Problems Faced by Apprentices in Rural Australia - Assignment Example

?Problems faced by apprentices in rural Australia This paper is being written to highlight the problems that are faced in the rural areas of Australia for the students who are aiming for apprenticeships. It will focus on learning what the difficulties and problems are in vocational learning from the point of view of the learner. The basic data that is being used in this report will be taken from CLARA (Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia) research done in 2000. This research has basically reached the conclusion that many of the problems that are proposed to be happening are actually being faced by the apprentices. VET is the Vocational Education and Training Network of Australia which would be primarily focused in this report since it the network that is directly concerned with the object at hand. Many researchers have previously tried to handle this subject but lack of data has withheld the reports from being comprehensive and educational, they have rather come off as reports which are unrealistic on the part of the researcher while he tries to put into writing the things which he believes are important and will need to be changed, rather than trying to gauge from the learner’s point of view as to what are the problems which befall a learner and what the learner wants to be changed. This is an important approach since in this equation; the learner is of primary importance (McDonald, Geoff, Gonczi, Hager, 1992). The aspects which have come forward in the CLARA report are that there are some basic things which need to be given importance to in the case of a good apprenticeship for a new learner. These basic things are the management, the professionalism of the teachers, and the teacher’s attention to the academic records of the student and the student’s strengths and weaknesses. The thing that is important here is that people generally want to give an apprenticeship that is not entirely single aspect oriented so that the learner can branch out of need be, this concern where as seen in the teachers was not seen in the learners (Billet & Hayes, 1998). Vallence, Falk and Kilpatrick (2001) were the authors who reviewed the system of VET, analyzed the entire system from the beginning to the end. This means from the decision of the learner to become an apprentice to the certificate that he has completed the course. Since the basic aim of VET is to provide quality learning, it needs to be believed that VET would provide quality learning in all of the aspects ranging from the start to the end, but is that true? (Vallence, Falk and Kilpatrick, 2001). While VET performs admirably in the areas which are developed, it has been acknowledged that there are difficulties in providing the same kind of support and quality to the areas that are lesser developed because of two primary reasons, the distance and the relatively lesser demand (TDA, 2001). There are three basic things that influence the vocational training in these areas: The education and qualifications of the teachers. Literacy and numeracy. The kind of packages being offered. When the quality of anything is being judged, it should be noticed that quality is a continuously evolving process thus it cannot be put into a specific mould at any time. But quality of vocational learning can be documented in the terms that the quality would be as high or as low as the learner’s satisfaction (Vallence, 2001). The first of the three points that were initially mentioned to be basic contributing factors were the education and qualification of the teachers. The teacher and student relationship is the most basic thing that makes a vocational learning program good or not. The teachers are graded on some basic things like the minimum education of the teachers, the commitment of theirs to the program and the pledge to uphold the quality assured by the VET (Vallence, Falk and Kilpatrick, 2001). The basic problem with trainers and teacher in the rural areas is that the program organizers cannot bargain with them. Since they are being sent to far off places with little resources, there are not many who are up for the job, mostly those who are, are not up to the standards which should be. The teachers also need to be better than usual because in the rural areas, they need to have a broader knowledge of what they are teaching, a love for the craft and a flexibility to change with the learner’s needs (Kilpatrick & Bell, 1998). Such trainers are obviously hard to find in the rural areas, physically or electronically. If a trainer willing to teach in a rural area is found, he or she might not be competent or flexible enough for the rather difficult demands of these areas. Another major problem with the trainers and the learners is the fact that they sometimes do not see eye to eye where the goals are concerned. Where the trainer might be looking for excellence in a single field, the learner might want to learn as much as possible and might desire to practice later (Scholfield, 2001). Schofield (2001) in the end comes to the conclusion that good vocational learning is not so much dependent on the resources and the area but more on the attitudes of the people involved and the culture of the place. The second thing which was pointed out as important was literacy and numeracy. These two are considered not just important but rather instrumental in the development of any skill, whatever area of expertise it might pertain to. Literacy and numeracy are powers without which, in the current competitive world, a person cannot prosper (McDonald, Geoff, Gonczi, Hager, 1992). The problem here is that in some rural areas, the literacy and numeracy is either limited or not present at all in some cases. It does not make the learners of lesser intellects, just lacking a certain feature. When a learner is illiterate, the task of the trainer obviously becomes more difficult which is the area where the flexibility of the trainer comes into play (Gill, Dar, Fluitman, 2000). Sometimes the learner is literate but not as well as may be desired. Functional literacy means that the person is able to manage his professional and personal requirements, read road signs and other basic things which the everyday life demands. If these skills are missing, the VET generally provides the learners with the opportunities to learn these skills along with the vocational training. While this might be possible in more developed areas where teachers for the different needs of the student are available, the fact remains that rural areas make this task a little complicated since in most cases, teachers cannot be provided for additional learning (Falk & Millar, 2001). One out four trainers was of the opinion that the learner under their wing had a literacy or numeracy problem (Queensland Government: Department of Education 2000). The problem although does not lie in the fact that the learner had the literacy or numeracy issue, it lies in the fact that the trainer was previously unaware of the problem, thus he taught like usual and the learner had difficulty catching up. This obviously calls for a system in which the learner’s capabilities are previously gauged. Another thirty percent of the trainers were of the opinion that the package which they were told to be taught had no compensations for people with literacy or numeracy issues this making the entire system till the end assessment a trial for the person who had these issues. While some trainers tried to incorporate some aspects of