DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN HORTICULTURAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Australia's higher education and vocational education and training (VET) systems have undergone major structural change over the last 30 years with significant ramifications for horticultural education and training. Unlike at higher education levels, where the presence of horticulture students and programs are on the decline, Australia's VET sector has experienced growth in program diversity, provider and student numbers. Significant changes that have occurred within this sector include: (i) evolution of a national curriculum framework, (ii) shift to a competency-based model of education, and (iii) an expansion in organizational profile of education and training providers. This paper focuses on structural changes to the VET sector with emphasis on the Victorian education and training system. Trends indicate that VET horticulture, in the current form of the Amenity Horticultural Training Package, will continue to evolve and grow particularly in the private sector. Employees and institutions appear to accept the overall sense of order achieved by VET sector reforms, although there are specific concerns on the adequacy of industry competency standards themselves that include issues of duplication, the practicalities of providing practical work placements and workplace assessments on a large scale, their ability to service recognition-of-prior learning (RPL), and concerns over quality control.