Bridging Pathways - Blueprint for Implementation from 2000 until 2005 - Australia

A blueprint for the national plan of action for increasing opportunities for people with a disability in vocational education and training.
Source: Australian National Training Authority

• Foreword
• Taskforce Members
• Introduction and Overview
  1. Impact
     • The Business Case
     • Requirements
  2. Areas of Focus
     • Planning and Representation
     • Purchasing
     • Pathways
     • Learning Supports
     • Capacity Building
     • Marketing and Information
     • Performance Measurement
  3. Supporting Materials
     • Technical Attachment 1: Purchasing Arrangements
     • Technical Attachment 2: Learning Supports
     • Technical Attachment 3: Coordination
     • Appendix 1: Data and Calculations
     • Appendix 2: Key Concepts
     • Appendix 3: Links between Agencies
     • Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms
     • Appendix 5: Glossary of Acronyms
     • Appendix 6: Reference List

Tables:

1. Strategies by Focus Area
2. Action by ANTA
3. Action by Training Authorities and Industry
4. Action through Cross-Government Collaboration
5. Categories of VET Provision
6. Projections: People with a Disability in VET 1998 - 2005

Foreword

Bridging Pathways, the Blueprint for Implementation shows how, through positive, collaborative action, we can achieve the world's most inclusive vocational education and training system for people with a disability.

The disadvantage that people with a disability face in the labour market is reflected in their stark under-representation in vocational education and training. ANTA's marketing research on attitudes to learning has confirmed that people with a disability face many personal and systemic barriers to education and training. Many more people would like to participate in training but only if it is made easier to do so.

Recent reforms to the National Training Framework allow a range of new and more responsive learning options that have the potential to benefit people with a disability. The challenge has been in finding out exactly what needs to be done and how to make best use of the new arrangements to do it.

In 1999, the ANTA Disability Forum undertook extensive consultations to uncover the key difficulties people with a disability face in vocational education and training. They identified a range of areas where action is needed to open the door to VET, to improve the learning experience, to assist people achieve employment and lifelong learning outcomes and to create a more accountable system.

This Blueprint builds on the broad goals identified by the clients of the system by setting down concrete actions, responsibilities and timelines to make the changes happen. The Blueprint embeds actions in existing business processes to take advantage of the flexibility offered by the National Training Framework. It shows that change can occur without restricting the way the vocational education and training sector does business.

The Blueprint also acknowledges that some solutions may be found beyond the vocational education and training sector. For the first time, the Blueprint illustrates that a whole-of-government approach is needed to improve education and training opportunities for people with a disability. The Blueprint identifies cross-sector responsibilities in a way which recognises that vocational education and training is an crucial pathway to employment and community participation.

Governments, industry, training providers, disability services and individuals all have a stake in making this happen. ANTA is committed to leading a collective effort to remove the obstacles and ensure that people with a disability are able to take part in and succeed in education and training in the same way as all Australians. It is not only the individuals who stand to benefit. Improving education and training opportunities for people with a disability will lead to a more skilled and diverse workforce and enrich the economic and community life of Australia.

Stuart Hornery
Chair
ANTA Board

Taskforce Members

The Implementation Taskforce for Bridging Pathways: national plan of action for people with a disability in vocational education andtraining, comprised:

Geoff Ashton (Chair)
Board Member, Australian National Training Authority

Mark Bagshaw
Chair, ANTA Disability Forum
International Marketing Manager, IBM Australasia

Christine Currey
Representing George Green, Assistant Director General,
NSW Department of Education and Training

Chris Eccles
General Manager, Australian National Training Authority

Stephen Ghost
Senior Advisor - Training, Australian Industry Group

Lynn Hammond
Deputy Chair, ANTA Disability Forum
Senior Executive Officer, Equity, TAFE Queensland

Craig Harrison
Deputy Chair, ANTA Disability Forum
Manager, Personnel Employment, South Australia

John Heneker
Director, Murray Institute of TAFE, South Australia

Rod Manns
Assistant Secretary, VET Reform Branch,
Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs

Anne Melrose
Assistant Director, Equity Standards
SA Department of Education, Training and Employment

Jackie Wilson
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability
Department of Family and Community Services

Assisting the Taskforce were:

Katy O'Callaghan
Senior Project Officer, ANTA

Anne-Maree Walker
Executive Officer, ANTA Disability Forum

Introduction and Overview

Background

During 1999 the ANTA Disability Forum published Bridging Pathways: national plan of action for increasing opportunities for people with a disability in vocational education and training.

