News – Australian Council of Professions

Employability Round-Table

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is about approaches and strategies that integrate theory with the practice of work within a purposefully designed curriculum. It aims to improve the employability of graduates by giving them practical experience which is directly related to the courses they study.

In 2015, a National Strategy on Work-Integrated Learning was published to increase opportunities to participate in WIL, recognising the benefits to students, employers, universities and the economy.

Our Inivitation-Only Round-Table brings together national thought leaders from industry, professional associations and the higher education sector with the aim to identify industry current and future workplace needs. The intent of the Round-Table is to provide industry leadership in Work Integrated Learning and to inform policy and regulatory settings to ensure the quality of delivery of WIL experiences.

The planned outcomes of the Round-Table include the development of a draft Statement of Principles.

Pre-Reading Materials
Future Skills Report (AlphaBeta)
Australian Jobs 2019 (Dept. of Jobs and Small Business)
Skilling – A National Imperative (AIG)
Making Micro-Credentials Work (DeakinCo)
The Best Chance for All – Student Equity 2030 (NCSEHE)
AQF Review 2019 – Final Report (Dept. of Education)

Call 1300 664 587 or contact CEO@Professions.org.au to find out more!

Web Site Refresh

We have recently refreshed and updated our website.

Please let us know at WebMaster@Professions.org.au if you have any comments or experience any problems!

2019-20 Strategic Plan

Our Strategic Plan for 2019-20 was released today.

The development process had started with the 2019 Strategic Review and Planning day on 25 June 2019 in Melbourne. Members were invited to participate and two facilitators assisted the review and planning process.

In summary, our overall Purpose, Vision and Mission were re-confirmed with the goal of becoming “the Meeting Place” for Thought Leaders on all things Professional.

A Strategic Review and Refresh Day is planned for March 2020.

AQF Review Submission

Our 2018 AQF Review Terms of Reference Session is was followed‐up in early 2019 with our active participation in the “Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Review” lead by Prof. Peter Noonan who also keynoted at our inaugural National Summit on Micro‐Credentialing and Accreditation in Melbourne. We supported a targeted Review Session for Professional Associations, submitted formal recommendations on behalf of our Member Associations and enabled our Member Associations to directly converse about our Submission with the AQF Review Panel.

Micro-Credentials Round-Tables

The Australian Council of Profession’s inaugural series of Community of Practice Round-Table meetings continue the discussions and discourse that began at the Micro-Credentials National Summit in March 2019.

The intent of these Round-Tables is:

to investigate how Professional Associations can develop relevant standards and accreditation practices that best support the implementation of micro-credentialing within CPD/CPE offerings, both in formal and non-formal award settings.
to explore the ways in which Professional Association CPD/CPE offerings can be linked to Professional Practice credentialing to address:
– Life-long career learning
– Active engagement in the Professional Association community
– Drive membership opportunities

Current definitions of the various micro-credentialing models are both confusing and varied. The way learning and training is recognized, accredited and validated is also changing with intrinsic on-the-job skills and best practices providing the most value and benefit to association members.

How can Professional Associations assist in developing a common language to best underpin this new educational landscape? How can we clearly define the differences between badging for learning and credentialing skills capability capture?

Professional Associations face a common challenge — how to remain relevant and expand their footprint in their particular domain. Success depends on the ability to create value for their brand. This free Round-Table is your opportunity to work with your peers within the Australian Council of Professions to determine how best to provide accreditation oversight of how Professional Practice credentials can help Associations address these common challenges.

Who should attend:
– Leaders of Professional Associations
– Directors of Professional Standards
– Heads of CPD/CPE Programmes

What you will take away from the Round-Table:

The common language that needs to be adopted to better understand the various models of micro-credentialing.
The types of Standards need to be developed around Micro-Credentialing
The Accreditation Practices that should underpin Micro-Credentialing

The generous support of the Australian Computer Society is gratefully acknowledged!

Annual General Meeting

Our AGM was held on 30 May 2019 in Sydney, hosted by our Member Association the Australian Computer Society.

Here is a summary of the Report given to the Member Associations present:

The Australian Council of Professions is a not-for-profit organisation comprised of professional associations and organisations that share the vision of building and maintaining community confidence in the Professions and their Professionals.
The 2018 reporting year had resourcing challenges, however we continued to deliver the thought leadership and benefits that our Member Associations expect from us. We were assisted by a permanent and an interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a part-time Head of Portfolio Committee as well as volunteers who provided valuable contributions to our organisation. A number of Members provided additional support through the provision of in-kind services. We see this as a sign of their strong commitment to assist us in delivering the Vision, Mission/Purpose and Objects of our organisation.

