Do you have RTO training sessions that develops creative people, innovative teams and effective organisations? Our training is in the VET sector is about the workplace (vocations), improving people and helping them to succeed in whatever field of choice they have. To do this we need to still have creative thinking so we can instil the learning and allow them apply it in the workplace.
I was reading an article on being ‘job ready’ and how it is not the purpose of university science degrees earlier today. The point is made well and something I have making for many years. As a consultant and mentor working with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) I get to have fun, and enjoy some awesome places. I know as a consultant working with Standards that don’t spell out the way you need to work clearly, the creativity allows me to assist people to think outside the square, and still meet compliance. This is what I love about working in my space.
In way, all of this leads me back to my passion of adult learning, and how we can make the classroom learning, or the online learning more fun and allow the creativity to come through. By being proactive with the learning process, we may be able to influence the creativity in the workplace; in a positive way.
So if we as VET trainers can assist in getting creative thinking happening, then perhaps in our own little way we can allow workplaces to embrace it as well. Creative learning is not just for kids, it is for adults too. It is something we as VET Trainers should be bringing into our classes. Use games, use fun activities that the student can take away empowering messages from. Games invariably involve individuals or teams, and require either physical activity or mental activity – even the most physical game demands some strategic thinking from players. Games bring great skills to each individual especially strategic thinking skills.
In training it is being realized that repeating the same task over and over doesn’t achieve anything great. Neither does talking to someone at length. They need to get out and do the practice. Applying their new knowledge and learning the skills is very important. You need to be creative to come with different scenarios that enable the learner to link them to their own experiences, and then place them in a filing cabinet (so to speak) to bring out when they need it next. 
In the science article they decided that people needed also to be taught skills that would enable them to think like a scientist. These included typical desirable skills by employers, such as:
- collaboration and teamwork
- oral and written communication
- ethical reasoning
- quantitative skills to apply mathematical and statistical thinking.
I concur, yes people do need those skills, and why have they not been taught earlier then now? Perhaps another topic for a blog…these skills come about through creative thinking, through providing good practice examples and improving on practical skills. Something we do already in the VET sector.
So let’s bring the fun and games, and allow creative to flow, to bring about a smarter, better workplace.
PS. it can also apply to RTO compliance.