Bridging Pathways was developed through broad consultation with people with a disability, training providers, advisory bodies and government agencies. It identifies the negative impact on individuals, industry, government and the broader community that results from the under-representation of people with a disability in vocational education and training. It describes a new vision for the participation of people with a disability in vocational education and training.

The Vision

To create a vocational education and training system that leads world's best practice in achieving equitable outcomes for people with disabilities.

In order to achieve this vision Bridging Pathways sets out four goals, and strategies for their achievement.

Goal 1: Opening the Door

To increase access to vocational education and training for people with a disability.

Goal 2: Improving the Learning Experience

To improve successful participation and attainment in all fields of study and levels of vocational education and training.

Goal 3: Achieving Employment and Lifelong Learning Outcomes

To achieve outcomes in employment and lifelong learning to allow people with a disability to make a greater contribution to the economic and social life of the community.

Goal 4: Creating an Accountable System

To create an accountable system that provides equitable outcomes for people with a disability.

The Blueprint for Implementation

This Blueprint is a guide for the actions that are required to achieve the vision of Bridging Pathways. It is targeted at program managers in government agencies and at public and private training organisations. It provides a rationale and builds on the goals and broad strategies of BridgingPathways. The strategies in the Blueprint are grouped in Focus Areas that relate to the core business of vocational education and training; they contain detailed actions for implementation. The strategies and additional technical materials balance recommended actions with description to ensure that change can occur without restricting the way that the sector does business

The Blueprint has been developed under the guidance of a Taskforce and has drawn heavily on the experience of those members, the experience of members of the ANTA Disability Forum, and on a wealth of previous research and reports.

There are three sections to the Blueprint:

Section 1: Impact outlines the current status of the sector and provides summary arguments and an overview for decision makers.It describes the investment required and the outcomes which can derive for all stakeholders through the implementation of Bridging Pathways.

Section 2 has seven Areas of Focus which contain the strategies and component actions to drive the required change: Planning and Representation, Purchasing, Pathways, Learning Supports, Capacity Building, Marketing and Information, and Performance Measurement. The strategies and actions are described against resource requirements and performance measures, and are linked to current ANTA practice, references and work in progress.

Section 3: Supporting Materials has technical attachments and additional data and explanations to assist with implementing the Blueprint.

This Blueprint is solidly built around the principles on which Bridging Pathways is based. It recognises the right of people with a disability to participate in vocational education and training and the benefits that can arise for those individuals, for industry, for government and for the community.

The Blueprint has its eyes firmly set on individuals; it makes no assumptions about anyone's particular abilities, disabilities, potential or needs. It describes a vocational education and training system which recognises individuals. It also recognises that some individuals will need more assistance than others and that the system must be able to identify those people and facilitate their inclusion.

It embeds actions in the existing business processes of the vocational education and training sector including ANTA National Priorities, preparation of State VET Plans and Key Performance Measures. The strategies are designed to strategically build the sector's capacity to better meet the needs of all equity groups and to support collaboration between training providers and the Disability Support Programs of other government departments, realigning these activities where required.

The reforms it proposes are designed to reduce the disincentives and increase the incentives within the vocational education and training marketplace. This will enable appropriate market forces to work alongside Australia's commitment to social and economic justice for people with a disability and create strong links with the Commonwealth Government's Welfare Reform Agenda.

Lack of training and educational opportunities for people with a disability are one of the significant issues facing policy makers looking at welfare reform; people with a disability are the most underrepresented group in vocational education and training today. There is a close relationship between the critical success factors within the Welfare Reform Agenda and the directions detailed in the Blueprint. Both are striving to:

• Develop new approaches to maximise the scope and opportunity for work - The Blueprint proposes closer links with industry and stronger marketing to industry about the value of employing people with a disability.
• Place a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention for people with a disability - the Blueprint recommends ways to provide greater access for students with a disability to VET in Schools programs and preparatory programs.
• Tailor flexible assistance to meet the needs of individuals - the Blueprint proposes the development of a new funding model to support more individualised assistance in accessing training.
• Improve incentives to economic and social participation - the Blueprint aims to ensure that students with a disability incur no extra personal cost - financial or otherwise - when undertaking training.
• A cross-sectoral whole of government approach - The Blueprint recommends the establishment of a coordination mechanism so that individual's needs are managed across services where required. The success of the Blueprint hinges on using a cross-sectoral approach which overrides program boundaries and provides appropriately resourced services to meet individual needs in an efficient and consumer-centred way.

The actions in the Blueprint identify cross-sector and government responsibilities in a way which recognises that vocational education and training is an important pathway to employment. On its own, completion of a vocational education and training program is not always sufficient to achieve employment outcomes for VET graduates with a disability; effective and efficient relationships with other services and systems are also required. The part that vocational education and training can play is to ensure that graduates with a disability are as competent and prepared for the work as other graduates; this will allow other services and systems to best play their part.

