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BVET conference: Skills and innovation - putting ideas to work

The NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training, in association with the Skill Ecosystem national project, held a two-day conference in Sydney in June 2006 to explore VET's role in industry innovation.

It is primarily the VET sector that trains and equips the tradespeople, technicians, customer service staff, small business people, contractors and machine operators who are the ones putting innovations to work, and whose day to day experience is the source of many new innovations.

You can download the conference program and the conference discussion starter.

Skills and Innovation: Reflections on the BVET Conference highlights key points made by speakers and participants over the two days.

Speakers from industry, government and academia presented case studies of successful industry-VET innovation partnerships and explored the challenges for VET. The following presentations are available as pdf files (not all speakers had written papers).

Day One

Leslie Loble (NSW DET) - Conference introduction

Prof Roy Green (Macquarie University) - Building innovation capability: the Irish experience

Dr Phil Toner (University of Western Sydney) - Skills, VET and innovation: how it all fits

Carlos Broens (Broens Industries) - Strategies, competitiveness and skills

John McKenzie (Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) - Innovation in rural industries

John O'Neill (Tourism NSW) - Innovation and survival in the tourism economy

Barry Luttrell (Boral Australian Construction Materials) - Competitive and lean manufacturing: a roadmap to successful implementation

Dr Gavin Moodie (Griffith University) - VET's role in national innovation. A more detailed paper is also available.

Megan Lilly (Australian Industry Group) - World class skills for world class industries: employers' perspectives on skills in Australia

Day Two

Peter Mansfield (CRC for Viticulture) - Education, training and professional development for a sustainable industry

Alicia Boyle (The Desert Knowledge CRC) - CRC research and VET planning

Annette Beer and Birgitte Verbeek (NSW DPI and Weeds CRC) - Weeds CRC: linking research to the community via education and training

Mark Hickman (Cotton Catchment Communities CRC) - Creating cotton skills

Tess Julian (Ratio) - Staying ahead - innovation in VET organisations

Kim Peterson (NSW Metals, Engineering, Construction and Transport Curriculum Centre) - VET responses to new technology

Narelle Campbell (NSW Primary Industries and Natural Resources Curriculum Centre) - Technologies in primary industries curriculum

Phill Murphy (General Manager Automotive - Kangan Batman TAFE) - Innovation at Kangan Batman TAFE

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