Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title “Towards a more inclusive VET system – ‘Soft skills’ shouldn’t be a hard sell”. Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet The Open Forum Media type Web Duration/Length/Size 800 words Country/Territory Australia Date 12/04/23 Description Work health and safety (WHS) risks for construction workers are well documented. Growing evidence also highlights just how impactful psychosocial hazards and harm are for everyone in the industry. Safe Work Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics report that the Australian construction industry is among the three highest sectors for deaths at work and represents over half of all serious claims for workers compensation. The outdated masculine culture and associated harms of the construction industry are learnt and reproduced in the VET system. Educators can have the same outdated values and behaviours as those working on site.They might perpetuate the stigma associated with help-seeking and caring. They might ignore or not know how to deal with conduct and attitudes that lead to sexism or racism. Our research also found some VET educators engage in and encourage sexual harassment and harmful behaviours towards women in the classroom.We and other researchers working on gender inequality and gender-based violence in construction have therefore called for reforms to VET curriculum and teaching to support whole-of-industry change. In their current form, construction training packages only cover WHS related to the physical worksite, plant machinery and tools, and industry safety requirements (e.g., the White Card). There is no content on so-called ‘soft skills’ like empathy, emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, and respectful conduct.Given the current suite of changes to WHS laws and regulations, there is a critical gap in VET content on rights and responsibilities for managing psychosocial WHS hazards. Construction training packages are out of step with the WHS landscape in Australia. Producer/Author Global Access Partners (GAP) URL https://www.openforum.com.au/forums/towards-a-more-inclusive-vet-system/ Persons Sarah McCook, Donna Bridges, Shelley Hewson-Munro , Elizabeth Wulff
Keywords
- vocational education and training
- gender and work
- diversity and inclusion
- soft skills