Overview

The seven Areas of Focus contained in the Blueprint are described below; a list of the strategies in each of the Areas is provided in Table 1.

• Planning and Representation systems include State/Territory Training Plans, Industry Training Plans and decision-making mechanisms.
• Purchasing systems include funding models and purchasing arrangements that are used to provide publicly funded vocational education and training.
• Pathways covers the systems which assist people to enter vocational education and training, undertake courses at all qualification levels and gain employment if that is their goal.
• Learning Supports are services provided to students undertaking vocational education and training that provide a broad range of individually tailored assistance; this may include coordination between a number of agencies.
• Capacity Building strategies increase the capacity of training providers and industry to include people with a disability in vocational education and training, through professional development and the provision of increased guidance.
• Marketing and Information systems are those that provide information to potential students, employers and other key networks with regard to training opportunities and the value of graduates.
• Performance Measurement includes the qualitative and quantitative measures used to evaluate the participation of people with a disability in vocational education and training.

Table 1: Strategies in the Blueprint by Focus Area

Section 1: Impact

Section 1 presents the impact of the vocational education and training sector on people with a disability and the impact that the strategies and actions in this Blueprint can have on people with a disability.

The business case outlines the current status of the vocational education and training sector and describes the outcomes across stakeholder groups which can arise from the implementation of Bridging Pathways.

Requirements describes the investment which will maximise this business opportunity for Australia. It outlines the leadership required of different agencies, responsibilities and timelines. It also outlines the mechanisms which will monitor and evaluate the success of Bridging Pathways.

The Business Case

Over 16% of the Australian working age population have a disability. Those people are currently not participating in or contributing to our society to anywhere near their full potential. Because of infrastructure barriers and community attitudes, people with a disability are not taking part in all aspects of our society in proportion to their presence in the population. In particular their participation in the workforce and in the education system is far lower than the general population.

There is a "shortfall group" of over 178,000 students with a disability who are needed to match their participation rate in VET with that of the general population¹. Bridging Pathways aims to reduce the size of this shortfall group; by targeting strategies and actions at the reasons for this shortfall.

The recent ANTA National Marketing Strategy research (1999) highlighted some of the perceptions and barriers which influence people's participation in vocational education and training. It identified that people with a disability are over-represented in the market segments described as "Almost There", "Make it Easier" and "I'm Done With It". People in these segments typically face considerable personal barriers to undertaking training which may include cost, travel and access to facilities. Bridging Pathways is designed to address the barriers which particularly relate to the perceptions and circumstances of people with a disability.

We know that people with a disability do not participate in vocational education and training at the same rate; we also know that people with a disability who do participate in vocational education and training are not experiencing the same training outcomes or recording the same progress or satisfaction as other students. VET students with a disability are less likely to be enrolled in higher-level courses (AQF Certificate III and above) than all students; and are twice as likely to be enrolled in VET multi-field programs (pre-employment, pre-vocational, language and literacy) than all students. Their participation in The Business Case apprenticeships and traineeships is significantly lower (approximately 10% compared with 15% of all students) and their module pass rate is also lower (74.1% compared with 79.7% of all students).

Yet we also know that vocational education and training can have a significantimpact on the employment rate and income of graduates with a disability. 33% of TAFE graduates with a disability who were unemployed before their training found work after training; and the average weekly wage of TAFE graduates with a disability is $466.

Current approaches to marketing, funding, training and supporting VET students with a disability have not reduced the size of the shortfall group. If the current vocational education and training system were to continue unchanged, it is clear that inequities will remain. Furthermore, there are also lost opportunities for other stakeholders if the inequities are not addressed. Government will continue to pay out the (current) $5b per annum to recipients of the Disability Support Pension; Government will not achieve an appropriately skilled, diverse workforce; industry and training providers may not be confident in the competencies of people with a disability.

On the other hand, if the systematic changes proposed in this Blueprint are made to the vocational education and training system, then people with a disability will have equitable access and achieve recognised outcomes from vocational education and training; they will enhance their work opportunities through vocational education and training and contribute to the economic and community life of Australia.

(See Appendix 1 for details on data and calculations)

Outcomes

The implementation of Bridging Pathways will progressively increase equity and reduce the size of the "shortfall group". Bridging Pathways will create a climate in vocational education and training where people with a disability have the same opportunities, achieve the same personal goals and derive the same long term benefits as other students. The vocational education and training sector of the future will offer VET students with a disability relevant training, easy access to information and assistance, as well as appropriate supports to complete their qualifications. An equitable vocational education and training system will deliver the following outcomes for each of the stakeholders.

