Prospects for VET access and equity in a contestable market.

1. Prospects for VET access and equity in a contestable market. John Pardy Faculty of Education Monash

2. Agenda 1 Access & Equity 2 Seven projects 3 Outcomes 4 Prospects in contestable markets

3. Access and equity Notions of “equality of opportunity” that use education as a lever for social participation is premised upon the recognition that inequality is a normal feature of society. Possibilities for personal and social change through participation in education is at-risk of being subsumed by a preoccupation with choice and competition in a market sense. Institutions and the education experiences they offer can and still do make differences. Co-operative arrangements made possible through access and equity grants programs highlight such realities.

4. Access and Equity Grants Program • Higher Education and Skills Group in the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) sought to develop a deeper understanding of effective models to support disadvantaged learners. • The VET Access and Equity Grants Program allocated funding to six programs in 2011-12 to develop and implement an innovative service delivery model. We seek to advance the contemporary practice of Higher Education • A further regional project was also funded that works with Indigenous young peoples to engage them in learning. • All of these projects featured a partnership between a registered training organisation (RTO) and a community service organisation (CSO), to engage ‘disadvantaged’ learners in VET.

5. Evaluation of the grants program ACER in partnership with Monash was commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the program Focus of the evaluation was to consider the efficacy and sustainability of the service delivery models to support re-engagement for disadvantaged learners Findings intended to inform future policy directions to progress innovative approaches for the provision of education to disadvantaged learners. Projects commenced in July 2011 and will complete in 2012 Evaluation team visited and met partnering organisations (RTO & CSO) and spoke in many instances with program participants. Attended meetings held by project teams, and liaised and met with departmental officials.

6. Program purpose The purpose of the Access & Equity Grants Program according to DEECD was to: ‘provide funding for partnerships between registered training organisations (RTOs), including Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes and Community Service Organisations (CSOs) to develop and implement an innovative service delivery model to support engagement, training and employment pathways for hard-to-reach [disadvantaged] learners’.

7. Seven programs- six equity groups Indigenous students Young people in out-of-home-care, in post out-of-home care Young people at risk of homelessness People with intellectual disabilities Asylum seekers and refugees Homeless adults

8. Indigenous projects (2) • Metropolitan based project – a large dual sector tertiary organisation in partnership with Indigenous football and netball club and indigenous drug and alcohol recovery agency. Greenfield project, where the establishment of partnership was the major focus and building community acceptance of the projects’ presence • Regional based project- a community based Indigenous sport and health organisation with an ‘outreach’ partnering University. The project has been running for seven years. Has developed capacity to deliver Certificate I & II courses that provide pathway into Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). The project has also developed a strong connection with the local TAFE origination

9. Young people in out-of-home care • Regional based project with young people who are on or have recently been subject to statutory based orders • Youth Accommodation and Support Service and Technical Education Centre located in a regional TAFE • Formation of a case management pedagogy that sought to socialise young people into the habits of institutionalized learning (‘small-steps’ psych-social therapeutic approach) • Pathway through Certificate I in Vocational Preparation with destination into Certificate in General Education for Adults with aim of preparing young people to go onto VCAL

10. Young people at risk of homelessness • Youth Support Service with Adult and Community Education (ACE) provider • Housing support, and life skills focus- learning to live • Recognition of informal learning skills • Therapeutic approach- recuperative strategy to prepare young people for formal learning

11. People with intellectual disabilities • Supported employment disability service in partnership with large regional ACE provider • Formation of a social enterprise – cleaning up building sites • Certificate I in Work Education • Entrenched and persistent barriers to open employment • Carers protective of people with disabilities- resistance to project participation

12. Asylum seekers and refugees • Refugee advocacy and support agency with large metropolitan TAFE • Long-term commitment of TAFE to fee waiver for refugees and asylum seekers • Many participants have high levels of education attainment from countries of origin (recognition) • High levels of engagement in relevant Certificate II, III and IV courses in related fields, eg. Doctors doing pathology collection, many doing cleaning – facilities maintenance • Misunderstanding about work rights and options for participation in education

13. Homeless adults • Homeless support agency with large Metropolitan ACE provider • Transition to learning where ACE provider developed high level support to participants • Certificate II and III qualifications computing, disability and horticulture • Intensive high level of individual support between CSO and RTO

14. Prospects • Institutional • Adult learning contexts of TAFE, ACE providers and Community agencies • “Non-school” schooling contexts • ‘joined-up’ approaches where co-operation enabled finer grain appreciation of challenges and recuperative interventions • Mobilisation of resources for common purpose- ‘wrap around’ support and engagement • Cross organizational learning

15. Prospects • Institutional • - TAFE and ACE providers grappling with emphasis of intensified competition associated with VTG and contestability • - Financial/Institutional survival emerging as a more important priority in contrast to access and equity goals • Partnerships assisted in leveraging in-kind resources, especially pre-existing partnerships • Time as an important resource

16. Prospects • Project experience –products and processes • All projects used Certificate I-IV courses as basis of access and equity strategy • Socializing participants to habits of learning in formal institutional settings • - Emphasis was on a co-ordinated and co-operative basis for engagement and connection to learning this outweighed principles of competition and choice • Innovative teaching and learning that involved gradual immersion into formal institutional context • Ongoing learner support lead by CSO in RTO- much effort expended in keeping participants connected

17. Prospects • Policy • Sector in transition-contestability- abandonment of full service organisation model for TAFE • Programs at Certificate I and II as paths to VCAL were highlighted as important • Not a tertiary education issue for VET rather a pre-tertiary education concern- preparatory education- foundation skill tier of the VTG • Access and equity is costly but permanent social exclusion is more costly