Considering Currency
AQTF Standard 7 'The Competence of VET Staff' requires VET teachers to demonstrate vocational competencies 'at least to the level being assessed or delivered'. The importance for TAFE teachers to remain current in their industry is reinforced through this standard. However the underlying issues regarding teacher ‘technical industry currency’ are wide and varied.
Embarking on a discovery tour of understandings and practices in relation to the currency of VET teachers' technical industry skills led to research, reports, programs and stories both within and outside Australia. Through this journey key themes emerged, barriers were unearthed and wide ranging benefits highlighted.
Conversations around the increasing pace of change are a common occurrence in any organisation meeting room. Coping with rapidly changing practices and technologies is an ever present reality and organisations must find ways to ensure they are keeping abreast and remaining relevant to their markets. VET teaching and learning is no different. As industry evolves and moves into new ways of working, we too must update our skills and knowledge to ensure we are keeping in touch, are relevant and have the flexibility to work in new ways. Skill sets in VET must match those being demanded in industry. Hence, teachers are more than ever faced with the difficult task of meeting the wide ranging training expectations of individual learners, employers, industry, the community and government.
What is technical industry currency?
Technical industry currency refers to keeping up-to-date in your industry and discipline areas. It focuses on retaining, updating, and if necessary, broadening the competence required to deliver and assess in vocational education and training. (Moy, 2001) The TAFE NSW Professional Development Framework for Teachers identifies technical industry currency as one of the six key domains for teacher development.
According to the Framework this might include:
- Maintaining industry currency
- Professional and industry networks
- Understanding workplace culture
- Information management
- Electronic information management
- Corporate systems
- ICT (information and communication technologies)
- Identifying innovation and development in industry
Remaining technically current requires developing an awareness and understanding of industry related skills and knowledge, innovations, organisational culture, people, structures and networks.
The paradox
VET teachers are specifically employed because of their excellence in industry and depth of experience. These skills and associated knowledge are so valued that at the point of employment the ability to teach is not the priority, rather, industry know how is. Teachers entering TAFE generally have a high capability and expertise in their industry and a much lesser capability in their teaching skills. They are so passionate about their chosen industry that they want to teach others about it. Over time, the balance changes and this presents an interesting paradox. People who were initially employed for technical excellence face the danger of falling behind industry peers in terms of technical industry currency and their passion moves to their profession as a teacher. There may also be a loss of confidence in relation to the relevance of the teacher’s technical skills as they move further away from contact with their original industry.
Ideally, with continued development, it is of benefit to TAFE if teachers are as employable back in industry today as they were when they left. Continuing professional development can maintain and, if necessary, reignite the passion for their industry and reinvigorate the relevance of their teaching practice.
'I didn’t realise I was starting to lose that edge from working with real people. I had become unsure of my skills relevance and begun questioning, am I really doing it properly in the classroom?’.
Real and perceived barriers
A number of concerns surfaced when discussing technical industry currency with teachers. Fears linked to concerns about age and ability to learn new ways, relevance of existing skills, length of time out of industry, exposure to industry as being inadequate and the perception of institutionalisation emerged. While many such issues are unfounded, a reticence to, for example, return to industry or join industry groups, may be the outcome. Teachers need encouragement and support to approach and actively engage with their industry and form partnerships, networks and collaborations.
Some industries are changing so rapidly it is easy for one to become out of touch. This can itself create a barrier for teachers as the perceived gap widens between their skills and current technical industry skills.
Teacher workloads have also increased markedly in recent years and coping with the competing priorities of ensuring excellence in teaching and learning practice and remaining technically current create an ongoing tension. Adequate resourcing to enable broad participation is an ongoing organisational challenge as are the logistical arrangements around setting up programs, finding replacement teachers and recruiting cutting edge industry organisations to engage with.
Benefits
Planned professional development to ensure teachers are up to date with current industry practice has been found to have wide reaching benefits including:
- Teachers are engaged, fresh, excited and passionate about their industry and teaching practice
- TAFE teaching and learning programs are aligned with the needs of industry
- New skills and knowledge are incorporated into curriculum, teaching and learning resources, delivery and support processes
- Teachers have a greater awareness of what industry is looking for in existing students
- TAFE teachers are exposed to industry specialists, cutting edge practices and new technologies
- New business networks, partnerships and relationships are established and enhanced
- Industry gains a greater understanding of TAFE and any barriers, real and perceived, are broken down
- Industry gains new perspectives and understandings from teachers that benefit workplace practice
And, of course, ultimately this all contributes to improving the quality of VET teaching and learning practice.
'My experience was invigorating. It added realism to my work, built strong ties with my industry and created opportunities for my students'.
Some alternatives
There are many options to consider when planning development initiatives to address technical industry currency (see Clayton 2005, TAFE NSW PD Framework 2004 – 2006, Moy 2001,). Individual strategies may include professional association memberships, accreditations, committee memberships, professional reading, conference attendance and such. Other options to consider include:
Return to Industry
Returning to industry for a specific period is an excellent way to update on current practices. Models vary, although all focus on doing ‘real’ work in ‘real’ organisations. Benefits include the break from routine, opportunity to refresh and revitalise, exposure to work practice, networking opportunity and reassurance of capability, just to name a few. However it is not the only solution and has limitations in terms of its high cost, impact in terms of replacing the teachers and difficulty in some regions in finding suitable host organisations. Look for synergy between the host organisation and new areas of teaching and ensure both parties are clear on what is wanted from the relationship.
Right to Private Practice
Many teachers, both full and part time, take the opportunity to continue working in their industry whilst teaching at TAFE. This ensures ongoing exposure to current industry practice although is not necessarily targeted in terms of cutting edge practice.
Industry Projects
Excellent opportunities exist to engage with industry through project work that partners TAFE with industry. Both organisations can benefit from working on collaborative projects with clearly agreed goals and objectives.
Industry Mentors
Industry experts can be invited to mentor teachers in new training packages. This may involve guest teaching, joint delivery, speaking opportunities and ongoing formal and informal contact. It has the added benefit of creating a lasting relationship between the teacher and the organisation.
Study tours
Study tours and industry visits can be conducted both for teachers and students and both have benefits in terms of updating teachers' knowledge. The process of organising visits in key areas allows lasting networks to be established and can expose teachers to practices in organisations that may not be open to more intensive strategies such as return to industry.
Reverse Mentoring
Part time casual teachers and recently appointed teachers can mentor longer term teachers in relation to current industry practice. This strategy has dual benefit as the less experienced teacher forms an ongoing relationship with a more experienced teacher with whom to share learning and support around pedagogical issues.
Workplace delivery
Where delivery is located in the workplace, teachers are exposed on a regular basis to industry practices, innovations and expectations. Delivery in the workplace allows real opportunity for industry networking and updating of skills and knowledge to occur. Ongoing support to ensure against professional isolation as a teacher is essential in these circumstances.
Whatever the initiative it is critical that the objectives are considered up front and the advantages of the relationship for both parties explored.
Sharing the learning
An important aspect of any development initiative is the opportunity for sharing insights and learning. This can be done at section, faculty, Institute or sector level through meetings, electronic communications, presentations and formal and informal professional conversations.
Exemplars sharing excellent practice in maintaining technical industry currency will soon be published through the ICVET website.
See also
TAFE NSW Professional Development Framework for Teachers 2004-2006
