THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – INFORMAL TRAINING IN TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS
“The proportion of employers providing training is on the rise, and the majority of employers provides (sic) some form of training, most of it informal and on the job. Forty-eight per cent of …employers engage with the VET system, compared with 54.0% for all industries”
National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) 2007
When we talk about education and training in transport and logistics, we invariably end up talking abut the VET system – TAFE, training packages, units of curriculum, competencies, assessment, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), and the diverse and often complex rules and guidelines that govern formal training in Australia. The focus of Government is on the public aspects of training. Much of the public funding is directed towards this system.
However, over 50% of all learning, even by government accounting, takes place on the job, using informal and non-accredited (or industry accredited) systems, consultants, mentors, coaches and supervisors. This area is often neglected by Government, overlooked by educators and treated with distain by academics. It is the elephant in the learning room – everyone knows it is there, it is huge, but no-one wants to look at it.
The time has come to redress this imbalance. We need to do this even without addressing the burning question (the other elephant in the room) – is the current VET system delivering for the 50% who do use it, or is it fundamentally ‘broken’?. There are those who suggest that it is inflexible, increasingly irrelevant to industry needs and driven by an internal education and training logic model with its own agenda and inward looking goals. That question we leave to others to debate.
When we analyse the NCVER figures further, we find that:
“In 2006-2007, 47.9% (of employers in transport and storage) engaged with Australia’s VET system, 50.0% provided unaccredited training and 71.1% provided informal training (from supervisors on the job).”
“…the proportion of employers providing training rose from 43.2% in 1997 to 52.3% in 2001-2002 (ABS 2003)”
“There is a high proportion of transport and storage employee without post school qualifications (54.2%) compared with all employers (sic) (43.5%) (ABS2005)”
NCVER 2007
What may we deduce from these figures?
We can conclude that:
- Many people who work in the transport and storage sector are in jobs that either do not require trade level or VET training, or that they are undertrained for the jobs. This is partly confirmed by the NCVER because it notes that 26.4% of jobs in the transport and storage sector require vocational qualifications compared with 33.3% in all industries – a lower level of need for formal training. There is also a lower need for apprenticeships (21.2% in transport and storage versus 29.1% in all industries).
- Employers in this sector either do not trust the VET system to deliver the training they need, or that the employers cannot or will not pay for formal training (time off and fees) for employees. The NCVER points out that while the sector does not use the VET system as much as other industries, it does utilise nationally recognised training (30.3% compared to 22.1% in all industries). This implies that while the sector does not use the VET system as much as other sectors, it does support recognition for training for employees – a good sign
- When employers do use the VET system they tend to use private training providers rather than TAFE – NCVER figures show that 2/3 of employers use private providers for apprenticeship training, ½ use private providers for nationally recognised training, and ½ use private providers as a source of unaccredited training.
The policy implications are clear:
- Government must address the lack of confidence that employers and employees have in the VET system by improving access the TAFE, making the VET system more flexible and forcing the education industry to look outwards to industry needs, rather than their own agendas. This will not be an easy task, as it equates to the VET sector lifting itself up by its own bootstraps – after 20 years of dominance in policy development along a particular intellectual track
- Government must recognise that the informal training component in the transport and storage sector is at least as important as the formal VET system and begin to support and fund programmes that build national standards in areas as diverse as industry accreditation, professional development, mentoring, coaching and front line supervision
- Industry based training requires better tools for the work, access to funding programmes traditionally reserved for the formal VET sector, support for industry based initiatives and support for ideas that lift the profile of transport and storage to a more professional level – in fact it is this notion of “professionalism” that shows the way forward for the sector
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
There are already several examples of industry led programmes that could form the basis of a national push into recognition and raised standards in the so-called informal training area:
- The T&L Certification Council (TLCC) – a consortium of 5 industry associations with the support of the Transport and Logistics Centre (TALC). The 5 associations are the Logistics Association of Australia (LAA), the Supply Chain Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA), the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Australia (CILTA), APICS and the AITPM (part of Engineers Australia). They have agreed on a set of national industry accreditations – a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and CTP (Certified Transport Planner). These awards are backed by a rigorous assessment process, documentation of prior learning and approval through the TLCC.
www.cplinstitute.com
www.ctpinstitute.com
- Continuing Professional Certificate (CPC) for road transport – this is a new initiative backed by TALC and key road transport industry stakeholders. The intention is to introduce the idea of professional truck driving as a supplement to the usual licensing regime. This will take into account energy efficient driving training, truck maintenance and management skills, and health and safety matters (including fatigue management). As new vehicles technologies enter Australia over the next 20 years, and the freight task doubles, professionalism in truck driving will make the difference between more of the same, or higher overall productivity and better environmental outcomes.
TALC calls on all levels of Government to step up and address the elephant in the room. The elephant is ready to be fed, trained and put to work.