Robin Shreeve, Principal of City of Westminster College, delivered a presentation at the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in Adelaide on 2 March and at the Big Skills Conference in Sydney on 3 March.
The ‘Research on Toast’ event in Adelaide was organised by NCVER in order to debate issues surrounding the Australian vocational education and training environment – and find out what lessons can be learned from the UK and European systems.
Robin Shreeve was there in his capacity as an international expert on vocational education and training and he joined University of Southern Australia (UniSA) professor Roger Harris to speak on issues including developing easier pathways between vocational education/training and higher education; recognising the value of both formal and informal learning and ensuring vocational training continues to be both accessible and inclusive.
With a ‘full house’ crowd of over 120 people from across the vocational and higher education spectrum in South Australia, Robin was questioned about how the system works in the UK. Australia is proposing major systemic changes to vocational and higher education, so there was particular interest in UK initiatives such as Foundation Degrees, funding for students’ first qualification, providing incentives for course completion and tracking course success rates.
Audience survey feedback was very positive, with one education professional commenting: “Robin is a great communicator, and his unique position of having been in both the Australian and UK sectors made what he had to say very interesting.”
Robin said: “It was a fascinating opportunity to discuss approaches to vocational education with colleagues in Australia, particularly at a time of major proposed changes to their system. Australia has always held vocational education in high regard – rather than viewing it as somehow secondary to traditional academic qualifications - so there may be valuable lessons to be learned from their 21st Century approach to the challenges of ensuring diversity and equality of opportunity and measuring success through learner outcomes.”
Robin has strong associations with Australia - where he lived and worked for many years. Prior to taking up the leadership of City of Westminster College in 2006, he was Deputy Director-General for Technical and Further Education in New South Wales. He remains a member of the Advisory Board at the prestigious LH Martin Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Management at the University of Melbourne.