Qualification Reform
Supporting industry and workplace trainees with a whole new approach to the Vocational Education and Training qualification system.
Project Overview
In response to the initial advice delivered to the Skills Minister from the Qualification Reform Design Group, SaCSA road-tested a new Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications system that moved away from the current ‘one size fits all’ approach, to designing qualifications based on their purposes in order to respond to changing workplaces and industries. SaCSA undertook two projects within the Qualification Reform:
Purpose Categorisation Activity
SaCSA conducted an initial review of qualifications within our remit and identified 54 qualifications that aligned to the Qualification Selection within the Qualification Reform guidance for Jobs and Skills Council, including:
- Qualifications selected should relate to a particular industry sector or have sufficient connections, either through qualification flows or training and employment outcomes, to allow for an analysis of shared skills, knowledge, and pathways.
- Representing an appropriate level of breadth and scope to allow meaningful assessment of the proposed model.
- Selecting qualifications where there are existing issues or areas for improvement.
- Focusing on qualifications and units of competency that have not had enrolments over consecutive years, and those with no RTO delivery partners.
- Categorising qualifications into one of three (3) purposes.
Shaping Service Skills: A Skills Pathways and Qualifications Reform Project
Based on guidance from the Minister for Skills and Training, SaCSA proposed to develop and test a purpose-led design of qualifications using the action-learning methodology that was proposed by the tripartite Qualification Reform Design Group (Design Group). This training product demonstration project tested a new approach to VET qualification design, which included identifying potential changes to the Training Package Organising Framework (TPOF).
Objectives
Technical Committee
Outcomes
The Qualification Reform: Purpose Categorisation Activity Project and Shaping Service Skills: A Skills Pathway and Qualification Reform Project Final Reports were approved by Design Group, DEWR and the Qualification Reform Team on 16 October 2024.
Initial and final advice from the Qualification Reform Design Group to Skills Ministers, and the Jobs and Skills Councils Demonstration Projects can be found below.
Future Work
SaCSA will continue and complete the Purpose Categorisation Activity for the remaining 63 qualifications under our custodianship, to identify opportunities for potential reform actions. In particular, SaCSA intends to explore qualifications, skill sets and units of competency with low or no enrolments.
The findings of the Shaping Service Skills: A Skills Pathway and Qualification Reform Project confirmed the urgent need for reform across the VET sector, regardless of whether the Framework is implemented sector side.
SaCSA will continue developing the Shaping Service Skills Framework, and test how the framework can reduce duplication of skills and knowledge within current qualifications, increase skills transferability and support credit transfer and recognition of prior learning.