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• Fact sheets
  • Training Packages @ Work have produced a number of current fact sheets on the important organisations, products and policies in the vocational education and training (VET) system in Australia. They are listed under vocational education and training overview, training packages, industry skills council, key VET departments, organisations and groups, and accredited courses 2008.
• Employability skills examined: Ten key messages from LSN's quest to understand employability skills
  • There is a broad and shared understanding of the nature of employability skills even though there is no common definition. It is more helpful to enhance 'the employability of each individual than to seek to structure a defined set of employability skills'. The key employability skills from an employer's perspective are: good literacy and numeracy, enthusiasm, commitment and timekeeping. There is already a lot of activity in this space and there is a body of research that already exists to support providers and practitioners. There is good practice available but the difficulty is in successfully transferring it to different contexts. Effective teaching and learning are critical but so is the role of employers in developing this practice. There are still questions to be answered about employability skills.
• Innovation in 360 degrees: Promoting social innovation in South Australia
  • This report sets out findings from the residency of Geoff Mulgan as Adelaide Thinker in Residence in 2007?8.It describes South Australia's past innovations and proposes a future strategy to address social priorities such as ageing, transitions to adulthood, and aboriginal well-being. Specific recommendations include developing processes to identify where innovation is needed; the establishment of the new Australian Centre for Social Innovation; and initiatives to support Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and civil society.
• Assessment validation
  • Assessment validation refers to a process where assessors compare and evaluate against the relevant competency standards the use, validity, reliability, fairness, flexibility and effectiveness of their assessment methods, assessment tools, assessment procedures, and assessment decisions. Definitions, websites and publications are available on this page which was reviewed and updated in May 2008.
• Training package assessment guides
  • The guides in this Training Package Assessment Materials Project aim to provide assessors and managers of assessment processes within the vocational education and training (VET) sector with a range of practical tools and resources for improving assessment practices in both on and off-the-job situations. They cover a variety of issues such as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), higher qualifications, assessor training, new apprenticeships, small workplaces, partnerships, consistency, networking, and quality assurance. Each guide is designed to cover a broad range of industries and VET pathways, with relevance to workplace assessors as well as those working in off-the-job and VET in Schools programs. Registration with the Resource Generator is required.
• Designing assessment tools for quality outcomes in VET
  • Assessment tools are the instruments and procedures used to gather and interpret evidence of competency. They must comply with the principles of assessment covering validity, reliability, flexibility, and fairness; and rules of evidence including validity, sufficiency, currency, and authenticity. Four steps are presented for engagement with the design process: clarifying evidence requirements; choosing the most appropriate assessment methodology; designing and developing assessment tools; and trialling and refining tools.
• Guidelines for assessing competence in VET
  • These Guidelines have been written specifically for registered training organisations (RTOs) and businesses working in partnership with RTOs to provide them with clear and current information on national and state assessment policy and assessment processes. The Guidelines consist of six sections: a summary of the key national and state policy requirements relevant to assessment; an introduction to competency and assessment of competence for industry and individuals new to the field; a guide to the assessment process for employers and assessors who are not familiar with competency based assessment;a series of exemplar materials for adaptation and use by assessors; a list of resources for assessors, including websites, organisations and materials on assessment; and a list of acronyms used and a glossary of terms for assessment.
• Doing group assessment in media and communication
  • This website has been designed by a consortium of Australian universities and presents best practice in assessing collaborative assignments and groups. There is a browse function for subjects in media and communication; a case studies database; and keynote speakers about different aspects of group work e.g. policy, design, implementation, evaluation and learning. Videos are accompanied with descriptions of the courses and how group work is utilised and assessed. There is also a current bibliography with publications, useful websites, journals, conference papers and assessment resources at Australian universities.