A National Skills Strategy

5 consolidate Government skills programs and better target training to meet industry and employer needs.” Long-term skills strategies must be centrally driven, clearly articulated and capture the ‘buy-in’ of industry. Within the above statement, government’s responsibility is to create the industry and employer need. To leave VET provision to the whim of markets controlled by individuals and employers risks short-term thinking, and a potential crisis in the national skills profile. Support strategies to encourage individual participation in VET should rely on strategic rather than reactive measures. Training is a longer term commitment by all stakeholders: individuals, governments, employers and industry, to create a skilled future workforce. Longer term commitment must be secured within a longer term, strategic framework.

7. Conclusion Australia’s vocational education and training

system has faced significant criticism and reform in recent years, as labour and skills shortages threaten the potential and viability of Australian industry to compete in a global economy. Stakeholders government, industry, VET organisations, employers and individuals have competing interests in the shape and outcomes of VET, yet the shift to a market-led, demand-driven system risks short-term thinking to override the long-term strategic thinking required to equip a nation’s workforce for the future. R EFERENCES Australian Industry Group, 2011, Productivity Commission Draft Research Report Vocational Education and Training Workforce Response, Australian Industry Group http:www.aigroup.com.auportalbinarycom.epicentric.co ntentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServletLIVE_C ONTENTPolicy2520and2520RepresentationSubmissi onsEducation2520and2520Training2011R_Ai2520 Group_Productivity_Commission_Vocational_Education_ and_Training_Workforce_28Feb2011.pdf Department of Education Early Childhood Development, 2012, 2011 Victorian Training Market Quarterly Report – Full Year, Victorian Government, Melbourne Department of Education Early Childhood Development, 2012, Refocussing Vocational Training in Victoria, Victorian Government, Melbourne http:www.eduweb.vic.gov.auedulibrarypubliccommrel refocusing-vet-statement.pdf Department of Education, Employment Workplace Relations, 2011, Workforce Development Funding guidelines, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra http:www.deewr.gov.auSkillsProgramsSkillTrainingn wdfPagesdefault.aspx Dickie, M, Eccles, C, FitzGerald, I McDonald, R, 2004, Enhancing the capability of VET professionals: Final report, ANTA, Brisbane. http:vital.new.voced.edu.auvitalaccessservicesDownlo adngv:13412SOURCE2 Florida, R, 2005, The Flight of the Working Class, Harper Business, USA Fuller, A Unwin, L, 2007, What counts as good practice in contemporary apprenticeships? Evidence from two contrasting sectors in England, Education Training vol 49, UK Knight, B, 2012, Evolution of apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia: an unfinished history, NCVER, Adelaide Labour Economics Office Victoria, 2011, Skills Shortages Victoria, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra http:www.deewr.gov.auEmploymentLMISkillShortages DocumentsSkills_Shortages_Victoria_June_2011.pdf Mitchell, J Ward, J, 2011, The JMA Analytics Model of VET Capability Development: A report on the National Survey of Vocational Education and Training VET Practitioner Skills http:www.vta.vic.edu.audocsPositionDiscussion20Pap ersJMA_Analytics_National_VET_Capability_Developm ent_31_Jan_2010.pdf Perry, W, 2011, Workforce Plan Template, Workforce Blueprint, Adelaide SA http:workforceplanningtools.com.autoolsworkforce- planningworkforce-plan-template Precision Consultancy, 2011, A Capability Framework for the VET Sector: a proposed approach, Innovation and Business Services Australia, Melbourne, http:www.ibsa.org.auPortalsibsa.org.audocsProject RelatedEducation12-09 Edu PD OptDiscussion PaperDraft Discussion Paper VET Capability Framework v3.docx Productivity Commission, 2011, Vocational education and training workforce: research report, Productivity Commission, Melbourne. http:www.pc.gov.auprojectsstudyeducation- workforcevocationalreport Ray, J, 2001, Apprenticeship in Australia: An historical snapshot, NCVER, Adelaide Rudd, M, Henderson, R, Usher, D, Hawtin, M 2008 Rapid review of Research on Apprenticeships, The Learning and Skills Council, Coventry http:www.apprenticeships.org.ukAbout- UsPublications~mediaDocumentsPublicationsApprenti ceships_Literature_Review_final.ashx Skills Victoria, 2009, Securing Jobs for your Future: Skills for Victoria, Victorian Government, Melbourne http:www.skills.vic.gov.au__dataassetspdf_file0007188449 ssa-review-of-skills-vic.pdf Victoria University, 2011, Excellent, Engaged and Accessible: Victor ia University’s plan to be a great university of the 21st century, 2011-2016, Victoria University, Melbourne http:www.vu.edu.ausitesdefaultfileswfgpdfsvu- strategic-plan-concise.pdf Victoria University, 2012, THE