#1 Rod Cam & The National Careers Institute
Although formed in July 2019, it rose to fame in 2020. The National Careers Institute was announced as part of the 2019-20 Federal Budget, ‘Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow’ Skills Package which lays the foundation for the Australian Government’s commitment to strengthening and modernising the skills and careers sectors.
Scott Cam came in as the ambassador and some friction was caused as to how much he was paid vs how much he was doing.
However, his message was clear, skill up and you’ll be employable. He stated in a press release, “Vocational education and training is a great way to keep up with the future of work, because its courses are driven by what employers need. So much training has moved online. You can search around 2000 online offerings on the MySkills website, to get nationally accredited training.”
#2 Saxon Rice
Throughout 2020 Saxon Rice took over as acting Chief Commissioner for ASQA. In December 2020 it was announced that Ms Rice will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), starting from 1 January 2021, for a five-year term.
It’s a move that is part of the Rapid Review of the regulator and its practices and process. Read this report for more information.
As Ms Rice embarks in this new role it seems she will be the figure head for positive change and reform across the sector. Fingers and toes are firmly crossed!
#3 Anything to do with REMOTE!
At the height of the pandemic in Australia and during subsequent lock downs the context as to how we operated switched to remote. ASQA released a new section of their website towards the middle of 2020 entitled, Distance Learning. The aim is to provide training providers with clear information on how to remain compliant when utilising distance techniques and tools.
However, even when the context changes, the unit requirements are still the same. Changes to assessment methods need to be carefully considered as deviation from unit requirements will still result in non-compliance. For a more in-depth read that unpacks the Assessment Guidelines in ASQA’s New Distance Learning Resource click here.
#4 Getting Our Zoom On!
Mass video calls used to be awkward. Now they are standard. For example, video conference call company Zoom’s most recent figures suggest the platform has 300 million daily meeting participants, compared to just 10 million in December 2019.
There have been many courses available to training providers to learn how to host a meeting and deliver training at the same time. Essential etiquette pitfalls have been disclosed including knowing when your camera is on as an attendee and for presenters to provide options to attendees for how to interact, i.e. over chat, using the microphone and even the camera. An image similar to this has been a staple amongst homes and offices in 2020 and for the foreseeable future.
#5 The Cloud Assess Learner App
It’s never been more important to engage your learners to support their progression. The cutting edge Learner App was released mid 2020 and the feedback from clients and users has been positive with many stating how the clean and engaging interface keeps learners on track with little distraction. They can effortlessly navigate from the dashboard to their course and get going quickly.
2020 was a year of change and exploration of new and improved ways of working. As the world waits for the roll out of vaccines against the coronavirus, the pictures above are likely to remain the mainstay for the foreseeable future.
Source:
Careers Institute: https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.dptemp-nci.files/7715/6999/7018/The_NCI_Consultation_and_Co-design_Background_Paper_Oct_2019.pdf#:~:text=The%20National%20Careers%20Institute%20(the,Skills%2C%20Small%20and%20Family%20Business
Visit the site: https://nci.dese.gov.au/
ASQA: https://www.asqa.gov.au/distance-learning
Zoom: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/watch-out-zoom-microsoft-teams-now-has-more-than-115-million-daily-users
