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This was a one-day conference for people interested in evaluating the broader impact or effectiveness of workplace education and training initiatives. “Impact” here refers to the ability to shape the workplace of the future and support government objectives for the workplace such as economic development, increasing innovation and productivity, and enhancing quality of working life.
The conference was intended to be of value to key stakeholders interested in effective workplace education and training with particular regard to the following:
- For Government policy
- building the evidence base to support policy developments for economic development and economic transformation
- For businesses and employers
- ensuring that education and training investment leads to greater productivity, higher skill levels, innovation and development.
- For unions and workers
- supporting the quality of working life, security in employment, and positively embarking on lifelong learning.
- For education and training providers, tutors, evaluators and researchers
- encouraging networking and collaboration in developing and sharing best practice for evaluating the effectiveness of workplace learning.
A major intention of the conference was to build interest and capability in conducting impact/effectiveness evaluations across a wide range of workplace education and training programmes such as for the prevention of injury, literacy and foundation skills, partnership projects, upskilling, recognition of current competence, employment relations education, etc.
As well as two international speakers, the conference offered a range of workshops. Each of these workshops focused on an evaluation research project which has been conducted for a particular workplace learning initiative. They covered a description of the initiative and its particular objectives, together with the methodology used to evaluate the impact, a summary of the key findings, and comment on any identified barriers to success.
Programme
Opening Address
Hon Maryan Street, Minister of ACC, Minister of Housing, Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Associate Minister for Economic Development
Link to opening address: Beehive [external link]
Keynote Speech
Education Evaluation – Why, How, and Who Cares?
Presenter: Dennis Dressler
Dennis Dressler has been involved in organisational effectiveness and human resource development for over thirty years. He works internationally, specialising in evaluating training impact and helping training and operational units work in partnership to achieve dramatic business improvements and high levels of positive sustainable impact.
Dennis also helps organisations re-engineer their learning function processes to enable them to deliver high levels of business impact from their learning investment.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
Workshop Presentations
1a Engaging people: Techniques for Participatory Evaluation
Jean King
Jean King is internationally recognised as a key leader in current evaluation developments. She is the founder and co-ordinator of the Evaluation Studies programme at the University of Minnesota where she is also Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Education and Human Development.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
The handout (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
1b Success Case Method: How does it really work?
Dennis Dressler
Understanding how to use the success case method of evaluation.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
The handout (PDF) can be obtained upon your request
2a Agricultural training
Fred Hardy/Agriculture ITO
Measuring the value of training by quantifying the return on investment of training in both economic and non-economic terms.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
2b Employment Relations Education
Roopali Johri/Department of Labour,
Heather Nunns & Mathea Roorda/Cairn Research and Development
Identifying the successful impact of participating in selected ERE funded courses and the barriers to achieving success.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
3a Health and Safety Representatives
Hazel Armstrong/ACC & CTU
Mark Johnson/Research NZ
Shirlene Vautier/EMA Central-Business NZ
Studying how training provided to Health and Safety representatives is being used to improve the management of health and safety in the workplace.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
3b Upskilling partnerships
John Benseman & Anne Alkema/Department of Labour
Exploring the value of partnerships with business to provide literacy, numeracy and foundation learning – includes ROI analysis.
The keynote (PowerPoint) can be obtained upon your request
Wrap-up Panel
Bronwynn Maxwell – Director NZCTU Organising Centre
Dennis Dressler
Nicholas Green – Manager Education, Training and Productivity, Business NZ
Reflections on the value of the conference proceedings from three perspectives: Unions, business and evaluation
Poster Presentations
E-Learning
Michael Winter/CORE Education
Reviewing the effectiveness of computer-based learning courses delivered in the workplace.
Employment Skills
Bob Robinson/WelTec
Evaluating the outcomes of a process of Recognition of Current Competence and related training for factory staff.
ERE: Learning for a change?
Ross Teppett/EPMU
Looking at transformational impacts of ERE for a group of union delegates working in the service sector.
Foundation learning in ITO training
Gene Kumekawa/TEC
Examining the effectiveness of foundation learning embedded in regular industry training programmes.
Workplace Literacy
Alison Sutton/TEC & Dept of Labour
Reviewing Workplace Literacy Fund operation. Interviews with 20 companies and the related education providers.
Date
Wednesday 5 March 2008
Location
Te Papa, Wellington
Sponsored by:
- Employment Relations Education Committee
- Department of Labour
- Tertiary Education Commission
- Industry Training Federation
- SPEaR – Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee
Supported by:
- New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
- Business New Zealand
- Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics New Zealand
The Workshop was held in association with the NZ Vocational Education and Training Research Forum 2008
This page was last updated on:
21-Apr-2008
and is current.
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