VU AGENDA: EXCELLENT, ENGAGED AND ACCESSIBLE - Implementing the Strategic Plan for Victoria University to be a Great University of the Twenty First Century, Victoria University, Melbourne Wheelahan, L Moodie, G, 2011, The quality of teaching in VET: final report and recommendations, Australian College of Educators, Mawson A 6 PARTNERSHIP MODELS OF VET AND INDUSTRY: GERMANY EXPERIENCES IN FIRST AND CONTINUOUS EDUCATION. Prof. Dr. Thomas Köhler Abstract The German educational system has a serious strength concerning the organization of the vocational and technical education. A core component of the TVET is the strong inter-organizational, even inter-sectorial linkage between vocational institutions and industry. The principle of the German model is to interlink training components coming from both sides, VET and Industry. Whereas in some other European states more than 50 of the workforce received a mainly academic training, taking place at a colleges and universities, in Germany the majority of the workforce is trained within the VET programmes. Due to the core role of the two key players, VET and Industry, it is labelled the “Dual System”. However over the last 25 years the Dual System did not always receive high appreciation. Indeed also in Germany the vocational education training has lost some attention not only among the young. Even policy was more concerned about the Europe-wide harmonization of the academic education sector, labelled as the Bologna process. Also young people tend to prefer office oriented professions, for example in an administration or in the media industry, what has led to further difficulties. Now, with the demographic change due to a decreased birth rate, for the first time since decades there are more apprenticeships in VET offered than young people exist These influences are among others currently leading to a renewed attention given to the VET in Germany. The paper will discuss two examples for new development lines in a case study like manner, concerning both challenges and related approaches for structural developments of the VET in Germany. Measure 1 deals with the European Framework for Education, an 8-step-scale that defines how to interlink the different levels of any education provided in Europe. Indeed the national VET schemes lead sometimes to dead ends of education, when the highest vocational level is reached but the transfer to other educational routes would not be allowed. It will be discussed what consequences such a unified qualification scheme does have for the Dual System in VET and how the German educational sector tries to keep up, perhaps even advances by adopting it. Measure 2 deals with need of an improved collaboration of VET and Industry in the training process. Here the duality leads to some weakness because education is not delivered by one institution only. Indeed even different regulations need to be applied to determine the targets and contents of the VET. Introduced is a research project of Dresden University of Technology, one of Germanys leading academic institutions, which aims to promote social interaction between learners and teachers to encourage the building of vocational online- communities of learners and teachers in vocational education but also of practitioners who are located at different places but need to exchange knowledge and information

1. Measure 1: The European Framework for Education and its meaning for the TVET in

Germany The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning EQF is a relatively new eight- step scale that defines how to interlink the different levels of any education provided in Europe. The EQF, Which is intended to act as a vehicle for linking the various national qualifications system via so-called National Qualifications Framework in order to create greater understanding of national qualifications at a European level profiles cf. EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 2008. Following the recommendation of the European Parliament and European Council of 23 April 2008 on its establishment the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning should be linked to the national system of qualifications until 2010. However, the new scheme does not directly fit the German legal situation as defined by the Vocational Training Act cp. Federal Ministry for Education and Research, 2005. To implement this new European specification in Germany it has been agreed to develop a national qualifications framework, the DQR. Following the adoption of the DQR see DQR Working Group, 2011 in the group DQR also been afforded an opportunity to begin the mapping of national qualifications levels to the DQR. As described by Esser 2012 already during the phase of drafting the DQR drew a dissent in the positions between the TVET affiliated institutions and the Standing Conference of the Education of the German states KMK occurred. In particular the allocation of professional qualifications and general university entrance qualification could not be resolved, even until now.