AVETRA is pleased to announce its first OctoberVET 2021 event is open for registrations.  Here are the details:

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Reform of Vocational Education and Training (RoVE) Te Pūkenga (NZ Institute of Skills and Technology) aspirations and promises

Free online AVETRA webinar presented by Dr Selena Chan

Wednesday 13 October 12:10 to 12:50 (AEST) 14:10 to 14:50 (NZ)

The Aotearoa NZ Labour government in 2019 embarked on a sweeping restructure of VET, the Reform of VET (RoVE). Formal divisions between work-based and formalised VET were removed, new strategic and governance bodies were established, and a more responsive/equitable funding system promised. The 11 Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) supporting workplace learners and 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) are now in the process of transitioning and merging into Te Pūkenga (NZ Institute of Skills and Technology).

Te Pūkenga’s charter and its ambition  is to ensure the ‘learner is at the heart of learning’ is presented and critiqued through an exploration of the final draft its ‘service concepts’. These service concepts, describe Te Pūkenga’s operational functions and intentions to ensure equitable access and outcomes through the provision of ‘flexible and adaptive’ learning approaches.

Dr Selena Chan is an educational developer at Ara Institute of Canterbury in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her research informs her work which includes facilitating curriculum development, technology-enhanced learning projects, and academic staff development

Selena has published widely in vocational research journals; authored two books (the most recent – Digitally enabling ‘learning by doing in vocational education); and is the co-editor for AVETRA’s International Journal of Training Research and on the editorial board for the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

To register to hear Selena click this link

For further information on OCTOBERVET Events in 2021 keep in touch with us here, or stay on the lookout at https://avetra.org.au/pages/octobervet-.html .

This year most events will be online. There will be no charge to register but we hope that if you are not a member of AVETRA you will join. Annual membership can be as low as $95 for research students and casual members of staff. For this you get access to publications such as “Research Today and “A News” as well as joining a community of practice of people interested in VET research through meetings, events and conferences.

ARE YOU (OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW) DOING RESEARCH ABOUT VET OR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION WITH AND FOR INDUSTRY & COMMUNITY PARTNERS???

This is a chance to share your work with others in our community of practice! Practitioner-based and applied research is the focus of Research Today. It is the forum where VET practitioners share the innovative skills and knowledge creation projects that they are working on, often in partnership with industry and community. AVETRA hopes that the dissemination of VET practitioner research methods and outcomes will help to build the capacity of the whole sector.

Research Today is released twice a year with publication usually in the months of May and October. The most recent edition is on the AVETRA website: https://www.avetra.org.au/data/Research_today_May_2021.pdf

On behalf of AVETRA’s President Steven Hodge, I am excited to invite contributions for the next Research Today magazine:

• Articles should be of around 1000-1500 words and on topics of interest to AVETRA members and the wider VET community (including researchers, academics, VET practitioners and other stakeholders).
• Articles on VET practitioner-led and applied research are especially welcome.
• Articles should include the aims of the research, how information was collected, and key findings.
• If you refer to academic literature, your piece should include the references and a reference list.
• If you refer to information owned by your industry or community partner, it is vital that the partner has granted permission for you to submit your article.

Contributions are due by Thursday 23 September 2021.

If you or your colleagues would like to contribute to the magazine, then please contact Andrew Williamson via email andrew.williamson@holmesglen.edu.au or phone 0400 403 755 for more information. Please promote this call for content to your colleagues and networks!