Outcomes for Individuals

• Potential VET applicants with a disability
  • Know VET and how VET can increase their skills and potential for employment and further education and training.
  • Perceive VET as a positive, non-discriminatory environment.
  • Have equitable access to nationally recognised training:
    • via the full range of service providers
    • across the full range of training arrangements
    • at all Australian Qualification Framework levels
    • because they are a valued target market for training providers
• VET students with a disability receive training and assessment which:
  • Supports their individual learning needs in a coordinated and efficient way
  • Recognises their competence in a fair way
  • Recognises their ongoing training needs
• VET students with a disability gain confidence and self-esteem from the community life of vocational education and training.
• VET students with a disability are satisfied with their training.
• VET students with a disability incur no personal cost (financial or otherwise) above that expected of all VET students.
• VET graduates with a disability have enhanced opportunities for work.

Outcomes for Training Providers

• Training providers are able to meet the training needs of VET students with a disability.
• Training providers find it financially viable to provide effective training to VET students with a disability.
• Training providers are able to attract the market segment of people with a disability.
• Training providers are able to meet their equity requirements.

Outcomes for Industry

• Industry has accurate data about outcomes for people with a disability in VET.
• Employers are confident in the skills and competencies of VET students and VET graduates with a disability.
• Employers know the supports available to assist them in recruiting, employing and retaining VET students and graduates with a disability.
• Employers and industry know where to gain more information about the training and employment of VET students and graduates with a disability.

Outcomes for Government

• Government has accurate performance data about outcomes for people with a disability in VET and its investment in vocational education and training for people with a disability.
• Government achieves cost-benefit through its investment in vocational education and training for people with a disability through reduced need for government support, resulting from increased self reliance and earning capacity over their lifespan.
• Government demonstrates its commitment to equity.
• Government achieves an appropriately skilled, diverse workforce.
• Government achieves effective and efficient links across those publicly funded services which enhance outcomes for VET students with a disability.

Outcomes for the Community

• The VET community has a diverse student body which reflects the diversity of Australian citizens and the Australian workforce.
• The VET system enables people with a disability to more fully contribute to the economic and community life of Australia.
• The Australian community benefits from the skills and abilities which people with a disability contribute to the economy and Australian life.

What the Blueprint Requires

The equitable participation of people with a disability in vocational education and training represents a significant opportunity for Australia. Like many opportunities, an investment is required in order to fully realise this potential. This Blueprint outlines the investment that will remove the obstacles and ensure that people with a disability are able to take part and succeed in the Australian vocational education and training system.

The Blueprint for implementing Bridging Pathways has sought to gain maximum benefit from the existing resources applied to the inclusion of people with a disability in vocational education and training. Funding agencies, training authorities and training providers have already demonstrated their existing commitment to equity. However, there is a strong business case for better returns from existing resources and for stakeholders to make additional investment.

The Blueprint proposes a series of strategies and component actions to drive the required change across seven Areas of Focus. A number of the actions can be implemented at a national level; the remaining actions are best implemented by individual agencies at the Commonwealth or State/Territory level. A further set of actions requires collaboration between cross-government agencies. These action groupings are not mutually exclusive; an action may require National, State/ Territory and cross-government action. However, a summary of each action group has been developed to provide a quick reference guide for Implementers.

Leadership

For Action by ANTA

The actions for ANTA (summarised in Table 2) call for national systemic change. ANTA will take a leadership role in achieving these actions, however State and Territory involvement will be critical to successful outcomes. Work on these activities can begin immediately through existing ANTA mechanisms; in some areas work has already begun. Where additional funding is required, indicative costs and funding sources have been identified.

For Action by Individual Commonwealth or State/Territory Agencies

These actions (summarised in Table 3) are essential to the achievement of an integrated plan and they require the same level of commitment as the national level actions. The way these actions are implemented may vary between States and Territories and other agencies. In some cases, adequate strategies may already be in place or existing activities could be expanded to easily accommodate the achievement of the outcome. In other areas substantial new work and additional funding may be required. Resource requirements for these actions have not been calculated because agencies will choose to implement the actions differently from different starting points.

For Action through Cross-Government Collaboration

Actions that require effective partnerships with other government programs are summarised in Table 4. Many of these actions require collaboration between ANTA and other government agencies. These actions will not be cost-neutral. Resource allocations will need to be negotiated by the collaborating agencies. The National VET Disability Taskforce will take a leadership role in facilitating implementation of these actions.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Three complementary approaches to monitoring and evaluation will track progress of the Blueprint and ensure each of the strategies and component actions is successfully implemented. These monitoring mechanisms will oversee reporting requirements listed at the end of each Area of Focus.

