A great senior secondary education requires a highly skilled and world-class workforce, including teachers, trainers, and other staff in schools to support vocational and applied learning.
The Department of Education is supporting teachers, trainers, and school staff to develop their expertise in vocational and applied learning.
VET Trainer Career Pathway Pilot
The Department of Education is leading an innovative industry attraction pilot in collaboration with WorkSafe Victoria.
The VET Trainer Career Pathway pilot supports industry professionals recovering from a work-related injury to start new exciting careers as VET trainers in Victorian schools.
At the end of the 12-month program, participants will be qualified to deliver their VET subject in Victorian schools, TAFEs or private RTOs. Participants will also have specialist knowledge and skills to support the learning needs of school-aged students.
The program has 5 key components:
- Completion of a Cert IV TAE - the nationally recognised qualification to deliver VET in schools, private RTOs and TAFEs.
- Supplementary professional learning - to increase the likelihood of long-term success in the classroom, boost early-career VET trainer confidence, and supplement gaps in the Cert IV TAE related to applied learning pedagogy and the school environment.
- Additional supports - to assist participants to return to study under WorkSafe Victoria’s Return To Work and New Employer Services schemes.
- Placement and mentoring - participants receive 1-2 terms of in-school experience and learning with an experienced VET mentor.
- Application assistance - to help participants find employment in a VET trainer role and receive Permission to Teach VET from the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
For more information on the pilot, see the Minister for Education’s press release and 7 News coverage on the pilot launch.
For more information on the Return to Work and New Employer Services Schemes please visit WorkSafe Victoria’s Return to Work page.
VDSS Workforce Gateway Pilot
The VET Delivered to School Students (VDSS) Workforce Gateway is a digital platform for accessing and recording professional learning. The Gateway helps VDSS teachers and trainers to maintain their currency requirements as both VET educators and industry professionals.
The Gateway pilot is being delivered in partnership with Chisholm Institute from 7 October 2024 to 23 May 2025. The digital platform has been adapted from Chisholm’s Educator Passport to better suit the needs of those delivering VET to school students.
Pilot participants are provided access to:
- a wide range of professional learning opportunities to develop and refresh existing skills and knowledge
- industry activities that are reviewed by industry experts
- guidance on maintaining and demonstrating vocational competency and currency
- a self-assessment tool, linked to a capability framework
- industry and/or VDSS specific communities of practice.
This pilot will test if a system like the Gateway can address the professional learning and currency needs of the VDSS workforce that were identified both in the Firth Review and through subsequent consultations with schools and VDSS teachers and trainers.
The Department of Education will undertake an evaluation of the Gateway pilot to determine the ongoing model to support VDSS teachers and trainers to enhance their practice and maintain industry currency.
Teach the Future initiatives
VET trainers who become qualified secondary school teachers have greater opportunities to progress their careers within the education sector.
If you are a VET trainer and interested in undertaking a course to become a qualified secondary school teacher, the Department of Education provides several initiatives to support study pathways including scholarships and employment-based programs.
Visit Teach the Future to learn more.
VCAA professional learning
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) delivers professional learning to support the delivery of VCE Vocational Major and VPC.
This includes self-guided on-demand courses and Communities of Practice.
Visit the VCAA website to learn more.
Further information
For further information about the opportunities listed above please, contact the Senior Secondary Pathways Reform Taskforce’s Workforce team by email: Vocational.Workforce@education.vic.gov.au
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