Verifying VET learner attainment data

The purpose of this study was to investigate existing learner information verification services and systems to determine their relevance to the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate existing learner information verification services and systems to determine their relevance to the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector, and to identify the verification needs of third parties. This positioning paper was commissioned by the national training sector’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), and was written by University of South Queensland Link Affiliates (USQ Link Affiliates).   The Framework’s E-portfolios business activity (E-portfolios) is taking a national standards-based approach to the use of e-portfolio technologies for managing learner transitions, and is driven by the VET E-portfolio Roadmap (Roadmap).   The Roadmap’s key goal of Verification, to “enable electronic verification of educational attainment data, membership of professional associations or trade/occupational licensing information”, enables E-portfolios to take a leadership role in gaining national agreement in the development of learner information systems which allow learners electronic access to their VET learner attainment data. E-portfolios are learner-driven collections of digital objects, demonstrating experiences, achievements and evidence of learning, and provide learners with a structured way of managing their learning experiences and work history. E-portfolios have been identified as supporting learners to effectively move: • into the VET sector • from the VET sector to further education, and • between VET and employment. Information consumers, ie those organisations or individuals who require the formal verification of a learner’s attainment data such as employers, occupational licensing bodies, recruitment agencies, professional associations and tertiary admission centres, can be critical gatekeepers to the way learner transitions between these points.   This paper identifies how learner controlled, electronic access to their VET attainment data, managed by VET registered training organisations (RTO), can provide efficiencies to the way information consumers support learner transitions.   Authors: Dennis Macnamara, Caroline Drury and Nigel Ward, worked in collaboration with the Framework’s E-portfolios Business Manager, Allison Miller, in the consultation, research and writing of this report