National VET Disability Taskforce

A national VET Disability Taskforce will be formed to facilitate and monitor implementation of the Blueprint. The Taskforce will be chaired by a member of the ANTA Board and will include representatives from each of the stakeholder groups who developed the plan: people with a disability, training providers, industry, State/Territory Training Authorities, FaCS, DETYA, DEWRSB and ANTA. The Taskforce will monitor and report regularly to the ANTA Board on implementation of the Blueprint and provide advice on emerging issues affecting access, participation and outcomes for people with a disability in vocational education and training. In addition, the Taskforce will take a leadership role in facilitating implementation of the cross-government initiatives in the Blueprint.

Annual Planning and Performance Monitoring

In accordance with ANTA's normal planning and performance monitoring, State and Territory Training Authorities will be asked to report in their annual VET plans on progress towards achieving the strategies in the Blueprint. Similarly, national Industry Training Advisory Boards will be asked to provide information on activity within their industries through their industry strategic plans, as part of their service agreements with ANTA.

Review and Evaluation

A mid-term review of the Blueprint will be commissioned for completion by the end of year 2002. The review will seek qualitative and quantitative evidence of activity. It will focus on any adjustments to strategies and actions required to respond to changes that have occurred in the VET and disability sectors since endorsement; it will also indicate areas for further research. At the end of year 2005, a final evaluation of the Blueprint will be commissioned. The evaluation will assess the performance of the VET system and other agencies in achieving the objectives of Bridging Pathways and make recommendations on future arrangements for improving opportunities for people with a disability in vocational education and training.

Table 2: Action by ANTA

* - indicates joint action with cross-government agencies; these actions are also in Table 4

Table 3: Action by individual Commonwealth and State/Territory agencies

* - indicates joint action with cross-government agencies; these actions are also in Table 4

Table 4: Action through Cross-Government Collaboration

DETYA: Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs

FaCS: Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services

DEWRSB: Commonwealth Department of Employment, Work Place Relations and Small Business

Section 2: Area of Focus

This section presents seven Areas of Focus where actions to improve opportunities for people with a disability can be built into the existing systems and business processes of the vocational education and training sector. These areas are:

1. Planning and Representation
2. Purchasing
3. Pathways
4. Learning Supports
5. Capacity Building
6. Marketing and Information
7. Performance Measurement

Each area has a brief introduction followed by objectives that set out the direction of change and what needs to be achieved.

The strategies for achieving the objectives are then presented with a series of actions detailing timeframes and accountability requirements.

Reporting requirements cover links with ANTA's key performance measures and other forms of reporting.

Each strategy is linked to the overall vocational education and training systemand other source data via a listing of current practice, references and work in progress located at the end of each focus area.

Specific terms are used to describe stakeholder groups or agencies within the vocational education and training sector and the broader disability system. Readers of this Blueprint are urged to use the glossary of terms and acronyms at Appendices 4 and 5.

Planning and Representation

If the opportunities for people with a disability are to increase in vocational education and training, then cross-agency planning must occur from the highest level of policy formation down to the local service networks between providers, disability support programs and individuals with a disability. People with a disability must have genuine opportunities to represent their interests at a political and administrative level in order to guide appropriate policies, practices and services; they must also be involved in decisions regarding their own participation in vocational education and training.

Objectives

• Decision-making throughout the VET sector works to achieve equitable outcomes for people with a disability through providing opportunities for skills development, social participation and employment.
• Vocational education and training planning is informed by the views of people with a disability.

Strategy 1: Involve Industry Training Advisory Boards and other industry groups in improving the training and employment opportunities of students with a disability.

Strategy 2: Increase the genuine influence of people with a disability within vocational education and training.

Purchasing

Purchasing arrangements influence the extent to which training providers can and do respond to the training needs of people with a disability and the degree to which training options are appropriate, accessible and appealing to individuals who have a disability. The way in which training is currently purchased does not effectively support the inclusion of people with a disability². Action to address this will significantly increase the opportunities that are provided.

Substantial development and collaboration between ANTA and State/Territory Training Authorities is required to build on existing work undertaken in some States to address the need for improved equity in purchasing arrangements. Significant outcomes will be achieved when all purchasing arrangements support the inclusion of people with a disability through mechanisms that are transparent, cost-effective and sufficiently flexible to meet the varied needs of people with a diverse range of disabilities.

