this week in social inclusion & diversity
National Monday Update Issue:
1.The Great Social Inclusion Race
2.RTOs leveraging socially inclusive practices into good business practices
3.Socially inclusive consultation
4.National Disability Services Communities of Practice Conference
The Great Social Inclusion Race was a topic of debate at ACPET Queensland’s forum at the Gold Coast on Tuesday 13 April 2010. This session, led by Liz Ferrier (University of Queensland) and Donna McDonald (ACPET Executive in Residence), was designed to kick start a process of consultation and participation with RTOs to explore ways of improving inclusive practices in training, teaching and work.
ACPET Qld’s Disability Strategy and Social Inclusion initiatives are aimed at assisting RTOs improve opportunities and outcomes for staff and students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. Consequently, delegates at the ACPET Forum were invited to consider a proposal called The Great Social Inclusion Race. Thiscompetition would:
- Involve interested RTOS, employers and students with a disability or students from other educationally and employment disadvantaged groups (eg. students from rural and remote areas; Indigenous students; refugee and migrant students).
- Be designed to promote training and job outcomes for students from these disadvantaged groups.
Forum delegates were asked to consider:
- whether such an initiative is ‘doable’; and
- how a collaborative project of this kind might work.
The ‘Great Race’ would be a call for RTOs—in collaboration with students, employers, the disability sector, community organizations and government— to compete with each other to identify students from those groups that have been identified as experiencing social exclusion, and to work with them to achieve relevant training, work experience and jobs. Incentives for the competition—which would be held annually, perhaps from April to April to coincide with ACPET Qld’s Annual Forum—might include a reward or points system to acknowledge RTOs’ accomplishments and track record in social inclusion.
Forum delegates were very positive about the proposal for The Great Social Inclusion race. They agreed that the Race should target not just students and trainees with disabilities, but also students from other educationally and employment disadvantaged groups. Because RTOs themselves are diverse and have varying opportunities to work with different target groups, a broad approach to social inclusion could see some very effective results.
For example, some RTOs in remote areas may already work with Indigenous students and communities and so would work best targeting them or highlighting their achievements with this group. Others may offer skills training in areas suited for different target groups or may have strong relationships with Industries that are suited to particular groups of students and trainees. Another example given was that of a Toowoomba RTO which provides nursing training: this RTO plans to build on the relationship that it already has with the disability sector to provide nursing training and qualifications for Disability workers.
More details of The Great Social Inclusion Race will be announced shortly! Watch this space . . .
The success of social inclusion initiatives such as The Great Social Inclusion Race goes beyond counting the number of students and trainees being processed. Success is also measured through such activities as awards, forms of engagement, scholarships, mentoring schemes, work placements and so on.
ACPET’s members can promote social inclusion and diversity by incorporating socially inclusive practices into each stage of their business. Some possibilities include the following.
Networking
RTOs are encouraged to join a diversity support/awareness organisation eg. Diversity Council Australia (see: http://www.dca.org.au/) so that they can better understand and take leadership in diversity thinking and practice in an Australian context; realize business improvement through successful diversity programs; implement effective compliance management in a changing legislative environment; and publicly demonstrate their commitment to diversity.
Marketing and Product Design
RTOs are encouraged to design and promote their education/ training products and services so that they reach out to socially excluded groups in addition to their usual broad client base. RTOs are also encouraged to be explicit in promoting their credentials as a ‘diversity-aware’ or socially inclusive organisation.
Enrolment
RTO administrators and trainers currently discuss the needs and supports of prospective students and trainees upon their enrolment. They are encouraged to create an environment in which prospective and enrolled students/trainees from socially excluded groups feel confident in volunteering their additional educational/ training support needs.
Training/ Learning Management
RTO trainers are encouraged to organise and maintain the necessary range of supports to meet the diverse training/educational needs of all students/ trainees. RTOs are encouraged to keep abreast of the supports, subsidies and services that are available to help them build a confident and diversity-aware organisation. See ACPET’s booklet ‘The Creativity of Success. Disability in the Classroom and the Workplace: a guide for private training organisations’.
Graduation
RTOs are encouraged to be innovative in celebrating the achievements of all their graduating trainees and students in a way that also celebrates the diversity of their students and trainees. RTOs are also encouraged to nominate themselves and/or their staff for industry awards and celebrations that honour diversity/ social inclusion eg the Australian Human Rights Commission (see: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/hr_awards/index.html ) recognises the often extraordinary contribution to Australian society of a wide variety of men and women committed to issues of human rights, social justice and equality through the annual Human Rights Medals and Awards.
Transition to Work
While transition-to-work arrangements for their students and trainees do not fall within the remit of most RTOs, they are encouraged to build partnerships with employers and employer groups, particularly those who support diversity eg. Australian Employers Network on Disability (AEND. See: http://www.emad.asn.au/ )
The success of any social inclusion initiative requires finding out what:
- information students, training organisations and employers need.
- skills sets, qualities and expertise employers look for in new trainees or employees; along with the numbers of employees required to meet particular industries’ needs so that the demand for new trainees can be supplied.
- industries and employers have work that is suitable, or can be adapted, for particular groups of students.
- support the students and trainees in the groups who are at risk of social exclusion need. (Scholarships were suggested as a suitable way to promote opportunities to targeted groups).
In addition, perhaps a ‘social inclusion audit’ could be undertaken to ensure that the environments of training facilities and workplaces do not present barriers to social inclusion.
The National Disability Services is hosting a Communities of Practice Conference at the Brisbane Sofitel Hotel on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 October 2010.It aims to set new benchmarks in collaboration, innovation and participation within the disability community.
Speakers include Margaret Wheatley, consultant and author of “Perseverance” (see: http://www.margaretwheatley.com/ ) and Bernard Salt, corporate advisor and commentator (See: http://www.ndsqldprojects.net/con2010/documents/Bernard%20Salt.pdf )
Registration is now open and the conference program is now available please click here.