Introduction
This document is attempting to provide perspectives on specific
aspects of the response being put together by Otago Polytechnic and partner ITP
providers to the government so as to enhance the outcomes for NZ Government,
providers and learners sought from this significant review.
This includes perspectives on the existing capabilities of
stand alone providers working in conjunction with a new central organisation to
ensure continuity of historic employer, industry, ITO and education partnerships; to allow for
increased responsiveness to the increasingly dynamic employment context; to
enable the best innovation that exists to continue to contribute to the benefit
of all New Zealand regions and their employers, employees and students.
The author has in the past played a strategic employment and
consulting role in similar initiatives both in the UK and New Zealand,
concerning the revision of the vocational qualification and training system in
the UK, the subsequent adoption of a competence based qualification system in
New Zealand, and the development of electronic industry qualifications with the
then Electro Technology Industry Training Organisation that covered semi
skilled, trade, technician, para and full professional roles in the industry.
Stability of employment
roles at the various levels
In the past few decades and continuing, it is the roles at
the base of the employment pyramid, that are undergoing the most change. Why,
because they are dealing with parts of processes or functions where
technological change is completely changing what is done; for example automated
production, testing, packaging. In contrast some trades roles are either
upgrading to technican roles eg electricians, or are being replaced altogether.
At higher technician and professional
levels, the work role functions of things like management,design,
commissioning, servicing remain but use different technology contexts. The
author has identified from his PhD research that most professionals can be
described as roles which are there to solve problems in the field eg engineers
solve engineering problems, lawyers solve legal problems and doctors solve
medical problems.
What does this mean for employment development? It means
that learning has to be based around process; specific processes at lower
levels using contextualised technology and at higher levels more stable
processes of contextualised problem solving which are learned in one context
and time and then continually adapted to new contexts throughout working life.
At all levels, there are foundation capabilities that
underpin work performance such as communication, problem solving, teamwork and
learning. At lower levels these are then used to develop work performance in
customised technical processes The former can be developed alongside specific practice
and the concept of edubits micro credentialing offers a very good way for this
to occur primarily in a work place.
However, at more advanced role levels more time needs to be
spent linked with an education provider which can assist learning though supply
of integrated bodies of knowledge associated with a given discipline and
applying these in ways, which develop the problem solving capability processes
in the para professional or professional disciplines This development can take
place in both education providers and workplaces eg nursing, occupational
therapy, business, engineering etc.
Implications for
qualifications design and delivery
The existing framework of diplomas and degrees are both well
understood by everyone both in NZ and overseas and we have had two decades of
Industry Training Organisations contributing to the content of these
qualifications based on competence standards. So, the proposed Industry Skill Bodies
(ISBs) are well placed to continue their development, but I would suggest in
more close conjunction with ITP providers. But the new proposed body of a Regional
Leadership Group (RLG) has a significant role to play. First in recognising
needs of local regions, but second to input requests for variations to
qualifications.
This would suggest that providers in regions alongside these
RLGs need to work alongside the ISBs to ensure variation to standard
qualifications.
What this means is that there is a common proportion to such
qualifications whose percentage of local variation might vary more at lower
levels for reasons given above and less at degree and above levels.
If such variation can be fixed into the structure of qualification
and subsequent provision, one can then have variety available to all education providers
to use as their local context changes. At the same time, some of the content,
learning processes and capability models, based on measured success, can gradually
be shifted into the core or standardised part of qualifications.
This idea was used in the UK over 25 years ago where all
awarding bodies had to provide the same national qualifications, but were
allowed to provide localised variants, which if successful, could be
incorporated into national qualifications later.
The implications for such innovation provides the following:
- · Education tutors can be involved with industry and regional representatives to both develop the qualification structure, competence standards, generic capabilities, delivery and assessment guides and online content areas.
- · Local variants can be provided by RLBs and education providers working in conjunction with Industry Skill Bodies
- · The ubiquity of online networking can allow such groups to work together across the whole of NZ under coordinated national project management of a central body like the New Zealand Institute of Technology and Skills (NZIST)
- · There is opportunity for all educational tutors to operate at more strategic level of both design and delivery of provision which can enhance their current role
- · Advanced approaches to learning design and trends in employment sectors and the professions can be supported by the Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVES) groups.
·
The author considers that given development
initiatives should involve representation from RLBs and their local education providers
, ISBs and relevant COVEs; all to operate collectively in project managed
development networks funded nationally. This bears close comparison to the work
undertaken by ITOs when developing national qualifications in the 1990s. The
difference is that today the structure of technician level and above qualifications
can be much more stable than in the past, due to them being based on stable
competence and capability practices.
The place of degrees
and post graduate qualifications
It is important that Government realises that the
professions form the advanced end of the vocational education spectrum. And
that existing polytechnics have built up considerable expertise in many of
these fields. This expertise can be sustained and grown in individual regions
by being incorporated as part of the CoVES network located in each provider
region. Naturally this expertise is
underpinned by a significant amount of applied research and the expert
educators involved with it. Rather than limit the CoVE in each region to one
area of speciality, it should incorporate all areas that the provider has
distinctive expertise in eg At Otago Polytechnic, CapableNZ as well as nursing, the arts, fashion design,
IT, the horticulture and sports areas and no doubt some trade groups. So at any
one time, a local CoVE can be involved in many national developments.
At the same time, polytechnics are delivering vocational
degrees and post graduate programmes which are held in very high regard by
regions and NZ wide, including Capable NZ, one of the few national providers in
the professional practice space, nursing, sports management, fashion design.
These programmes are leading the way in professional capability development and
delivery and their place and contribution to the future of all other areas of
the VE space is an essential barometer and trend identifier as well as
supporting innovation in all important fields needed in NZ’s future. Examples
include the introduction of the capability concept into all Otago Polytechnic
provision, professional practice development at management and leadership level
of regional economies and micro credentialing that ca provide competence
confirmation in new technologies and processes. This replicates the corporate
support of industry players that have been supporting the IT space for decades.
This is because it has been one of the fastest changing fields hitherto.
Sum up
The challenge facing Otago Polytechnic and peer providers
is to not only demonstrate unanimity
over the coming together under an integrated umbrella but to emphasise the
participation and existing links between the providers, local and regional
communities and employers, existing industry ITOs and the government bodies of TEC, NZQA and
the Ministry of Education and to show how this can be developed to fulfil all
parts of the one solution currently proposed. Not simply for economies of
scale, but to immediately continue to demonstrate the innovation, flexibility
and national responsiveness of an evolved version of what is best demonstrated
by OP and some others, without needing their dissolution and loss of all
existing networks that can readily work in more harmony in future.
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