Presentation (20 minutes) – maximum of two speakers per presentation TAFE Directors Australia Convention 2024

Industry and TAFE collaborate to design, develop and implement online micro-credentials designed to attract workers to a contemporary mining sector. (102291)

Donna Dejkovski 1 , Tracey Singh 2 , Robert Petherbridge 2
  1. Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance, Docklands, VICTORIA, Australia
  2. TAFE Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Learning outcomes:

  1. How TAFE, Industry and Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) can collaborate to address workforce needs.
  2. The role of micro-credentials in attracting workers to different facets of the mining sector.
  3. The importance of a shared value proposition between all parties.

With numerous occupations experiencing skills shortages across Australia, the mining sector is competing for trade and professional roles that are in high demand across many industries.  Attracting and retaining workers into the mining sector requires a multi-pronged approach that includes providing education on the breadth of employment opportunities in the sector while addressing a poor public perception of the sector.

In this presentation, AUSMASA and TAFE Queensland overview the practices that ensured a successful collaboration between Industry, the Australian Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance (AUSMASA) and TAFE Queensland to develop and pilot a vocationally oriented “Fundamentals of Modern Mining” set of micro-credentials as an introduction to the mining sector. 

The project’s objective was to produce a viable, vocationally oriented program that was informed by industry and flexible enough to meet the needs of different end users.  Designed for online, self-paced learning, the program responds to four target personas:

  • School aged students
  • Graduates of any discipline
  • Existing workers in the mining sector
  • Workers from outside the mining sector

The final product takes learners through the following topics:

  1. People
  2. Technology
  3. Value and Supply Chains
  4. Technical
  5. Transformation
  6. Environment and Sustainability

Keys to the success of the project included:

  • Formation of a highly engaged project advisory committee comprised of industry and educational experts who provided content advice and input into the course design.
  • Strong collaboration between all parties to the project.
  • Clear objectives with strong governance and project management.
  • An agile and flexible project methodology, enabling content to be refined in response to feedback.