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Off-the-rack sometimes just doesn't cut it!

13-Jun-2012

Have you ever bought a suit for in important event, only to find it doesn’t quite fit right?  Sleeves too long, pants a bit snug, shoulders not exactly even…
For special occasions, off-the-rack sometimes just doesn’t cut it.  You need something that’s tailor-made just for you.
It’s the same with education.
And what could be more special an occasion than when you’re looking to update your skills or to help your employees update theirs?
In an ever-changing workplace and industry climate, one size simply doesn’t fit all when it comes to training and education. For too long, giant educational entities have steadfastly refused to shift their approach away from this ‘off-the-rack’ mentality, and have continued to try – futilely – to jam square pegs through round holes regardless of the outcomes.
While those pulling the levers of school curricula are beginning to recognise that in order to maximise learning there must be some recognition of the individual within the system– particularly for those square pegs – the notion of tailored training remains anathema to large centralised institutions offering adult education.
The rolling out of a ‘template’ for training into which every learner must fit ticks a whole raft of bureaucratic boxes, but it does nothing to achieve genuine and practical educational or employment results. 
As a society, we increasingly recognise the value and importance of the individual and of diversity in all aspects of life – except when it comes to adult education and training, where the majority of monopolistic providers still cling to the ‘template’ model on which their continued funding largely relies.

Despite the vast diversity of industry and learner demographics we have in Australia, particularly in regional areas such as ours, funding bodies still seem intent on imposing mandates and restrictions on training. They do this under the guise of ‘transparency’ and ‘quality’ – buzz words guaranteed to cloud the issue and silence critics of centralised control.
However, in offering neither flexibility nor the opportunity for individualised tailoring, these models ignore rather than embrace diversity – very much to the detriment of the communities and societies they purport to serve.

In the real world – where competition is fierce and those without practical and applicable skills are quickly overlooked – learners and businesses (and therefore their communities) are best served by training and educational opportunities that are tailored specifically to suit THEIR needs – not what they’re told they need.

This is particularly so for ‘marginalised’, or disadvantaged, learners who come from lower socio-economic circumstances, or who have language, physical or other barriers to overcome in their quest for education.
If, as a society, we genuinely want to address the issue of disadvantage, crime, unemployment and anti-social behaviour, education is where we start.  And if that education is to truly make a difference, there must be room within the overall framework, the ‘system’, to make adjustments to not only the kinds of skills training on offer, but the ways in which that training is delivered.

This is what smaller education providers, like Western College, are trying to do.  They are able to shape and construct training to suit the needs of the learner and the business community in which that learner, once skilled and trained, will be aiming to gain employment.
Unlike the institutionalised approach, smaller providers are able to liaise directly with these employers to find out exactly what kinds of skills they’re looking for in potential employees – then match the training specifically to meet those needs, thereby linking the learner with real and genuine employment opportunities.
Education should not be an exercise in bureaucratic box ticking.
It’s like that off the rack suit – it’s never going to fit everyone, but with some individual tailoring, it can be altered to sit well and fit comfortably.