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The AVETRA 2009 Conference was the 12th Annual Conference run by the Australian Vocational Education Training and Research Association.

It was held from Thursday, 15 – Friday, 17 April 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach in Sydney, with pre-conference workshops on Wednesday, 15 April 2009 at the TAFE NSW Sydney Institute, Randwick.

The 2-day conference has welcomed 174 delegates, 3 keynote presentations, 2 plenary sessions and 67 papers (31 refereed and 36 non refereed papers).

Four pre-conference workshops were presented and were attended by 47 delegates.

For information about the 2009 Conference, its program, sponsors etc, or to view the PowerPoint presentations and papers presented during the conference, please click here.

AVETRA 13th Annual Conference

2010 Annual Meeting and Conference (Gold Coast)

Wednesday, 7 – Friday 9 April 2010

VET Research: Leading and Responding in Turbulent Times

Vocational education and training, of any Australian educational sector, is perhaps most subject to change, transformations and turbulence because it is often held to be the most instrumental of these sectors. Indeed, because of direct accountability to government and a close interface with industry it is often seen as being a sector that is most responsive to emerging national social and economic issues. Consequently, in periods of economic and social turbulence that characterise contemporary times, vocational education is positioned by others to provide responses to or secure stability within short timeframes.

More than being merely reactive to governmental, community and economic edicts, the vocational education and training sector as a field of practice and research can and should play a more pro-active role in shaping not only its responses to how issues such as skills shortages, oversupply, low completion rates, the needs of workers over 45 years etc are to be conceptualised and addressed. The organised provision of vocational education and training outdates mass schooling and higher education, and has reservoirs of traditions of practice that are drawn from a deep understanding of the nature and the interface of work and learning. There is a growing body of published research and maturing base of researchers in state and federal agencies, TAFE colleges, private registered training organisations, universities and consultancies that can play active roles in identifying and conceptualising issues within the broad field of vocational education and formulate advice and approaches to be incorporated in policy and practice. Nowhere is this base of expertise more concentrated than in Australia, particularly through the AVETRA networks.

Consequently, this conference will demonstrate the capacities and leadership of VET practitioners and researchers through exercising their expertise on existing and emerging issues, reshaping those issues and using scholarly, practice and practical inquiry to make helpful contributions to policy and practice. The plenary, symposia and themed contributions will address current issues within the provision of vocational education and training and present research accounts which these issues can be understood, and/or responses in the form of suggestions for policy and practice.

The meeting and conference will comprise a three day program, of pre-conference workshops, plenary sessions, symposia and forums for individual papers in themed sessions.

Plenary presenters will be announced by June 2009, and will include international presenter(s).

Call for papers will be announced in June 2009, with submission dates closing early September 2009, and decisions for inclusion made by the end of October 2009.

The conference venue will be at a hotel at the Gold Coast that will be announced in June 2009.

A local Organising Committee has been formed comprising membership from state government lead agencies, vocational education and training institutions, and metropolitan and non-metropolitan universities.

For further enquiries, please contact either of the co-convenors Professor Stephen Billett (s.billett@griffith.edu.au) or Dr Sarojni Choy (s.choy@qut.edu.au).