/p>\n The rationale is for \u201cgraduates\/employees to impress their qualifications on employers, become more employable and achieve career progression\u201d and \u201cenabling Australians to have their full range of qualifications, microcredentials, prior learning, workplace experience and general capabilities recognised across the education and training system and in the employment market.\u201d (We\u2019ll return to that issue later!)<\/p>\n But its development needs a business case he suggests and as the Government has acknowledged. In short, he\u2019s asking is there a need for this, and is the need already being met, at least to some extent, through a variety of available platforms?<\/p>\n Craig argues there is already a fair bit out there and available both in Australia and internationally, and he points out in the article what is available. As he notes, however:<\/p>\n \u201cThe expectation is that individuals will have a role in control and maintenance of [the passport\u2019s] content, currency, correctness, and liability for false entries that others may rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a critical issue!<\/p>\n If a wide range of information is in scope for the passport, he suggests, \u201cit strains any claims that it will be a \u2018single source of truth\u2019 given (part) self-management by individuals and as costs of verification escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n Thus:<\/p>\n \u201cAny business case on a skills passport will have to be absolutely clear on its purpose and limits. Is it to be designed and built for students, for employers, for both, for verification of credentials\/licences, or as a \u2018market\u2019 for linking job seekers and employers? Perhaps the BCA only sees it as a \u2018game changer\u2019 if its structure is like the Singapore model [like My SkillsFuture]<\/a>, giving extra government-funding for \u2018life-long\u2019 skilling and learning.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the things that would be useful in a skills passport, for students and graduates at least, would be to enable them to describe and detail the experiences they have had in developing and being assessed for their 21st Century and other generic skills \u2013 a thing which our current system based on training packages is not really all that good at doing. However, these skills are something prospective employers are vitally interested in when making recruitment choices. This is something, therefore, that a passport could be very concerned to document.<\/p>\n Delving back into the long history of work in VET, back in 2003 Rob Denton and David Curtis authored a paper<\/a> for NCVER. It looked specifically at problem solving and aimed to develop, administer and evaluate an assessment tool, the problem-solving assessment instrument to assess and document problem solving ability in VET students in electrotechnology. The aim was to use authentic approaches, such as those undertaken on participants\u2019 attempts to solve problems that occur routinely in their courses and on tasks that simulate tasks that are expected to be encountered in the workplace.<\/p>\n While this is not what Fowler specifically talks about, it does beg the question about how well we assess and document the assessment of things we already teach, or could teach more effectively, that really interest employers!<\/p>\nEasier and Simpler<\/h2>\n
An afterthought?<\/h2>\n
Thinking about how to document generic skills students hold and have demonstrated<\/h3>\n