TAFE: Essential maintenance of skills and competencies
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 126 No 1, 12 February 2021, page no.23
Vocational educators are required to maintain their professional and vocational competency and currency by both national regulation and the certified agreements.
Educators have to undertake professional development to update their knowledge and practice in the areas of vocational training, learning, assessment and competency-based training, and the same is true of industry or vocational skills, which can be evidenced in many ways. For instance, you may demonstrate currency of industry skills and vocational competency in the units you teach if you hold the qualification being delivered and have recent industry experience.
To maintain their current industry skills, trainers and assessors have to engage in a relevant industry workplace to update their knowledge and skills with regard to the latest techniques, processes, technologies and resources currently utilised in the industry area they teach. This "industry release" is one activity you can use your PD for. Ideally these updates will inform your course delivery, aligning it with the current needs of the relevant industry and the community.
Other activities that may help maintain your current industry skills include:
- part-time or voluntary industry placement
- relevant accredited or non-accredited training
- membership of industry associations, industry/employer consultations or attendance at industry networking events
- reading industry journals, podcasts or online newsletters to keep up with changes in technology or industry trends and legislation.
To this end, both the TAFE Queensland Certified Agreement 2019 and the CQU Enterprise Agreement 2016 provide a minimum of 10 days entitlement to professional development, to maintain currency and competency for both industry and VET knowledge and skills.