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National Skills Week 2024: Game Changer – and the critical importance of vocational education

This week is National Skills Week, where we celebrate the value of skills-based and vocational training.

The theme for this year is exciting – Game Changer – and aligns closely with our philosophy at Bedford. We believe in transforming education, where we help you to become who you want to be, and own the story of your life. We’re always excited by the possibilities that skills-based and vocational education holds to get you on your way to a successful career you love.

Bedford CEO, Steve Dixon, talks about skills and the Olympics… and the critical importance of vocational education.

We’re always excited by the possibilities that skills-based and
vocational education holds to get you on your way to a successful career you love.

Like many Australians I was up watching the Olympics over these last couple of weeks, and like previous iterations I find myself enthralled by sports that I wouldn’t otherwise have any interest in or awareness about.

I watch plenty of football and basketball every year, and I have a basic level of awareness as to what’s happing in the world of tennis and golf when major tournaments are on but that’s really about it for me.

Now be honest, the same is true for you.

We love the dedication and ability of people who are representing us as a nation…
a time when we clearly celebrate skill over intellect.

How many people regularly watch swimming, kayaking, rowing, athletics, beach volleyball, skateboarding, and water polo other than every four years at the Olympics?

Why am I passionately cheering on people who I don’t know anything about, doing a sport that I wouldn’t otherwise take any interest in?

For me, I think it’s less about the sport I’m watching and more about celebrating the Australian effort on the world stage.

Much has been made about our achievements and in particular the per-capita comparison against much more populated nations. I have heard and read comments around the investment we make in sport as a nation, but I have heard less around how our love of sport in general influences our engagement, enthusiasm, and expectations when it comes to the sports we watch during the Olympics.

We love the dedication and ability of people who are representing us as a nation. We cheer them on to achieve their best – and hopefully bring home a medal for their efforts.

It’s a time when we clearly celebrate skill over intellect.

As CEO of a vocational education institution this fascinates me because we live in a world where skills are elevated to a height not seen in tertiary education. As such, we see skills development as a key point of difference when it comes to students choosing a vocational pathway.

…we live in a world where skills are elevated to a height not seen in tertiary education.
As such, we see skills development as a key point of difference
when it comes to students choosing a vocational pathway.

Alissa Haddad, our Dean of Education and Community Services outlines “Education within the vocational education landscape does not sit as an isolated construct to build one’s theoretical knowledge. Rather, it prepares citizens for productive work engagements and to become active contributors to the knowledge economy by developing key attributes that position student learners ready for the 21st century workforce.”

Last year the Sydney Morning Herald published an article around the benefits of vocational training for young people completing the HSC. In it they outlined “Annually, around 30 per cent of HSC students opt to study a vocational education and training (VET) course as part of their HSC, providing a pathway straight into further training, work or university.”¹

We believe there is shift coming where that number is going to be far closer to 50% in the not-too-distant future as people consider the increasing costs associated with education, the length of time required to complete a qualification, as well as how to distinguish themselves as the preferred applicant for jobs.

We live in a world that is getting faster by the day, and the demands of work are changing rapidly. To be job-ready is no longer seen as a ‘nice to have’ but is clearly a ‘need to have.’ Vocational training prepares students for the workforce through mandated work placements and the requirements of trainers to demonstrate their ongoing ‘currency’ as educators.

To be job-ready is no longer seen as a ‘nice to have’ but is clearly a ‘need to have.’

Radha Reddy, our Dean of Health Services explains “Vocational training programs are created in consultation with professionals from the industry to keep the curriculum up to date and in line with the demands of the labour market.”

It is this industry consultation that results in our students not simply having the associated knowledge with their chosen field of study but improves the ability of graduates to find immediate employment. Employers can have confidence that our students know what to expect as they enter the workplace.

Forbes highlight this by outlining “Technical skills not [sic] just add an important point to your resume but also help you get a higher paying job. It is a gateway of opportunities and success. It makes you successfully perform your day-to-day work duties. It increases your knowledge and makes you an expert in the field.”²

Sharon Kerr, our Manager of Educational Projects put it this way “The importance of VET is often underestimated. However, the VET sector plays a major role in empowering individuals, community capacity building, and importantly improving the bottom line of employers, resulting in a stronger local and national economy. As a result of close partnerships with industry stakeholders, VET providers develop job-ready, industry-focused training solutions, to influence environmental, economic and social sustainability for the state and nation and the resulting social benefits of generational change.”

Vocational training is where concepts and theories intersect with the real world and that’s what more and more employers want. Vocational training provides these skills. And who doesn’t want to be able to demonstrate to an employer that they have the skills to be able to the job?

Vocational training is where concepts and theories
intersect with the real world and
that’s what more and more employers want.

Let’s be honest, the Olympics wouldn’t be the same if we were watching people demonstrating their knowledge of a sport. Their knowledge is important, but it’s their skill that we are drawn to. And it is their ability to execute their skill under pressure that we celebrate.

By Steve Dixon

CEO, Bedford

SMH, When The HSC Leads Straight To A Dream Job, Available online: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/when-the-hsc-leads-straight-to-a-dream-job-20230530-p5dcfk.html ↩︎
Forbes, Top 20 Skills That Employers Look For In Candidates, Available online: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/business/top-skills-to-get-a-job/ ↩︎