basic literacy or numeracy, other did or could not (L Smith, 2000). The problems which arise from this incompetency on the part of the trainer harm not only the learning process of the learner but also the self esteem since he or she starts to evaluate him or herself as not good enough in comparison to others (L Smith, 2000). While the literacy and numeracy issues are important on the whole, there are certain jobs which need these two to be not as advanced as the world generally demands. Thus, when a learner is graded on the basis of his literacy and numeracy skills rather than his performance in the vocational training, it might be detrimental to his job options. Most of the learners who take the vocational training are generally promoted but when one is given lower grades on the basis of the literacy, he might be damaged (O’Neill & Gish 2001). When this issue of literacy and numeracy arises, the fact that the trainers should be flexible arises along with it. The trainers need two basic things to be flexible for any kind of student. One, they need packages which can be modified according to personal needs of the learner and two, they need to develop a set of resources which are available to the leaner and the trainer in special circumstances so that they can be used when the need arises (Kilpatrick & Bell, 1998). The third thing which needs to be checked and plays an important role in the vocational training of an individual in the rural areas is the package which is being offered to him. The packages or the trainings which are being offered are of utmost importance (Gasskov, 2000). The problem with these is not the kinds which are available on the whole, rather the kinds which are available in the rural areas. The training packages are basically of three types, the basic ones which teach the beginners, the formal training ones and the ones which lead up to a national certificate of the specific area in which the person is trained (TDA, 2001). The basic problems that are being faced in the proper implementation and provision of these packages in the rural areas are of the funding, the VET needs more funding from the government so that the trainer or the examiners can travel long distances to assess the quality of the education being imparted or to take tests and assessments. It has already been discussed that there are certain students in the vocational training courses who might needs special attention or training, for them the packages need to be specially designed. While these packages can be designed specially in theory, the problem arises when there are only a few students to learn from these special packages, in cases like these, it becomes expensive and uneconomical for VET to implement these packages in the rural areas since there is little market demand for them (TDA, 2001). Again, while the interests of the economy and the VET are kept in mind, the individuals who are in need of these packages are being ignored and since the entire objective of the vocational training programs is to provide people with opportunities, to shut down a project or to deem it impractical because of a thin market goes against the main objective (TDA, 2001). Another thing which is causing problems with custom made packages is the fact that the trainers rarely ever deviate from the syllabus which has been deemed appropriate, an approach that limits the range of the learner’s education. Thus the training packages teach just enough depending on what the curriculum dictates rather than letting the trainer maker small changes to adapt the curriculum better to the needs of the learners in question (Vallence, Falk and Kilpatrick, 2001). In contrast to the vocational training practices of Australia, lessons should be learnt from the ones which are being practiced in China. While many are against the ways which China employs to develop the country, it cannot be contradicted that the country has seen immense growth and prosperity, this prosperity comes on the heels of the fact that China focuses majorly on the needs of the people and the country. In 2010, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced that the vocational training practices in China should be increased (Xinhua, 2010). The government pledged to increase funds, not only for vocational training but specialized training for people with needs that are different from others. It needs to be noted here that China is a state which has a wide number of rural areas, thus if they can develop a sound vocational education plan, other countries are also capable of doing so. The success of China’s vocational training can be seen in the fact that the number of people going for college and university diplomas dropped by hundred last year so that they can get vocational training which in China is so effective that it guarantees a better job than a college degree. Almost 40% of the students in China now choose to go to vocational training schools rather than to the expensive universities. Between 2006 and 2010, China has spent 14 billion Yuan for the development and improvement of vocational training. 6 million students graduated from vocational training schools last year and this year, 8.6 million are expected (Liu, 2010). The lesson to be learnt here is that there are certain aspects in vocation learning which are highly important and should be given importance to. As we have seen in the case of Australia, there are some basic problems in the cases of vocational learning in the rural areas, these problems are: Lack of qualified teachers for the rural areas. Lack of teacher invested in the vocational learning to make time for special cases. Lack of literacy and numeracy. Lack of specialized programs for people with special needs or demands. Lack of funds and development in areas with less demand. Lack of flexibility on the trainer’s end. When these problems are reviewed, the basic thing which comes to the forefront is the fact that the vocational learning programs in Australia need more funding. If there are more funds, the program would be able to develop specialized curriculums, and enlist trainers who are willing to travel to rural areas and teach (Curtis & Andrews, 2001). The vocational training programs also need to become more learner oriented. While they may be good enough currently, there is always a chance that one or more student would need to be given special attention. The problems that have come forward in the case of Australian vocational training are not ones which are governed by agendas which cannot be changed. The two basic things that would change everything would be more funding and a change of attitude in the trainer. The funding aspect can be looked at as an investment, since the funding will go to the training of rural area people into contributing members of the society, it can be safely said that they government would be making a sound investment (Hall, Bretherton, Buchanan, 2000). As for the attitudes, there is a very small chance that personally invested trainers would fall out of the sky, rather they would need to be trained, kept under checks and balances and given incentives to be able to make them into the kind of trainers who will give each individual student the due attention that he deserves and needs (McDonald, Geoff, Gonczi, Hager, 1992). To conclude, it can be said that taking the example of China, vocational training can prove to be highly beneficial for a country but it, like all other things needs investments and constant checks. 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