Purchasing arrangements need to take account of the reasonable adjustments that are needed for many students with a disability. Reasonable adjustments are actions or measures taken in order to provide substantive equality for students with a disability, they include accommodation, aids, facilities or services which a person without a disability does not require. For some students, reasonable adjustment can occur within the agreed cost, however there are other students for whom reasonable adjustment will require a higher dollar per student contact hour. Previous research into additional costs associated with providing vocational education and training to people with a disability³ suggests three categories of provision in the development of equitable purchasing arrangements. These are summarised below; further information is contained in the Technical Attachment 1: Purchasing Arrangements.

1. Reasonable accommodation within agreed cost is the accommodations training providers are expected to make to meet reasonable support requirements of students with a disability within the range of student services that they provide. There may be an inherent cost to the provider in providing these supports but they need to be made in order to fulfil registration and social justice responsibilities.
2. Additional supports may be required by some students with a disability. The additional supports may be best provided by the training provider but their nature and cost suggest they be regarded as an "additional" service which would require a resource allocation.
3. Intensive individual supports include specific requirements such as equipment, sign language interpreters or personal care assistance that relates to the particular circumstances of individual students with a disability. These are best regarded as direct student support services that require a resource allocation mechanism based on individually tailored services.

Objectives

• Purchasing arrangements at all levels of the vocational education and training sector support the inclusion of people with a disability, by appropriately recognising and resourcing inclusive supports, practices and services.
• Improved purchasing arrangements lead to equitable, cost-effective investment in vocational education and training for people with a disability.

Strategy 3: Establish equitable purchasing arrangements that improve the effectiveness of public investment in vocational education and training for people with a disability, by supporting inclusion and removing disincentives to providers.

(See Technical Attachment 1: Purchasing Arrangements)

Pathways

The proportion of people with a disability in vocational education and training is far lower than the proportion for the wider population. In addition, fewer graduates with a disability find employment upon completing their courses than the proportion of all graduates (see Appendix 1).

The recent National Marketing Strategy research undertaken by ANTA identifies that people with a disability are over-represented in some market segments ("Almost There", "Make it Easier" and "I'm Done With It") and under- represented in others. Over-representation in these segments typically coincides with real and perceived barriers to entering training; reduced exposure to learning or work-related training needs in the past; and an increased need for ease of access and support networks.

Research⁴ suggests that improving pathways for people with a disability in the following areas will increase participation:

• Increased access to preparatory training courses such as pre-vocational, Certificate I and II. This requires particular attention in areas where recent trends in training development and funding priorities have seen greater emphasis placed on higher qualification levels. Examples include: in February 2000 only just over 50% of National Training Packages included Certificate I⁵ funding priorities for New Apprenticeships under User Choice arrangements often exclude Certificate I programs.
• Building equity performance into planning and evaluation of National Training Packages, New Apprenticeships and VET in Schools.
• Improved links between agencies such as training providers and Employment Assistance Services to facilitate life stage transitions between education, training, employment and other social participation.

Objectives

• People with a disability experience equitable access to vocational education and training, through multiple pathways including preparatory skills training, programs based on National Training Packages, VET in schools, New Apprenticeships and recognition of current competencies.
• People with a disability experience the same employment opportunities and outcomes as a result of participation in VET as other students and graduates.
• People with a disability go on to enrol in higher level courses at the same rate as all students.

Strategy 4: Facilitate preparatory skills training (including Certificate I, pre-vocational, life/work enabling skills) in National and State/Territory planning and funding frameworks.

Strategy 5: Encourage the participation of people with a disability in vocational training and education at all qualification levels.

Strategy 6: Ensure that National Training Packages support the inclusion of people with a disability.

Strategy 7: Improve pathways for people with a disability into New Apprenticeships through collaboration between Group Training Companies, employers and Disability Employment Assistance Services.

Strategy 8: Ensure that students with a disability have equal opportunities to participate in VET in schools and to gain equitable outcomes.

Strategy 9: Increase employment and training pathways for people with a disability through greater access to recognition of prior learning (or current competencies).

Strategy 10: Foster clear pathways for people with a disability from vocational education and training into employment services and directly into employment.

Learning Supports

Learning Supports are services provided to students in VET to assist them to successfully complete training; they may include a range of in-class or out-of-class supports such as tutoring, sign language interpreters, note taking, specialist advisors or coordinators, equipment, workplace modification for work based training. The costs associated with these supports are dependent on the nature of the individual students' needs, the existing capacity of the training provider and the nature of the training being undertaken (see Technical Attachment 2: Learning Supports). Access to resources and advice regarding learning supports is often unclear for both training providers (particularly privately operated RTOs) and people with a disability.

An extensive review of research⁷ has found that participation in vocational education and training often involves significant personal costs for students with a disability over and above those for other students. These costs include financial expenditure (eg for equipment or services) as well as additional time and energy required to organise and implement the support services they require. The impact of these costs can be exacerbated when students with a disability have fewer opportunities to financially support their studies through part-time employment or face performance difficulties because they have less time to devote to their studies.

