Skill ecosystems in TAFE NSW
Skill ecosystems are communities of interrelated and interacting organisations working as a coherent entity to increase opportunities for sustainability, innovation and growth.
A complex partnership is a cooperative relationship of good faith, mutual respect and understanding and shared decision-making between people or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving specific goals. In a partnership, resources are pooled and profit and risks are shared.
A skill ecosystem can also be thought of as a complex partnership.
TAFE has been urged for years to be more responsive to industry needs and to form industry and community partnerships, so what’s different now? This article identifies the benefits and challenges of skill ecosystems and draws on experiences documented in five TAFE NSW skill ecosystems.
The national Skill Ecosystem Project is an ANTA/ DEST funded project established to encourage new and innovative approaches to skill development and training. There is considerable government interest in exploring new VET operational models to enhance VET capability to more precisely meet industry skill needs and increase capacity building opportunities involving industry partnerships, skill ecosystems, regional development and innovation.
The Case Studies
ICVET funded the development of five case studies that document skill ecosystems operating in TAFE NSW and these are outlined below. (These initiatives were not funded by the national Skill Ecosystem Project.)
The accompanying case studies document five different approaches to skill ecosystems. Each case study is at a different stage in the lifecycle of a skill ecosystem and each has achieved considerable successful outcomes for TAFE and industry alike.
- In the Shearer training case study strong links have been established with the Shearing Contractors Association and other industry groups to the extent that existing worker traineeships have gone from zero to 270 in 12-18 months. Key partnerships have been formed and supported by effective flexible delivery, leading to cultural change in a conservative industry.
- In the Sheep Cooperative Research Centre case study, a staff member from the Primary Industries Curriculum Centre of TAFE NSW is seconded to the Australian Sheep Industry CRC (Sheep CRC). The partnership between TAFE NSW and Sheep CRC is leading to the development of resources to support the delivery of national competencies in sheep and wool by RTOs, better integration between VET and industry funded extension programs; support of a national industry education program covering VET and schools; and potential for real links between VET and universities by working with common course content.
- The Riverina Institute case study describes industry and TAFE NSW-Riverina Institute working together to establish a Food and Wine Technology Centre to cater for the needs of a highly competitive regional industry. The centre provides flexible customised training and services for the local food and wine industry. The industry is changing and future pressures from rapid expansion and global exports/imports mean the partnership now has an opportunity to move to a new level of partner commitment.
- In this case study TAFE NSW Southern Sydney Institute entered a unique partnership with Sutherland Shire Council and the University of Wollongong (UOW) to develop and jointly oversee a business development precinct called Sutherland Shire Hub for Economic Development (SSHED). SSHED has just won Australian Business Incubator of the Year for innovation in business development. 76 new jobs have been created and five companies now have over $1 million turnovers. This case study has the ingredients of a skill ecosystem and can be described as in the early stages.
- This case study describes how South Western Sydney Institute customised the TAFE NSW Graduate Certificate in Management of Innovation for a group of local SMEs. TAFE teachers and industry representatives undertook the course together, working collaboratively in groups on workplace projects. The success of these workplace projects has strengthened teacher confidence in working with industry as well as providing the space for innovation to occur amongst teachers and local industry. This case study could become a skill ecosystem and is a potential model that could be rolled out to seed meaningful TAFE and industry partnerships.
Defining industry skill needs is becoming more complex as skill shortages, skill gaps and vacancies become harder to define partly due to changing patterns of work. These challenges are placing demands on VET to be more innovative in how to address industry needs. TAFE NSW and VET organisations generally are responding in innovative ways to meet these needs as demonstrated through the accompanying case studies. Two of the associated case studies reveal TAFE NSW as an integral component in the innovation process, describing TAFE NSW as identifying and refining new skills during prototype test and innovation rollout.
Models for skill ecosystems and regional development suggest a deeper level of partnership and collaboration produce wide ranging skill development benefits for industry and VET.
The VET sector is facing declining student numbers, growing contact hours and an increase in VET expenditure relative to GDP (NCVER quoted in Loble, 2005). This situation is not sustainable and is eroding the status of VET leading to increased momentum for efficient capacity building initiatives. Skill ecosystems create an environment that is outward looking and seek to improve the competitive advantage of skill ecosystem partners. The accompanying case studies indicate capacity building is a tangible outcome of skill ecosystems with the Shearer Training case study taking traineeships from zero to 270 in 12 to 18 months.
Two of the associated case studies reveal Models for skill ecosystems and regional development suggest a deeper level of partnership and collaboration produce wide ranging skill development benefits for industry and VET.
The case studies identify both benefits and challenges initiating a skill ecosystem. The long lead-time for establishing essential success factors such as trust and common goals means hard work can go unrecognised in organisational systems geared for shorter term outcomes. Unintentional outcomes identified in the accompanying case studies include embedding TAFE in the innovation process and fostering business/ industry development all of which help to increase the status of VET.
Benefits and challenges of skill ecosystems
The benefits and challenges of establishing a skill ecosystem are numerous and vary with each one. Some consistent benefits include:
- Sharing resources and information
- Developing new internal skills
- Increasing credibility with partners and their networks
- Increasing business opportunities/ capacity building
- Greater understanding of partners and their networks
- Risk sharing
- Involvement in innovation
- Increasing capacity and the strengthening of the organisation
- Greater responsiveness and transparency
- Clarifying organisational purpose, goals and values
- Enhancing a culture of participation and collaboration
- Developing more comprehensive products and services
Some consistent challenges include:
- The length of time needed to establish and sustain a skill ecosystem
- Legal and financial obligations
- Poor performance can adversely affect organisational credibility
- Increased workload
- Cultural change
- Managing risk
Most of these challenges can also become benefits
A long lead-time accommodates clarification
of expectations and facilitates incremental risk-taking.
Legal and financial obligations are usually two-way and indicate a strong commitment by all partners. Legal and financial obligations normally form part of a formal agreement requiring high-level commitment and high-level commitment is considered a factor in the success of skill ecosystems and partnerships.
Cultural change is an ongoing process and is an imperative when facing the challenges confronting VET and TAFE. Adaptive change has successfully been used in the associated case studies where early successes have led to positive cultural shifts.
Providing structures to manage and positively support risk takers is important for TAFE in realising a role in innovation. Yet this is difficult in a high profile organisation like TAFE, which is exposed to public and political scrutiny. Risk-taking can be fostered when executive staff recognise that efforts made for the right reasons may sometimes fail. The response to failures, in a public and positive way, sends the message that risk-taking in the pursuit of commendable goals can become a positive learning experience for all, will be accepted, and in fact is encouraged.
Cultivating decision-making confidence is fundamental to supporting risk-takers and skill ecosystem processes reinforce and build confidence amongst partners in decision-making.
Additional case studies examining international and further TAFE NSW initiatives in skill ecosystems and partnerships, will, along with think pieces and other articles, are available from the links below. These can be used to explore opportunities to expand existing partnerships into skill ecosystems.
Reference
LOBLE Leslie, 2005, Skill ecosystem as a new model, Powerpoint presentation, Skill Ecosystem National Project meeting, Sydney
See also
Skill Ecosystem | A-Z RESOURCES
PARTNERSHIP & ENTREPRENEURSHIP (Research & Exemplars)
