Do you have creativity in your RTO?
Are your training programs developing creativity in people?
So often I see a classroom with a trainer at one end and students sitting in rows. Is this a creative space?
Creativity develops innovative teams and effective organisations. In the VET sector we have an important role to play in the current and future workplace. Our training is about providing skills for the workplace (vocations), improving people and helping them to succeed in whatever field of choice they have.
So how do we put creativity in your RTO?
In recent times, there has been a shift towards the increased acceptance of valuing creativity for all learners; so creativity in your RTO is important. A 2003 TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson discussing this subject reached over 5 million viewers. It discusses how our current school systems (and VET systems) suppress creativity. He proposes that our current model leaves little room for divergent thinking. 
To do this we need to still have creative thinking so we can instil the learning and allow them apply it in the workplace. By encouraging curiosity and considering what is important to students you can promote creativity by stepping into their viewpoint to find what motivates them.
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 a 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.
VET trainers can make a difference.
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. Creativity in your RTO and 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.
Paul Collard from Creative Partnerships, discusses how 60% of students will work in jobs that are not yet created. It is here you need to be innovative and for people to create their own jobs. Creative skills aren’t just about good ideas, they are about having the skills to make good ideas happen. He suggests creative skills should include 5 major areas:
- Imagination
- Being disciplined or self-motivated.
- Resiliency
- Collaborative problem solving
- Giving responsibility to students. Have them develop their own projects.
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. Find ways to incorporate and integrate art, music and culture. Recent reports suggest that society is enriched by cultural-based creativity.
So let’s bring the fun and games, even some dancing, and allow creativity to flow, to bring about a smarter, better workplace that can lead our future.