Why Practical Skills Are Back at the Centre of Workforce Development
Something’s changed in the world of work. Vocational training’s importance to workforce development has seen a resurgence recently. The calling in many sectors for workers with practical skills and hands-on experience has shown no signs of slowing down. These days, employers and industry representatives are much less interested in whether prospective employees have academic qualifications. What matters is whether they have the skills to do the job. The renewed recognition of the value of practical skills is a shot in the arm for vocational and on-the-job training providers.
Here’s why vocational training and practical skills have become so important, the role of competency-based learning in vocational education, and why registered training organisations are investing in their operations.
Why is practical skills training so important now?
In recent years, it became apparent to more and more employers that academic qualifications don’t necessarily translate to practical capabilities and job readiness. They were finding that while their employees and new hires might have gained a qualification in a given field, this didn’t always mean they had the hands-on capability to back it up. Vocational training that delivers practical skills can bridge this gap. More and more school leavers, career-changers, and university graduates are turning to vocational training. They want a more grounded skill set that can open up employment opportunities and provide a foundation for future learning.
This upturn in demand for hands-on training is an opportunity, but also a challenge. It’s not easy to respond to demand and give learners a decent experience while complying with regulatory requirements.
What does all this mean for training providers?
Those who would like to look into training organisations’ operations from the inside out will see their commitment to regulatory requirements and operational excellence. Who could blame them? The regulatory environment doesn’t leave much room for error. Any organisation that doesn’t have its house in order risks its registration. Training organisations don’t want to be in that situation, which is why many are investing in their operations – as an example, anyone curious about what this looks like need only look at the different registered training organisation software solutions on offer. These solutions address all the relevant demands of the regulatory environment.
The learner experience matters. Training organisations are investing so much in providing high-quality training and adhering to standards because they understand the importance of getting it right. What matters too is a training design that translates well to workplace environments. It’s another reason vocational training includes competency-based learning models.
Competency-based learning: practical training and assessing capabilities
In competency-based training models, learners need to demonstrate their skills to meet the stipulated criteria. The model is more complex than traditional assessment methods but more suited to what many workplaces need. Vocational learning is about more than imparting knowledge – it’s about equipping learners with demonstrable skills. The best practices might vary according to industry. The demands placed on someone who has just completed an aged care course will be different from those placed on a newly minted construction worker or restaurant manager. But all will be expected to meet competency standards. It’s not an easy job designing courses that do so. Industry input and close learner engagement are essential to getting course design right. A close look at VET course design shows most organisations have wrapped their heads around this by now (although some have room for improvement).
The industries driving this demand
The list of industries where employers are crying out for skilled workers could be long. Some sectors have been through intense growth in recent years, while others have had to deal with huge fallout from the pandemic. Construction has been booming for some time now, for example, as infrastructure projects ramp up nationwide.
Other sectors will be familiar: aged care and disability support face workforce shortages across Australia’s rapidly ageing population; hospitality and retail need more workers as the economy rebounds. The skills gap is real, so far as government policy is concerned, it needs to be filled through investment in vocational pathways. This means greater responsibilities for training organisations – but they’re rising to the challenge. Many of them see themselves as an essential part of workforce development strategies in these sectors.
Meeting evolving industry needs
Vocational training can only succeed if organisations collaborate closely with the industry they serve. Course design plays an important role here – so too does surveying learners to find out how well training translates into workplace skills. More than anyone else, training organisations understand the importance of getting it right.
Responding to a resurgence
Interest in vocational learning has dropped off a bit over previous decades, but Australians have recently experienced a resurgence in demand for practical job skills. As demand increases, registered training organisations need to be equipped for growth. Ensuring operational excellence allows vocational education providers to stay ahead of demand while providing a good experience for learners.
Getting this right is not easy – but it’s worth doing
More than anything else, organisations that take stock of their position in this upturn have a real chance to make a difference where it counts – for people, and for the industries they enter or re-enter every day.