Beryl Wilcox, manager Community College Southland was very fortunate
to be selected to present her research findings at the 24th National Vocational
Education and Training Research Conference at the University of Western
Sydney on 6-8 July 2015. While most of the attendees were from Australia,
there were others from New Zealand, China, Afghanistan and the
United Kingdom.

The conference was titled ‘No Frills’ and focused on the key themes of Youth,
Pathways and Skills which fitted well with our Community College focus in
foundation education. Topics of note included the issues of empowering youth
to make well informed choices for learning; navigating the future of changing
and non-linear pathways; and ensuring skills learned are relevant for job
outcomes and what employers value.

It was good to review the research recommendations for Community College
and note both the gains that we have made, and also the interest by conference
attendees in our response to the students’ voice.