TAFE
development, by providing many of the raw materials needed to build the infrastructure to power development. We are now, as is often said, riding on the back of the dragon rather than the sheep.
Challenger Institute has a large oil and gas process training centre, ACEPT, one of only three of its kind in the world.
The ACEPT centre provides training to many of the key global companies working in our region such as Shell Australia, BHP Billiton, Woodside, Apache Energy and Chevron to name a few.
We have needed to ensure our responsiveness, service and performance is peak to ensure the loyalty of these companies. After all, they can go anywhere in the world for their training.
We have had to be extremely flexible, agile and adaptable to respond to complex and demanding training environments. Being relevant, responsive and agile is a given, not an aspirational goal.
Challenger Institute recently won the 2012 Australian Large Training Provider of the Year Award.
The impact of the win on staff morale was enormous. As I moved around the campuses sharing the trophy with staff from all areas across the organisation, both teaching and non-teaching, I was very impressed to see how important this recognition was for them, with staff actually lining up to have their photos taken holding the trophy! It was both rewarding and inspiring to see.
It made me reflect on what we have done to achieve the pinnacle prize in the Australian training sector twice in the past seven years.
Much of what we have achieved over the years has been about prioritising continuous improvement, and committing to building knowledge and skills by individuals at the personal level that Poprzeczny refers to.
It also made me realise that we cannot rest on our laurels, that as an organisation, moving into a far more competitive environment, a continued priority for our own learning will be critical to ongoing success.
So fostering learning is central to building successful organisations that are accountable, ethical, robust and optimistic. Optimism is important. When morale is high an organisation will be optimistic. When people are confident in their knowledge and abilities and are trusted to achieve and succeed, morale will be high. People can only remain confident in their abilities if they are given the opportunity to grow.
At a recent leadership presentation, I listened to a number of views on what makes an organisation effective in changing times.
Some discussed organisational agility, some strategic leadership, some authenticity as a leader, being tuned into the heads and hearts of people and recognising and rewarding performance.
No one mentioned the importance of building knowledge and a culture of learning to lead individuals and an organisation forward. This surprised me.
Currently, most TAFE systems are subject to budgetary pressure and in some cases significant cuts. It is no different in Western Australia. It is at such times that workforce development initiatives are dropped.
We contribute just over six per cent of our salaries budget to learning and development each year. This does not change. We maintain or build this even during times when budgets are cut, as at the present time.
Each year the number of staff involved in development opportunities grows. We are investing in mental capital, and in turn building knowledge and capability.
The role of the VET practitioner is becoming increasingly more complex and demanding. From the results of our recent use of a range of JMA Analytics Capability Assessment Tools or CATS, the data shows that within the large repertoire of skills and abilities needed by VET teachers, our staff are clear about their strengths.
More importantly, they are also honest and clear about their knowledge and skill gaps, and more importantly, are motivated to do something about it, and to build new knowledge, capabilities and awareness.
Kouzes and Posner in their 2010 leadership publication The Truth about Leadership state,“ Learning is the master skill. When you fully engage in learning – when you throw yourself wholeheartedly into experimenting, reflecting, reading, getting coaching – you are going to experience the thrill of improvement and the taste of success.”
At Challenger, we have recently tasted success, but it is only a part of the journey, when it comes to learning, we believe more is more. n
Liz Harris is the CEO of Challenger Institute of Technology, WA.
www. campusreview. com. au April 2013 | 33