A resource guide about the education and training system for community sector workers.

Shaping the Future …is for workers in the community who want to support clients …who are unemployed or considering a change of occupation.

Using this guide will help workers to… Support their clients to make informed choices about their future. And…engage in the training and education system.

Tailoring information about what is available in the education and training sector can be very time- consuming and confusing.

Shaping the Future provides easy access to information about: vocational education and training options for clients useful information about the vocational education and training (VET) system useful ideas and tools to assist your clients and…how to get more information. Using this resource guide:

The guide includes seven sections: Why education and training is important Working with clients How the education and training system works in Victoria Financial supports Becoming work-ready Terminology Useful tools to work with clients

In each section you will find: A summary of key points to consider More information Case studies Websites Tools

You can download the entire resource guide from Pages/equityres.aspx or individual sections as you need them.

Section 2: Working with clients

Education and training is important In May 2012, 1.1 million people in Australia aged 15–64 years had completed a non-school qualification. These people were more likely to be employed than the rest of the population.

However some clients… Have had a negative experience of education And…may not understand how education can help them.

Success factors ‘Success factors’ are those that support people’s participation in and completion of education and training. Challenges There are also challenges that can prevent clients from achieving their education and training goals. From page 9 a range of success factors and challenges are discussed.

Planning with clients The worker and client together can judge when the time is right to think about education and training, and the pathways into work. These aspirations can be included in relevant case or support planning.

Section 3: The Victorian education and training system

Pathways ‘Pathways’ is a word that means planning the steps an individual might take in education and training. For more, see page 22. So that over time they can achieve their education, training and employment goals.

The technical terms used to describe learning at different stages of a client’s pathway include: ‘senior secondary education’ ‘pre-accredited training’ and… ‘accredited training’. Explanations of these and other terms are included in the guide on page 24, and in Section 6. ‘foundation skills courses’

Qualifications certify the knowledge and skills that a person has achieved through study, training, work and life experience. Different qualifications Descriptions of these qualifications and what they mean for the client can be found on pages

In order to assist goal-setting and planning for a realistic pathway to employment, it is important to understand what is expected at each level of qualification. Qualification pathways This has implications for the learner’s ability to succeed in the training and their eligibility to access subsidised courses under the VTG. For more information on this see pages 25 – 28.

This section (page 29) of the resource guide suggests the kinds of questions you may wish to consider: Navigating the system about client readiness about the system about training providers

what industries are providing growth in employment More information On page 33 you can find resources on: RTOs that offer courses that may interest your client, or are provided in their local area and…information on apprenticeships and traineeships. how to find a course, by qualification, industry, occupation and state

Section 4: Financial supports

More information In order for clients to make informed choices, they need to understand the different kinds of financial support that may be available to them. Very specific rules govern financial assistance options and it is important to make sure that clients are aware of how their choices may be affected. From page 36 the guide explains supports available to the vocational education and training system.

More information Information on material assistance can also be found in this section (page 38)… …as well as websites that give more specific information about government subsidy programs.

Section 5: Becoming work-ready

A challenge for many people is that completing education or training doesn’t provide automatic entry to work. This can be frustrating and demoralising. Preparing early for the transition to employment – during the study process – is important. Becoming work-ready

Transitioning to work This section provides information about services that can support you and your client in the process of becoming work ready. Job Search Australia (JSA) organisations are set up and funded by the federal government to assist people to move back into work. They’re a valuable resource for supporting clients. See page 43.

Employment services The majority of JSA organisations are called ‘generalist’. This means they are able to support all clients. Other JSA organisations are called ‘specialist’. This means they work only with disadvantaged groups of job seekers. There are other organisations and programs that can be of assistance. See page 44.

Section 6: Terminology

Sometimes it may feel as if the education and training sector uses a language all of its own. Terminology This section provides you with definitions and descriptions of what many of these terms mean. This section can be found on pages 49 – 50.

Section 7: Tools

These tools are intended to assist conversations with clients to think about their learning pathway and to develop a learning plan. They are designed so that you can print them off and use them when you need them.

Shaping the Future Shaping the Future provides tools and information that allow community sector workers to integrate longer term planning in their case plans. The resource guide is organised to save time and give confidence that all the bases have been covered for each client. Shaping the Future can be downloaded from s/pathways/Pages/equityres.aspx