• Overview
• Choosing
• Apprenticeships
• VCAL
• VET
• The Victorian Training Guarantee

Overview

In all industries training enables the person being trained to acquire the abilities that help to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to perform their work to a high standard that provides them with a feeling of accomplishment, pleases their employer and helps the business, and ultimately the general community.

In Australia, primary industries training focuses on almost all aspects of training in the agriculture and production horticulture, amenity horticulture, seafood and aquaculture, animal care and management, and conservation and land management.

This website endeavours to provide information that employers and trainees may find useful in making decisions about approaching the training process. In some cases external website links provide further information if you wish to know more.

Post-secondary training can be divided up into Vocational Education & Training (VET) which includes the recognised TAFE levels of training, and Higher Education being housed more frequently in the university sector.

Primary Skills Victoria deals within the VET sector as well as assisting in connecting with specialised secondary school training. A broad overview of the qualifications is provided below but please note there are cross-overs of training between the schools, VET and Higher Education Sectors. As an example, secondary schools may deliver up to Certificate II under the VCE VET in Schools program while Higher Education Sector facilities commonly deliver Certificate IV level and up.

Further options including VCE VET in Schools and VCAL are available in the left hand navigation.

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Choosing

Primary Skills Victoria staff are happy to visit schools or participants in government funded programs to provide participants with meaningful information and answer questions regarding employment opportunities in respective sectors.  To request a visit by a Primary Skills Victoria representative contact 03 9210 9470.

Information services we can provide include:

• Details on the institutes that provide particular courses.
• Information on subjects contained within particular courses.
• Background Information and contact points to obtain further information in training programs and other educational requirements.

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Apprenticeships

Australian Apprenticeships are similar to the old apprenticeships in that they combine work and training to provide participants with skills required in the workplace. The term "Australian Apprenticeships" is used to cover all employment-based training whether the participant is called a trainee or an apprentice.

They provide the skills that employers need now and can be tailored to best meet the enterprise's needs whilst at the same time, giving the participant an opportunity to gain skills of national significance that are more readily transportable and accepted. Some of the new features and benefits are that:

• They can be undertaken on a part-time basis
• There is flexibility in the wages structure
• Apprenticeships are not restricted by age or previous academic qualification, they can even be started whilst still at school (refer to VET in Schools)
• Australian Apprenticeships are based on competency rather than time which means it is possible for them to be completed more quickly
• Australian Apprentices can develop higher skill levels than was possible in the old system - training is now tailored to the level of competency required by the industry or enterprise
• Training content can be varied to meet the requirements of the enterprise • the location and timing of training can be negotiated - training when you want it, where you want it
• Qualifications achieved under the Australian Apprenticeship Scheme are recognised nationally..

For further information on Australian Apprenticeships visit http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/

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Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning is a new senior school certificate based on applied learning that can have a widespread use in Primary Industries. Information on this program can be found at http://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/senior.htm

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VET in Schools (VCE VET)

In recent years, the Victorian Government and Secondary Schools have collaborated to broaden senior schooling to include Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs in agriculture and horticulture.

Generally, these VET programs:

• are based directly on industry skills
• involve substantial amounts of work placement
• result in an industry recognised qualification
• may be integrated with general education programs.

There are three models of this type of program. These are programs where:

• Full time students are enrolled in a VET program as part of their senior secondary studies with a work experience or work placement component. The program might be delivered totally by the school, by the school with a workplace learning component, or by the school in collaboration with a public or private training organisation.
• Students enrol in a New Apprenticeship, involving a Training Agreement and paid employment whilst studying part-time at school (i.e. the student is also an employee).
• Students, out of school hours, are involved in part time work with a formal, structured training component.

Part-time New Apprenticeships are an emerging option for VET in Schools and have particular advantages in agriculture (where the workplace may be long distances from the school) and horticulture. This option generates a system of spending part of the week at school and the remainder at work and hence provides for both general education and on- and off-the-job training to be carried out.

What career path options does this system offer?

Currently, the VCE VET programs are linked to the achievement of national Certificate II qualifications however, because of the wide array of industry sector specialisations in the primary sectors, schools are more often faced with limiting the qualification subject matter to a small range of sector options.

If you are considering participating in such a program you will need to discuss your range of options with the School VET Coordinator.

Further information about industry training in schools can be obtained from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority website on http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/VET/programs/index.html

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