An inclusive and accessible VET system is essential to support more Victorians with disability to complete their training and secure decent work.
Skills and Jobs Centres (SJCs) ensure career counsellors have the training and resources needed to provide tailored supports for Victorians with disability. For example, SJCs use videos produced in Auslan in collaboration with DeafConnectEd, to raise awareness of the supports available for deaf and hard of hearing Victorians.
The TAFE Network Statement of Priorities for 2024 outlines that TAFEs, with support from OTCD, will deliver outcomes that respond to reforms including Inclusive Victoria: State Disability Plan and the Disability Royal Commission.
TAFE Disability Transition Support Officers provide targeted support for secondary school students with a disability who are transitioning into Victorian TAFEs. A Community of Practice provides a forum for the officers to develop and deliver high-quality and consistent support across the Victorian TAFE Network.
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) in Victoria provide a range of reasonable adjustments to support learners with disability during training, strengthening their ability to fully participate in their chosen courses. Adjustments include physical adjustments to learning spaces, modified assessment conditions, adaptive technology, specialised equipment, and Auslan interpreters.
The Gordon TAFE Centre of Excellence for Inclusion in Disability18 will showcase leading education and inclusion practices and support employers to build their inclusion approaches for people with disability.
The Centre’s strategic purpose and operating model will be co-created with input from people with disability and organisations who work with them. The design and engagement phase has commenced.
Gabriel Gervasoni
Victorian Training Awards 2023 Trainee of the Year finalist
Gabriel has had a profound vision impairment since birth, but this has not stopped him from following his passion of working in the Information Technology (IT) industry and advocating for the broader vision impaired community.
After finishing a Diploma of IT traineeship with IBM in Ballarat, including formal training through Federation TAFE, Gabriel landed a full-time role in IBM’s app development department.
”Out of every industry, I think IT is the most accommodating to those who have different abilities because computers can be catered towards the individual,” he says.
With his newfound skills, Gabriel is now developing apps and software to improve the lives of people like him who live with disabilities.
For those seeking to enter the expanding field, Gabriel highlights that TAFE courses and traineeships present an excellent pathway.
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