ENGAGING INDUSTRY, UNIVERSITIES AND THE VOCATIONAL SECTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS: THE INTEGRATED ARTICULATION AND CREDIT TRANSFER PROJECT

The paper reports on the major findings to date of an action research project addressing the potential role of industry in the determination of articulation pathways between the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education (HE) sectors in Australia, which will have a direct impact on meeting skills shortages. The Integrated Articulation and Credit Transfer (IACT) project is investigating a range of sustainable and transferable seamless articulation frameworks that are relevant to both education providers and industry.

Considerable interest in articulation and credit transfer between the Australian VET and HE sectors has been expressed for some 25 years (Centre for the Study of Higher Education 2008, p. 9) arising from issues about access and equity, efficiency, the roles of the different sectors, and providing pathways between them (PhillipsKPA 2006a, p. 54). The Bradley Review noted there has been 'limited success, due to structural rigidities as well as to differences in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment' (Bradley et al. 2008, p. 179). The Federal Government responded to the Bradley Review with the policy Transforming Australia’s Higher Education System. One of the ten key reforms in the policy is 'Improving Tertiary Pathways: building stronger connectivity between the higher education and vocational education and training sectors' (Australian Government 2009a, p. 9).

One area of connectivity essential to the success of articulation pathways that appears to be given little attention in the articulation pathway debate is the role of industry and the impact of articulation pathways on the sustainability of their workforce.

The current research is investigating what criteria are crucial in the development of industry driven pathway models which would best address skills shortages in targeted industries. The research is testing whether these criteria can be used as a model of engagement between industry, VET and HE leading to the development of pathways that can be duplicated by these three sectors in a range of industries.