A number of recent research and development projects⁸ have highlighted the need to improve the availability and effectiveness of the diverse range of supports provided to students with a disability as well as to create easier access to information and coordination of these supports. Making learning easier to access has also been identified by the Marketing Strategy research as new key to encouraging more people with a disability to participate in vocational education and training⁹.

Objectives

• Training providers have access to information and resources to provide learning supports to students with a disability that are individually tailored, appropriate and adequate.
• Support services that assist people with a disability to participate in education, training and employment are linked and appropriately coordinated.

Strategy 11: Increase the availability of learning supports for people with a disability across the vocational education and training sector.

(See Technical Attachment 2: Learning Supports)

Strategy 12: Establish a coordination mechanism point at State/Territory or regional level to provide the following:

• Database of publicly available equipment and technology
• Register of learning support personnel available to providers and students
• Coordination of supports across government agencies, e.g. Disability Employment Assistance Services, transport, vocational education and training
• Referral, advice and information to all sector stakeholders

(See Technical Attachment 3: Coordination)

Capacity Building

In order to provide equitable and effective vocational education and training there is a need for training providers and industry to have the capacity and motivation to support the inclusion of people with a disability.

VET Sector Capacity

There is considerable benefit to be gained by increasing the level of expertise with regard to inclusive practices across the spectrum of VET staff, including teachers, trainers, administration and management professionals¹⁰. In particular, teachers are often ill equipped to cater for students with a disability due to limited knowledge or access to resources¹¹. Professional development in this area is an important remedy and should receive high priority.

There is also a need to ensure that specialist skills and expertise are available to both training staff and students when required to address issues associated with disability. Learning support staff such as sign language interpreters, notetakers and tutors are in short supply, particularly in regional areas. A strategic approach is needed to ensure that the availability of specialist skills keeps pace with the increasing participation of students with a disability.

Successful inclusion also requires learning environments that are accessible with regard to physical premises, operations, information and student support services. Achieving this for a population as diverse as people with a disability is a technical area that requires skills, commitment and resources. Those organisations that have managed it well sometimes become the "default" provider while access to other vocational education and training programs may continue to be limited.

A number of existing mechanisms provide training providers with a framework for equity, including the Access and Equity Standard of the Australian Recognition Framework and the Federal and State Disability Discrimination legislation. However, these mechanisms need to be better understood and more consistently applied across the full range of providers and training environments.

Industry Capacity

There is significant potential for enhancing the success of vocational education and training for people with a disability (particularly with regard to their employment outcomes) by covering competencies relevant to the inclusion of people with a disability in the workforce. Key roles in the employment process where this might be achieved include the training of front-line managers, workplace training staff and human resource professionals including during on-the-job training.

Objectives

• Vocational education and training staff are appropriately skilled to work with people with a disability and demonstrate non-discriminatory attitudes.
• Specialist learning support staff are appropriately skilled and resourced to provide support to students with a disability and to train other staff.
• Training providers provide equitable opportunities for people with a disability.
• Vocational education and training contributes to creating an inclusive workforce by providing appropriate training in key employment related areas.

Strategy 13: Equip training delivery staff with skills that assist the inclusion of people with a disability including:

• Reasonable adjustment for people with a disability
• Flexible assessment methods for students with various types of disability
• Methods of recognising prior learning
• Inclusion and anti-bias teaching practices
• Access and coordination of additional supports when appropriate

Strategy 14: Strengthen the access and equity performance of Registered Training Organisations in relation to opportunities provided for people with a disability.

Strategy 15: Build competencies in inclusive workforce practices into relevant vocational education and training programs.

Marketing and Information

The recent ANTA National Marketing Strategy research (1999) identified that people with a disability face many real and perceived barriers to participation in training. These barriers encompass "system" perceptions such as lack of necessary supports as well as "personal" perceptions such as fear of failure and lack of confidence.

Potential VET students and their formal and informal advisors require accessible information about the training and the supports available in vocational education and training. This information should promote positive images of people with a disability participating successfully in training and achieving personal goals.

Three priorities for marketing activities that will increase opportunities for people with a disability are:

1. Marketing the value of training to people with a disability and to their advice and support networks;
2. Marketing the value of graduates with a disability to employers; and
3. Marketing people with a disability as a valuable market segment to training providers.

In all three cases, marketing should address perceptions of barriers and difficulties for people with a disability and should provide examples of positive outcomes.

