Working from Our Strengths: partnerships in learning

Abstract

Over the past four years a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners in learning research across Northern Australia have identified many of the issues that underpin the implementation of training and investment through enterprise development to improve economic and community outcomes of Indigenous partners. This paper provides an overview of a series of recent projects developed around enterprise development and training. The issues that the project teams have explored include developing industry, community and training institutional partnerships in the recognition of diverse knowledge systems within the recognition of prior learning process, the role of digital literacies in sharing knowledge, the co-production of knowledge and workbased learning. The paper then foreshadows the future directions of this work; addressing a range of issues such as infrastructure, funding, technology and identifying relevant skills sets. Approaches to sustainable enterprise learning and production, professional development and support of successful Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers are also discussed. Essentially the paper focuses on the ways partnerships and relationships, rather than systems, can effect change in the implementation of Vocational Education and Training (VET) system in ways that accord with the aims and realities of Indigenous people for their futures.