30 Jul Catching up with partners in WA
The Manager of the Hotline, Vanessa Iles with Russ Hawkins, CEO Community Colleges Australia and Aboriginal Education Manager, Richard Watson at the NCVER conference in Perth
Hotline Manager, Vanessa Iles, was in Perth this month for the 33rd National VET Research conference on Whadjuk country. The conference was an opportunity to meet up with our colleagues in WA and visit the TAFE North Metro’s impressive Northbridge and Joondalup campuses.
The conference theme this year was VET Partnerships. It was a pleasure to connect with new colleagues such as TAFE North Metro’s Aboriginal Education Manager, Richard Watson and hear about his learner centred approach to running courses for Aboriginal students. The courses deliver more than discrete vocational skills and also focus on areas such as budgeting, sexual harrassment in the workplace and have a strong focus on literacy and numeracy support.
There was also an excellent session demonstrating the value of a strong learner support model from Melbourne Polytech. In courses where students were enrolled in LLN support, the overall course completion rates were very high. Stay tuned for more on that.
While in Perth it was a perfect opportunity to finally meet our friends at Read Write Now in person and hear how they manage over 400 adult literacy tutors across the state. Vanessa also met with Jane Stapel from WA Department of Justice who is a member of the Hotline’s national Steering Committee. Jane is responsible for initiating the development and delivery of a new adult literacy and numeracy curriculum in Correctional facilities.
Vanessa with Read Write Now staff Richard and Eleanora
Vanessa with Jane Stapel, Coordinator Adult Basic Education, Department of Justice WA