Course to grow Indigenous teacher workforce

A persistent shortage of Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers and trainers across the board means it is difficult to find TAFE teachers, especially in regional areas. When those teachers also require Indigenous cultural knowledge to both deliver and assess core units now included in many TAFE courses, the pool is even smaller.

Having identified this gap, Federation TAFE has just started its first all-Indigenous cohort of Certificate IV Training and Assessment (TAE) students who will one day share their knowledge, expertise, culture, and experience as TAFE or vocational education teachers, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) trainers or training consultants.

“Federation’s Aboriginal Education Centre (AEC) student support staff were being asked by TAFE teachers more and more frequently to look at assessments for cultural units as there are just not enough Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers and trainers to do so,” said Luke Bosworth, TAFE Team Leader, Aboriginal Student Success.

“More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are needed as trainers and teachers across the VET sector so it was decided that a cohort of Indigenous TAE students would be a great solution. When I came on board, the AEC collaborated with Federation TAFE to put a plan in motion.”

Becoming a VET teacher requires qualifications and current industry expertise in their chosen field and completion of the Certificate IV Training and Assessment; the industry standard for the design, delivery, and development of vocational education. and part of the Free TAFE initiative.

“It is important that cultural knowledge is recognised as specialised knowledge and a skill set itself. When these students graduate, they’ll become trainers and teachers in their respective areas of knowledge and expertise. We are hoping to increase the number of Indigenous peoples employed as teachers and trainers at Federation TAFE as well as other educational providers,” said Luke.

The TAE cohort who are from diverse professional and personal backgrounds and from right across Victoria in Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, and Horsham, join class both online and in-person at Federation’s SMB Campus, enjoying a hybrid, high-flex mode of delivery.

“There are staff from the AEC studying the program, we have a student from the Department of Education and Training, people looking to reskill, some wanting to update their TAE qualification, and parents and full-time workers amongst them. Our students have backgrounds in education, early childhood, horticulture, land management, management, HR management, mental health, community services, cultural heritage management, cultural competency, hospitality, arts, civil engineering, nursing and business,” said Luke.

Dorien Erasmus, Program Manager, Technology and Education at Federation TAFE collaborated with the AEC to get the course up and running.

“A great deal of behind-the-scenes hard work has gone into the project. We worked closely to determine the best delivery model, and to implement appropriate support structures and a thorough induction process. Our teacher, Paul Street, interviewed every student while the AEC ensured students were a good fit for the course and met all requirements to become a VET trainer,” said Dorien.

The end results will have benefits across the board.

“There’s such a need for Indigenous TAFE teachers and Federation isn’t the only TAFE with demand. We've got other institutions, RTOs, saying, ‘Let us know what students you have because we will give them work as well’. It is an area where there’s a real shortage,” said Luke.

“It’s really gratifying being able to create a culturally safe classroom for students to learn in, so they come out with great skills and are able to go on and deliver programs across TAFE.”

With the introduction of the all-Indigenous cohort, Federation TAFE becomes one of the first training providers to offer the latest TAE 40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualification and will soon open enrolments for additional cohorts to commence.