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Re-skilling workers, particularly those with strong industry experience but no formal education or qualifications, is a key focus of the recently released Green Skills Agreement Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a strategy for achieving the objectives of the Green Skills Agreement, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in December 2009. It recognises that Australia’s transition to a low carbon, sustainable economy will require the re-skilling of millions of Australian workers who have no prior experience or training in sustainability – and that the vocational education and training (VET) system will play a vital role in delivering this training. According to the Environmental Sustainability: An Industry Response report, compiled by Industry Skills Councils, the VET system will need to engage a range of non-traditional, learner-directed delivery techniques to ensure that environmental sustainability learning outcomes are achieved. To this end, the active and experiential nature of e-learning means that it is well-placed to help the VET system deliver green skills to this new generation of workers. From an organisational perspective, the flexible, efficient and cost-effective nature of e-learning has the potential to significantly reduce the inevitable burden faced by business and industry in responding to sustainability skill requirements. In 2010, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) is funding and supporting a number of innovative training providers to develop Flexible Learning Toolboxes (Toolboxes) and E-learning Innovations projects to facilitate access to green skills training. Series 13 Toolboxes Toolboxes are e-learning resources that use an interactive, engaging and realistic form of teaching/training that appeals to workers who have learned their trade on-the-job and have little familiarity with the formal classroom environment. The scenarios, images and activities used in Toolboxes are designed to reflect a real life workplace, helping workers gain new skills in a comfortable, familiar setting. In line with the Green Skills Agreement’s objective to include sustainability skills in all training packages, a number of the Framework’s Series 13 Toolboxes (currently in development and due for release in early 2011) will provide customisable learning objects covering sustainability units to support training in industries including plumbing, forestry and electrotechnology. These Toolboxes include:
2010 E-learning Innovations projects National hardware retailer Bunnings is partnering with TAFE NSW Northern Sydney Institute to trial the use of ‘learner directed’ e-learning techniques to deliver sustainability training to its staff. Bunnings identified a number of problems with using traditional face-to-face modes of learning for the delivery of green skills training, including incompatibility with the hands-on nature of working at Bunnings, failure to tap into workers’ practical capabilities and alienation of workers who lacked experience with formal learning environments. By contrast, the experiential, active nature of online training is better suited to the task of re-skilling Bunning’s employees. Hands-on workers and workers with little experience in classroom learning engage more effectively with the practical and relevant nature of the online training, which can be customised to suit individual industries, workplaces and learning styles. The flexibility of Bunning’s online program is allowing workers to re-skill at their own pace and at a time and place which suits them. Green skills for local government Working through an alliance of councils in western Victoria, the University of Ballarat is delivering online sustainability training to regional council employees. The use of virtual classrooms, self-paced learning and discussion forums is expected to increase access to green skills training for geographically dispersed council workers and reduce the amount of time they need to spend away from the job travelling to training, without losing any of the benefits of face-to-face training such as the opportunity to network and collaborate. The online program uses contextualised, work-based projects to enhance employees’ understanding of environmental sustainability and its specific application in their job and industry. Read more about how e-learning is supporting a greener future Search E-learning Innovations project profiles » Click here to comment on this article >> Click here to forward this article >> Click here to go back to newsletter |
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