Objectives

• VET graduates with a disability are positively promoted to employers as valuable employees.
• Employers provide equitable access to ongoing training opportunities for employees who have a disability.
• Information regarding vocational education and training is provided to potential and current students in a variety of formats that are accessible by people with a disability.
• Students who have a disability are actively encouraged to participate in further training and achieve higher levels of qualification.
• Training providers recognise the benefits of providing accessible, flexible training that can both meet the training need of VET students with a disability and assist employers hire skilled people with a disability.

Strategy 16: Market the value of vocational education and training to potential students with a disability, their key support networks and formal and informal sources of advice and career information.

Strategy 17: Undertake marketing with employers about the value of investment in graduates who have a disability and the value of training employees who have a disability.

Strategy 18: Recognise significant achievements in education and training outcomes for people with a disability.

Performance Measurement

The implementation of Bridging Pathways will result in improved performance; data collection needs to ensure that improvements in performance are captured, and that baseline data is available for comparison.

Performance measurement activities will measure both outcomes for VET students with a disability and the role of the Blueprint in achieving those outcomes. Performance measurement of the Blueprint has been designed to:

• Align with the Principles for Performance Measurement in VET¹²
• Have clear links to the Key Performance Measures of the National Strategy for VET, Bridge to the Future, particularly KPM5
• Generate appropriate national performance reporting with additional measures matching State/Territory or stakeholder needs
• Ensure that the data definitions of disability and the vocational education and training collection processes do not discriminate against students with a disability

Performance measurement will need to quickly address some matters and then work to continually improve the reliability and coverage of other data areas. Current data collection processes and protocols may hide the real performance of both individual VET students with a disability and the performance of the vocational education and training sector as a whole in relation to equity for this group. Among other matters, this relates to barriers inherent in the current process of self-disclosure of disability and in inconsistencies between definitions used in national population data and NCVER data.

The Blueprint has a planned approach to strategically improving reliability, coverage and reporting of data. For each Area of Focus in the Blueprint, reporting requirements are listed as "Reporting of Performance". Some of the reporting requirements will impact on the KPMs of Bridge to the Future; other reporting matters will be of particular interest to Training Authorities, ITABs, training organisations, Disability Support Programs, training practitioners, service funders or policy makers.

Strategy 19: Improve data collection protocols with regard to the participation, outcomes and satisfaction of people with a disability in VET.

Strategy 20: Ensure annual reporting includes qualitative and quantitative outcome measures for people with a disability.

Section 3: Supporting Materials

Section 3 contains information to support and expand on Section 2: Areas of Focus and to substantiate the business case in Section 1. Three Technical Attachments provide research briefs to add supporting detail to specific strategies. The appendices provide reference and contextual information.

• Technical Attachment 1: Purchasing Arrangements
• Technical Attachment 2: Learning Supports
• Technical Attachment 3: Co-ordination

• Appendix 1: Data and Calculations
• Appendix 2: Key Concepts
• Appendix 3: Links Between Agencies
• Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5: Glossary of Acronyms
• Appendix 6: Reference List

Technical Attachment 1: Purchasing Arrangements

This technical attachment provides additional information to support Strategy 3 in the Blueprint for Implementation.

Purpose

The vocational education and training sector seeks to establish equitable purchasing arrangements that improve the effectiveness of public investment in vocational education and training outcomes for peoplewith a disability.

Project Brief

Undertake a national project to research, develop and incorporate mechanisms in all training purchasing arrangements to ensure equitable access for people with a disability. This to include:

• Incentives to promote inclusion
• Clear reasonable accommodation obligations within purchasing arrangements
• Adequate availability of additional supports
• Improved access to intensive individual supports

Mechanisms will cover purchasing arrangements for:

• Direct grants
• Competitive tendering
• User Choice (for New Apprenticeships)
• VET in Schools

Background

The vocational education and training sector has actively pursued an anti-discriminatory and inclusive agenda for many years, as demonstrated by the wealth of reports produced over this time to investigate and address inequity. However, people with a disability continue to be substantially under-represented in vocational education and training and report poorer experiences and outcomes from their participation. There are many explanations and complex interacting factors that contribute to this situation. Perhaps the most commonly reported factor is the lack of resources available for meeting the needs of this group.

Research suggests that current purchasing arrangements inadvertently create disincentives for training providers to actively seek students with a disability unless adequate attention to equity is considered. There are also significant gaps in the availability of specific support services that enable some people with a disability to participate in training and education, particularly in regional areas.

Vocational education and training services that are provided to people with a disability range in nature, cost and delivery mechanism. Three categories of VET provision have been derived from previous research¹³ to provide a starting point for analysis of current issues in purchasing arrangements. This analysis is not comprehensive and will need to be further developed over the course of this project.

Table 5: Categories of VET Provision