Future Directions in Vocational Skills for Youth
16 April 2008 Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Deputy Chief Executive – Academic, Kaye O'Hara, will today contribute to the national vocational education training agenda at the Future Directions in Vocational Skills for Youth National Forum and Workshop being held in Hobart. The forum is being run by the Australian College of Educators and TAFE Directors Australia as a collaborative effort aimed at improving the engagement of Australia's young people in vocational skilling and development. Kaye's vocational education experience and being an integral part of establishing the new CIT Vocational College will contribute greatly to discussion on what works and what doesn't in the roundtable discussion topics of: showcasing collaborative delivery models of vocational skills for youth; what does industry need from vocational skills programmes for youth; and how can we best meet students' vocational learning needs? About the CIT Vocational College The CIT Vocational College officially opened its doors in 2008 after being launched in November 2007 by Minister for Education and Training Mr Andrew Barr. Established as an easily accessible entry point to Vocational Education and Training, the CIT Vocational College enables students to improve their general, "essential skills" as well as making a start on a vocational education pathway or into a job. Most importantly, at the same time as students are building their essential skills, they can start to acquire vocational skills in their area of interest. The CIT Vocational College helps to meet student's career needs by linking them to relevant "practical" vocational training with other CIT centres. There has been a fantastic response from the community on the opening of the CIT Vocational College and the student uptake that we have had at the start of 2008, has illustrated that CIT is filling a gap that needed to be met. CIT Vocational College provides extensive pastoral care to facilitate a student's study with other CIT centres. Working closely with these other centres, the CIT Vocational College is able to ensure that the student has access to all relevant resources and that their course meets the particular needs of a student. Consistent with its wholistic nature, the CIT Vocational College is building further links with industry so that it can continue to respond to their specific needs. This ensures the relevance and practicality of its courses for our students and the workplace. For more information contact:
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