Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
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Submission 77
From: Bryan B. Power 146 Grosvenor Street Wahroonga 2076 NSW
23.11.97
SUBMISSION TO INQUIRY INTO TAFE'S ROLE
TAFE has always had a number of roles to play in the Australian educational
and industrial scene. Some of these roles are (the listing does not reflect
order of importance):
1. To assist in the provision of a skilled workforce
for the country's business and industrial requirements.
2. To make this provision in such a way that, in the advent of industrial
and technological change (as is inevitable), this change can be accomplished
with maximum smoothness and minimum disruption to all concerned.
3. To recognise that, in meeting the essential needs of industry, the
education and needs of individuals must be taken into account i.e. education
is 'for living and for making a living'.
As I am making this submission without a copy of the terms of reference,
I can really only comment on the very brief item in the North Shore Times,
Friday 14 November, 1997.
There will always be overlap between the roles of various skilled (and
sometimes unskilled) employees. We see this in the tradesperson, the technician
and the technologist; the clerk, the accounts clerk, the accountant and
the principle budget officer.
Just as the technologist has the essential role of research and development,
the tradesperson and the technician ensure that the essential operations
of the enterprise are carried out with competence and efficiency. And,
let it be noted, there are many more tradespersons and technicians required
than there are technologists.
These complimentary roles make it totally necessary that each has an
understanding of what the other is doing so that the complete operation
is smooth and flexible.
Obviously, it is in these overlapping areas, i.e. at the margins, where
there will and must be some commonality that appears to worry some uncritical
observers, Of course, the technician will do some of the technologists
work and vice versa; this must happen so that there are no sudden jerks
or halts where the roles may seem to overlap.
In TAFE's case, it has always been the task of the industry specialists
within TAFE itself working in cooperation with both industry experts and
special Course advisory Bodies to ensure that the correct balance is maintained.
This has always been so, and, I am sure, is still maintained. Any academic
content in a program is there to ensure understanding of the underlying
principles involved and has been carefully vetted by the industrial experts
above.
Every course in TAFE NSW is currently required to go through a critical
evaluation process involving both TAFE and Industry representatives every
three years to ensure that it meets -both the needs of the industry concerned
and the intending course participants before it is accredited, or reaccredited,
to proceed.
In the acquisition of practical skills, there is often confusion about
the essential roles of TAFE and industry.
It is the task of TAFE to ensure that its students recognise both the
how and the why particular tasks are carried out. Following, or perhaps
alongside, the understanding of what the student is doing is the necessity
to ensure that the task is carried out in the most competent and efficient
manner.
It is industry's role that this employee now carries on the operation
on a successful and continuing basis to ensure that production is maintained.
Put bluntly, TAFE's role is education combined with some training while,
more often, industry's role is type and repetitive training, particularly
when new pieces of equipment are introduced.
The more competently TAFE does its job, then the smoother will be industry's
operation. The TAFE student who is flexible, can move from one task to
another, from one piece of equipment to another, who understands the operation
of each - this is the TAFE student who is most valuable to industry.
This student does not need retraining every time a new piece of technology
emerges, he/she does not require complete retraining from the beginning
- the essentials are understood, only the changes peculiar to the new
pieces of equipment need to be mastered.
In 1976, I traveled through the USA as a Fulbright Scholar and, among
the many worthwhile experiences I had, was the often expressed envy of
industry captains that our skilled trades/technical personnel could successfully
carry out a variety of tasks, i.e. the electrician could work on air-conditioning,
the plumber could do roofing and draining.
This flexibility reflects the breadth of TAFE's preparation and the fact
that understanding and education are just as essential to the operation
and morale of the person as are the strictly repetitive training operations
which should be carried out in the industrial environment.
I have deliberately kept this submission brief - it is the first time
I have burst into print since my retirement, but I thought it was essential
to stress that TAFE's role is the education and training of the individual
so that he/she will be both a fuller person and a more effective
contributor to Australias commercial and industrial needs.
If the committee would wish me to appear before it and expand these and
other strongly held views about TAFE, I would be happy to do so.
Bryan B. Power B. Sc., M.Ed.
Deputy Director-General of TAFE NSW 1981 - 87 (retired)
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