Maintaining industry and pedagogical currency in VET: practitioners’ voices

Abstract

An effective vocational education and training (VET) workforce that manages the learning of adults for the vocational demands of the twenty-first century requires teachers and trainers with current industry and pedagogical expertise. Research has found that approaches to maintaining industry currency and extending pedagogical expertise for VET practitioners are ad hoc and vary in effectiveness. This research focused on one large VET institutional site at which 26 VET teachers were interviewed on their perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) and the processes and practices that were deployed to maintain their industry and pedagogical expertise. The results indicated varying perceptions on the ways in which industry currency and pedagogical expertise were maintained and developed. The results illuminate CPD practice in a government VET provider, and underscore the expressed need for a consistent, grounded and nuanced approach to CPD for VET practitioners to shore up their important role in maintaining adult, lifelong and transformative learning.