VET teaching in the tertiary education sector: New horizons and possibilities for policy and practice
The 11th Annual Conference on VET Teaching and VET Teacher Education will be held on the 11th-12th December 2025 at the Ann Harding Conference Centre, located at the University of Canberra, 24 University Drive South, Bruce, ACT.
Keynote speaker and plenary presentations
‘A strong footing: Data-driven insights for a National Skills System – implications for VET teachers’. Bjorn Jarvis, Head of the Workforce Futures Program at Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA)
‘Teachers and trainers: The heart of the VET system’. Emeritus Professor Erica Smith, Federation Uni.
‘Tertiary Harmonisation’. Claire Sainsbury, Assistant Secretary of the Equity and Tertiary Branch, Australian Tertiary Education Commission.
Panels
‘VET teaching in a tertiary education sector: how are we positioned to meet this agenda, what strengths do we bring and what do we need to strengthen?’
Currently confirmed: Jenny Dodd, CEO, TAFE Directors Association; Prof. Peter Dawkins AO, former Vice-Chancellor VU and co-author of JSA’s ‘Tertiary Harmonisation’ report; Andre Diez de Aux, Skills Canberra.
‘How VET teacher-educator groups support their members and improve practice’
Currently confirmed: ACDEVEG: Dr Daryl South, Charles Sturt University; VET Practitioner Network: Amanda Wallace, Box Hill Institute
Your chance to have a say in VET workforce development: featured workshops
‘Building a better understanding of the VET workforce: Discussion paper’ JSA consultation. Elizabeth Knight & Simon Madden, VET Workforce Analysis Research, JSA: Consultations on JSA’s discussion paper on ‘Building a better understanding of the VET Workforce’.
‘The new Certificate IV in Training and Assessment: (How) do we know how it is being taught?’
Erica Smith: An interactive workshop on how the revised Certificate IV in Training and Assessment is being delivered. Contribute to a summary provided to the Dept. of Employment & Workplace Relations.
But wait, there’s more! There will also be nine research presentations and seven workshops related to VET teaching and VET teacher education.
The location
The Ann Harding conference centre is on the University of Canberra campus (building 24). https://www.canberra.edu.au/maps/buildings-directory/building-24 It is approximately 15 minutes’ drive from Canberra city centre and 20-25 minutes to the airport. Free car parking is available at the conference centre. There are several hotels in nearby Belconnen.
The Retro Café is next door to the conference centre.
Workshop and research papers
These have all undergone a peer-review process. You will be able to select from a range of high-quality research presentations on topics ranging from global engagement and VET in Nepal, to professional development, to Generation Z students, and papers on VET teachers’ experiences and practices.
Workshops cover, as well as those featured earlier, curriculum design, VET teachers’ work, their careers and their place in the VET system, engaging indigenous and CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) learners, and professional development.
Conference Fee: $180.00. Full conference fee for both days.
Registrations: https://acdeveg.shop.csu.edu.au/Store/Merchandise
Conference enquiries: please email – [email protected]
The program will be posted on the site in due course.
Previous conference details can be viewed on the ACDEVEG web site at https://www.acde.edu.au/networks-and-partnerships/acde-vocational-group
The conference is sponsored by the Australian Council of Deans of Education
