Keeping it real - the Queensland VET Development Centre

Possible barriers to maintaining industry currencySome of the barriers to maintaining industry currency identified in the literature include:• scarce resources being available within the RTO to be able to release staff from regular dutiesand backfill staff• heavy teaching workloads which may include regular overtime• trainer and educational manager attitudes, for example, some trainers may be poorlymotivated, have low levels of confidence or not be able to recognise which skills needupgrading in order to access professional development• age of staff leading to reluctance to retrain• security/regulations in industry preventing non-industry participants being involved in fullwork activities• reputation and perceptions of the RTO and trainers within industry and availability of suitableworkplaces• rural and remote locations may limit the options that are available in the industry area• time consuming approval processes and record keeping within training organisations• the rapid pace of change in techniques and the rate at which equipment becomes obsolete.ComplianceIt seems that maintenance of industry currency is still driven by compliance rather than improvingteaching and learning practice. The environmental scan showed that all TAFE Queenslandinstitutes have policies and processes to support the maintenance of industry currency as didthe private RTOs consulted. However, auditors report a gap between RTO policies relating tomaintenance of industry currency and the policy implementation.AQTF 2007 audit outcomes in Queensland show that 19% of non-compliances relate to AQTF2007 Element 1.4. It appears that industry knowledge is well maintained through a variety ofinformation sources and networks, but technical skills are more difficult to maintain.24 Keeping it real