Ai Group Centre for Education and Training has released a position paper that argues the case for strengthening new relationships between industry and universities in which learning is immersed in work environments.
The Paper – Connecting to maximise knowledge and skills: Companies and universities working together – draws a connection between learning and the constantly changing industry strategies and practices, and technical and generic skill needs.
The paper notes that there are many high-quality pockets of innovative work-integrated learning among our members where formal education and training is augmented in the workplace over time. However, Australian university links to industry are under-developed by international standards. Collectively we must significantly upscale learning and work interactions between companies, universities and students during a student's learning journey.
The position paper explains why closer connections between industry and universities are so crucial to the workforce and describes the breadth of work-integrated learning forms – from micro-placements through to degree apprenticeships.