TDA 2019 Convention: The Power of TAFE launched – comment by CEO Craig Robertson

We need to be future focused

Digital disruption of the workplace will require a significant relook at how workers are educated and trained for work, a new report has found.

Findings by Swinburne’s Centre for the New Workforce in the report Peak Human Potential – Preparing Australia’s workforce for the digital future are based on a national survey of 1,000 working Australians from a range of job roles and industry sectors.

In what is a unique perspective these days, the report concludes from the views of workers that, firstly, the more an industry is disrupted by technology, the more they value social competencies such as collaboration, empathy and entrepreneurial skills. Workers, secondly, prefer to learn on the job to prepare for the change.

Director of the Centre and report author, Dr Sean Gallagher, says that “The more digital our workplaces become, the more human we need to be as workers. Workers understand that social competencies – such as collaboration, empathy and entrepreneurial skills – are uniquely human and less vulnerable to being displaced by sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies.”

We at TDA welcome the report. TAFEs and dual sector universities are uniquely placed to deliver on the skills workers need for the future. These institutes are the most experienced in delivery in the workplace for the workplace. With full industry coverage they can bring the range of knowledge and skills to the upskilling experience. This is important because technology usually brings convergence, often unanticipated, of technology and process, but with unique application. Know-how will be more important than ever – and that’s what the TAFE model delivers.

The report aptly issues the challenge:

We need to lift all workers into the digital economy by providing basic digital training. Many of these future skills are best provided through vocational education, especially within a more coherent tertiary education system. But for learning and work to converge, we need a learning infrastructure that brings education providers and employers together, too.

The future of tertiary education in Australia is bound to be debated further this year. At the centre of that dialogue must be its purposes for the Australian community, as must the unique role of TAFE.

The Power of TAFE

The unique roles played by TAFEs underpin this year’s TDA convention. The Power of TAFE is the theme and will celebrate that place and purpose of TAFE, which is important in Australia’s education history and is so important for Australia’s future.

The Convention will showcase innovation and excellence of TAFE Queensland through the site visit to SkillsTech, Acacia Ridge and the welcome reception at the South Bank campus. The main program is being held at the Brisbane Hilton with sessions including keynote presentations, facilitated panel discussions and workshops.

Registrations are open now for the TDA Convention 2019 at the Hilton Hotel Brisbane, Tuesday 3 September to Thursday 5 September 2019. Don’t miss the opportunity for early bird registrations

Register now via www.tdaconvention.com.au.  Early registration closes on Monday 22 July.

Keep an eye out for the call for speaker proposals to be released this week.

All enquiries, including for sponsors and exhibitors can be directed to tdaconvention@absoluteevents.com.au.

Tae Yoo, Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility with CISCO has said, “… the concept of skilling, reskilling and lifelong learning is not new. What is new is that the pace of disruption is faster than ever; educational and career pathways are less defined; and the need for perpetual learning is the new normal”. In further words that resonate with the purpose we have for TAFEs, Tae adds:

Together, we have the power to inspire, connect, and deliver on new opportunities and rich experiences that can open doors to innovation and progress while growing global economies and increasing well-being.

Finally, if you are interested in news on TVET from around the globe I recommend you read the latest newsletter of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics.