National Quality Council Priorities for 2009

Overview

On Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February 2009 the National Quality Council met to discuss and agree to their priorities for 2009. The planning session gave the Council an opportunity to:

understand the key issues and future skill challenges in the Australian workforce;
reflect on NQC processes over the past year and consider future ways of working to best deliver on the NQC Charter;
agree to the priorities and establish Action Groups to implement its 2009 Work Plan this work.

At their April Meeting the NQC established five Action Groups to progress these priorities.

Key issues and future skill challenges

In order to inform their understanding of the key issues and future skill challenges, the NQC invited the CEOs of the eleven Industry Skills Councils to provide presentations grouped around major themes agreed by the CEOs. These were:

Sustainability – “green” skills
Training and Assessment Training Package
Training Products for the 21st Century
E-scans for VET
Continuous Improvement Processes

The NQC took away the following messages from the ISC presentations:

“Green” technology, knowledge and practice is evolving at different rates across industry sectors. The need for “green” skills will also evolve over time at different rates across industry sectors.
MCVTE’s direction to the NQC to introduce green skills within core competencies for all traineeship and apprenticeship qualifications needs to be planned in accordance with the industry timelines for technology and skills.
There is a need for longer term investment in development of “green” competencies, resources and the professional development of VET practitioners.
A substantial amount of work has already been done in introducing “green” competencies in electro-technology and construction industry qualifications.
The terminology of “green” skills is narrow and in some industries has sensitive connotations. There is a need for agreed definitions and terminology preferably using “sustainability” as the basis.
ISC’s are well placed to undertake the work required of the NQC in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of industry and stakeholders more generally.
The quality and effectiveness of the TAA 04 Training Package needs to be reviewed. A national strategic audit of the TAA will inform the review and subsequent development needs of the VET workforce.
The importance of maintaining industry ownership of the competency standards, and the need to equip the VET workforce with the skills and resources to deliver the training products for the 21st Century.
E-scans need to reflect leading edge trends and grass roots intelligence rather than rely too much on historical quantitative data
The need for continuous improvement of training packages is a reality of evolving job roles and technology and RTOs. Opportunities for streamlining the training package approval process – ISCs/STAs/NQC need to be taken.

NQC working arrangements for 2009

At their November 2008 meeting the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE) agreed that the working arrangements for advisory bodies such as the NQC should utilise an Action Group model rather than standing sub-committees.

The NQC discussed a set of protocols that would govern the establishment and operation of action groups and noted a number of their features, agreeing that they should be established on an “as needs” basis, for a fixed period of time. They should be outcome and achievement focussed with a clear sense of outputs, actions and activities to be undertaken and the milestones along the way to achieve the outputs. They should also ensure appropriate engagement and consultation with stakeholders.

The Council agreed that the Action Group model should provide for a transparent and streamlined approach to NQC business. Each Action Group will have a reference from the NQC that will be publicly available on the NQC website, and will provide greater clarity for stakeholders around roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability.

It was also agreed that NQC action groups would be chaired by an NQC member and will report directly to the NQC. They will have membership at an appropriate senior level and with suitable expertise, and will be balanced, ensuring appropriate levels of industry, provider and client representation. While Action Groups would have the ability to establish subcommittees the NQC agreed that this should be the exception rather than the rule and if particular technical expertise was required this would generally be acheived through the membership of the Action Group itself.

Action Groups will have a budget sourced from NQC funds.

Priority areas for action in the draft 2009 Work Plan

At its April 9 meeting the NQC established and endorsed the membership of five Action Groups. A further five high priority areas were identified, four of which will be progressed by the NQC Secretariat. These are as follows:

Action Groups	High Priority Areas
VET Products for the 21st Century Skills for Sustainability National Consistency Quality of Assessment International VET	Training Package Processes Need and options for Graded Assessment Equity Bradley Review interface VET Workforce Development

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