 VALA’s VCAL Induction Day 2011
16th February 2001 • William Angliss Conference Centre- Melbourne
Are you a new VCAL teacher or coordinator?
Not sure where to start? Start here with VALA’s Induction Day 2011.
Workshops, resources and networking with experienced practitioners to help you get off to a great start.
Check out the program and REGISTER NOW.
2011 VALA conference - Youth Voices
1 April 2011 • Rydges Bell City, Bell Street, Preston
 CALL FOR WORKSHOP closes 17th December – Don’t miss out!!
 Facilitators, educators, teachers, trainers and learners are invited to share their experiences, insights and programs, small or large, with others in the learning community by delivering a workshop that supports the 2011 VALA Conference theme ‘Youth Voices’.
To register your interest in running a workshop, please complete the form and submit it by December 17th.
'Youth Voices' - Big Picture
 VALA is excited to announce that the Victorian State Director of Mission Australia, Paul Bird, will be delivering the first keynote at our conference next year. Mission Australia have recently released their National Survey of Young Australians, 2010 which identifies key and emerging issues in the lives of young people. Paul will explain the figures and explore the implications for educators - a big picture overview of their lives, concerns and interests.
More on the report
'Youth Voices' - Sharp focus
 Huong Tran is currently working at The Pavilion School as a teacher, mentor and coach. The Pavilion is an educational setting for young people within the Northern Metropolitan Region who are disengaged from education and/or training. Huong is an inspirational educator who has won awards for her work and programs and is developing an innovative literacy focus within the VCAL program. In the second keynote of the conference, Huong will be looking at how both teacher and student feedback impacts on student learning achievement as well as the quality of teaching instructions, and how she has used this in planning her approach.
Read more about Huong
Pre-conference event – Bus tour and dinner
 Next year VALA will be holding an event on the afternoon and evening preceding the conference. Leaving from the conference venue, Rydges Bell City, Bell St., Preston, you will have the opportunity to visit a number of applied learning programs; to see them in action and hear from those involved in the program delivery.
This will be followed by a dinner. Places are limited, so keep an eye out for when registration opens.
Want more information about the conference? Click here or go to www.vala.asn.au
SAFE-T1 News
 2011 SAFE-T1 Small Grants
The SAFE-T1 project will be offering SMALL GRANTS again in 2011. See Guidelines and Conditions for more information.
Term 1 SAFE-T1 competition for students
Are your students into rapping? Then the Term 1 SAFE-T1 competition is for them!! Students will need to submit a rap about OHS. Prizes include the filming of the best rap.
More details in the next newsletter.
Other News
2010 Australian Training Awards
The 2010 Australian Training Awards were held recently. These awards, now in their 17th year, showcase vocational education and training and recognise innovation and excellence in the training sector across Australia. Amongst the winners was Inner Melbourne VET Cluster Inc who won the VET in Schools Award. The cluster’s unique Host School Model gives schools with limited senior secondary curriculum offerings an opportunity to expand the vocational pathway for its students.
More information including a full list of winners
NMIT Breakfast program pilot
North Melbourne Institute of TAFE’s (NMIT's) new Technical Education Centre in Heidelberg has found one of the key ingredients required to deliver quality training is to ensure its students have had a good breakfast.
Read an article about the achievements of the program on the Training Packages @ Work website.
For more information on the breakfast club, contact James Gardener on 03 9269 1579 or jamesgardener@nmit.vic.edu.au
Creative industries (multi media VCAL) commencing Feb 2011
Melbourne City Mission in partnership with St Kilda Youth Services will be running a community based VCAL at North Fitzroy commencing Feb 2011.
VCAL will be offered at both foundation and immediate levels for young people aged 15 – 20 who are interested in the multimedia industry. In addition there will be no out-of-pocket fees for the young person enrolling.
For more information (PDF) or contact Vanessa on 03 8486-2159
Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education and Training
Victoria University will offer a Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education and Training in 2011. This program is designed for VET personnel wishing to maintain currency of knowledge and skills.
Details
Resources
Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians
In 2010 Mission Australia conducted its ninth annual survey of young Australians.
Download the full survey report or contact Aimee Tyson on (02) 9219 2022 or tysona@missionaustralia.com.au to order a free copy.
How Young People are Faring 2010
The Foundation for Young Australians has released their annual report How Young People are Faring. The report reveals that despite Australia’s overall economic recovery, young people continue to feel the negative impacts of the global financial crisis.
Read details of the report on the FYA website.
MSA Info Sheets
Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) has added information sheets for six new industries to its website.
The six new information sheets cover these industries:
- automotive
- chemicals, hydrocarbons, refining
- manufactured mineral products
- metal, engineering and boating
- plastics, rubber and cablemaking
- textiles, clothing and footwear.
To download the information sheets, visit the MSA website.
The impact of VET in Schools on the intentions and achievements of young people
This briefing paper assesses the effect VET in Schools programs have on school retention, post-school vocational education and training (VET) and employment, and on young people's school and post-school aspirations.
Download a copy.
Early post-school outcomes of Indigenous youth: the role of literacy and numeracy
Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this briefing paper explores the impact of literacy and numeracy levels on the educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.
Download a copy
Professional development opportunities
Young People, Risk and Resilience: the Challenges of Alcohol, Drugs and Violence Conference
7-8 March 2011 at the RACV Club, Melbourne
The Australian Institute of Criminology and the Victorian Safe Communities Network will run the conference which will tackle issues around young people's involvement with alcohol, other drugs and violence. The conference will focus on identifying effective interventions and approaches.
More
6th International Drugs and Young People Conference - Making the Connections
2-4 May 2011 • Melbourne
Register interest
VALBEC symposium - No Frills: Sharing Good Practice
 Friday May 20, 2011 at the William Angliss Conference Centre
The event will provide an opportunity for practitioners to share and discuss good practice with three potential streams: Literacy and Language practice in accredited and non-accredited programs, Numeracy, and working with the CGEA & ACSF.
Susan Ollerhead (UNSW) will be the keynote speaker. She recently returned from South Africa where she has been volunteering at a literacy centre in Knysna. Sue will be speaking about adult literacy tuition as a social practice and will draw on case studies examining the relationships between pedagogy and practice.
More
 Seasons Greetings from VALA
We hope you a restful holiday and all the best for 2011.
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