In particular, our Member Associations told us that the following activities have made us a respected thought leader and even stronger advocate of the Professions, Professionals and Professionalism:

Exploring and collating your views and opinions on the “Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Review Terms of Reference” for the Federal Department of Education and Training (DET) at a Members-Only Forum in February 2018.
The Forum was followed-up with a targeted Review Session for Professional Associations and the opportunity for our Members to directly converse with the AQF Review Panel which resulted in a formal Submission on behalf of our Member Associations.
On 21 February 2018 we held the inaugural National Professional Accreditation Best Practices Summit which was hailed as a very timely event with more than 140 participants, many intensive discussions between the higher-education thought leaders in Australia and a Co mmuniqué approved in the closing session. The Summit was opened by Education Minister Birmingham and high-calibre keynoters included Professor Mike Woods, Emeritus Professor Christine Ewan AM, the Hon Trish White, Anthony McClaran from TEQSA, Professor Kerri-Lee Krause from Universities Australia as well as the Deputy Chairs of the Washington and Seoul Accords, Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Taylor AO and Professor Michael Johnson.
In March we participated in the International Women’s Day celebration hosted by the AIBC Canberra and supported by our Member Association SSSI.
In September 2018 we mourned the passing of our Immediate Past President Brenda Aynsley OAM. At her Tribute event we announced the creation of the Brenda Aynsley Memorial Lecture on Professionalism as a lasting tribute to her leadership and fearless advocacy of the value of the professions.
In October we appointed the first Portfolio Head for the Education and Accreditation Portfolio Committee. Dr Asheley (“Ash”) Jones joined us with a deep background in education, accreditation and micro-credentials, immediately accelerated progress on the work items of the Committee and was instrumental in the outstanding success of our inaugural National Summit on Micro-Credentials and Accreditation on 7&8 March 2019 in Melbourne.
In November we held a Members-Only Forum on Professionalism and Ethics on 17 November 2018 in Melbourne. Dr Wim VanDeKerckhove PhD, Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Employment and Work (CREW) at the University of Greenwich UK and a global leader in whistleblowing management standards gave the keynote which was followed by very comprehensive discussions.
Also in November we represented our Member Associations at the “Industry Professional Bodies Forum” held by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) in November 2018. The event was intended to provide bodies who have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TEQSA to articulate their thoughts and experiences. We have been a TEQSA MoU Partner since February 2017.
We also promoted the Professions, Professionals and Professionalism through our ongoing sponsorship of the Australian Financial Review ‘Client Choice’ Best Professional Award in 2018 as well as 2019.

At the conclusion of our reporting year ending 31 December 2018, our organisation has consolidated its unique role as the national alliance of Associations promoting professional standards, practice and ethics. We are now acknowledged by the community, industry and government as the thought-leader championing and advancing professional practice and ethics in the interest of the Professions, Professionals and Professionalism in Australia.
We continue to be in a financially sound position and have progressed well along our strategic path towards being more self-sustaining.

At the AGM, the following three Directors were elected:
– Catherine Garvey CHIM MAICD (re-elected)
– Dr Simon Eassom
– Craig Horne MACS(Snr) IP3P GAICD

If you would like more information, please contact us on 1300 664 587 or CEO@Professions.org.au.

Client Choice Awards 2019

Micro-Credentials Summit 7&8 March

The inaugural National Micro‐Credentials Accreditation
Summit on 7&8 March in Melbourne was a run‐away success with over 270 registrations. We had to extend the event to two days and change the venue twice to accommodate the interest in the Summit!

After an inspiring Welcome to Country our keynoters Marcus O’Donnell (Pro‐Vice‐Chancellor Education, Deakin University), The Hon Trish White (National President and Chair, Engineers Australia), Prof Susan Elliott AM (DVC Education, Monash University), Prof Peter Noonan (AQF Review and VU), Anthony McClaran (CEO, TEQSA), Dr Simon Eassom (Executive General Manager Education, CPA Australia), Glenn Campbell (Executive Director, DeakinCo), etc. highlighted the various opportunities, aspects and challenges that Micro‐Credentials bring.

Overall, the speakers and participants agreed that Micro‐Credentials are well and truly upon us with all university speakers confirming that their programs to create and deliver Micro‐Credential units are well advanced or have already commenced. However, the issues of how Micro‐Credentials are evaluated and accredited as well as if they will eventually replace the traditional undergraduate degrees are still quite unclear and need more deliberations ‐ see the Summit Communiqué below. These questions will be explored in the two Round‐Tables in Sydney and Melbourne!

In another first, five of our Member Associations awarded CPD/CPE points to participants.

A very special Thank You to Dr Ash Jones and the team at DeakinCo for their generous support!

Accreditation Systems Review (ASR)

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2016 commissioned an Independent Review of Accreditation Systems (ASR) to explore and address concerns about cost, transparency, duplication and prescriptive approaches to accreditation functions. The final report was considered by the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) and publicly released in October 2018. We were invited to comment and submitted extensive comments from our Members in February 2019.

DET Policy Briefing Draft

In December 2018/January2019 we collated your feedback on behalf of the Department of Education and Training (DET) for a Ministerial briefing on the posibility of increased regulation of higher education course accreditation.
With our Members we researched and compiled a comprehensive briefing draft that we delivered to DET in January 2019.
It is our understanding that the facts put forward in our briefing draft dissuaded the Minister’s office from rushing into new regulation of the accreditation of higher education courses.