Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today we buried a very good man in Crookwell. His name was Robert Kelvin MacDonald. I think that, if you were to google him, you would not find a single entry. He certainly was not famous or notorious in that sense of the word, but in his community Robbie MacDonald was famous for his love for and loyalty to his family, his friends and his community. He rarely travelled out of Crookwell—which is quite an extraordinary feat in itself!—but this was really because he had everything in the world that he wanted right there. He had a big, loving family, many friends and many children and grandchildren who supported him throughout his life. He was born and raised in Crookwell, and he worked all his life in Crookwell. He was one of those community champions that we so rarely acknowledge. I really wanted to put that on the record this evening.

There was another issue I wanted to speak about today. Last week in the Senate I spoke about the fact that last week was acknowledged across the world as Adult Learners Week. On Friday, 8 September, Learn @ Work Day, which I referred to briefly in my speech, was celebrated in workplaces across Australia. As I said last week, Learn @ Work Day is an annual awareness campaign promoting and supporting workplace learning events across Australia. As part of Adult Learners Week, it draws attention to workplace skills and learning. The day operates as a bit of a hook to draw into workplace learning people and organisations who might not otherwise get involved. Hopefully, this will lead to further learning opportunities.

Learn @ Work Day allows thousands of organisations to engage staff who might not normally take part in learning. Fun, informal learning can be far more successful in engaging employees who may not readily participate in a formal course or program. We all know that informal learning can also have a very powerful effect on an organisation’s goals. For example, a day of job swaps can improve employees’ understanding of how their workplace operates and can lead to more streamlined processes and better workplace relationships. Learn @ Work Day can also be used to promote existing training opportunities offered at work that not everyone within the organisation may be taking advantage of.

Last year an estimated 500 organisations took part in Learn @ Work Day, from large organisations like ActewAGL to many small businesses, public sector organisations and government departments. This year it was even more successful. By getting involved, organisations reach new staff, uncover new skills, build new partnerships and help reach their business goals, all at the same time.

On Friday I attended the national launch of Learn @ Work Day at the Marrickville council chambers in Sydney. It was a shame that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Mr Farmer, who was listed to conduct the launch, did not attend, because those from the ACE sector who do much of this work were keen to hear about the federal government’s commitment and interest in this area.

Nevertheless, the launch was an inspiring event because we were able to acknowledge the work of the Marrickville Council and its commitment as a learning organisation to facilitating the learning of all its staff. We heard from the general manager, Candy Nay, how staff are encouraged to develop learning plans and are mentored in their learning and how contributions that staff have made through their learning have made Marrickville Council a very successful and service oriented council.

Learner of the Year Awards were presented to two staff members who had participated in formal learning programs and who had been able to instigate significant workplace change because of their studies. Marrickville Council certainly has embraced Learn @ Work and all that it represents.

We acknowledged the commitment and learning of a range of staff throughout the council’s departments who had completed their certificate IV front-line management course, and we heard what this program had done for their personal growth as well as for their workplace performance. We heard about the participants in WELL programs—that is, the workplace English language and literacy programs—some of whom had taken those first tenuous steps in learning then moved on to complete the front-line management program.

We heard about the innovative response that Marrickville Council has developed to support post-release prisoners, using volunteers and mentors to help those who have served their sentences to readjust to life on the outside. And we heard the inspiring story of one young woman who came to Australia with little formal education, started in a community program and has gradually worked to develop her skills and confidence and is now about to embark on enrolled nursing.

Marrickville Council acknowledges that organisational learning is a process in which the council strives to improve its performance, to detect and correct errors and to adapt to its environment through evolving knowledge and understanding. The crucial issues at the heart of a learning organisation are social—what beliefs about society are reflected in organisations themselves; ethical—how and why organisations operate and how they establish an environment and ethos in which people can grow and mature into effective human beings; and organisational—the different learning and change contexts within the organisation, as well as the impact and management of these learning and change contexts.

It was clearly evident from the contribution of staff and the enthusiasm of the staff in attendance that in their organisation there is genuine commitment to these issues. I would like to extend my congratulations to all involved—most particularly Charu Hurria, the employee development advisor, and Ian Fuller, the manager of employee services—for their efforts.

Mr Acting Deputy President Murray, I am sure you have heard the old Chinese proverb: ‘Without learning, the wise become foolish; by learning, the foolish become wise.’ In Australia we have seen a very significant change in emphasis on workplace learning. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research has reported that a significant proportion of Australia’s adult society holds dismissive or restrictive attitudes towards participation in structured learning activities. They are turned off by formal learning activity and daunted by the prospect of returning to an educational institution. We have to promote and support different forms of learning activities and pathways so that people are not excluded. We know that investment in lifelong learning leads to wider social and economic benefits such as positive outcomes in health, crime prevention and social inclusion.

Since the 1990s there has been quite an interesting and increased focus on lifelong learning. In 1991, you may recall, Mr Acting Deputy President, the report Come in Cinderella: the emergence of adult and community education was released. Since about 1995 we have seen the development of Adult Learners Week. The most recent undertaking was the Ministerial Declaration on Adult Community Education, which has the endorsement of all state, territory and Commonwealth ministers with responsibility for education, employment, training and youth affairs. I want to reflect on that declaration. The declaration identifies four goals to guide the future development of adult learning in Australia:

1. Expand and sustain innovative community based learning models.

2. Raise awareness and understanding of the role and importance of adult community education.

3. Improve the quality of adult community education learning experiences and outcomes.

4. Extend participation in community based learning.

That declaration was signed in July 2002 with the accompanying comments:

The goals demonstrate the Ministers’ commitment to the future development of adult community education in Australia and firmly place adult community education as a significant contributor within the continuum of education and training provision in Australia.

It is therefore a little frustrating that funding to adult and community education has actually declined in real terms since 2002. There are also the challenges for the kinds of women who are coming into Australia, whom Senator Payne spoke so passionately about a little while ago, and for those in regional and rural Australia, who really struggle to access second-chance learning other than vocational education. The ACE sector provides a pathway for those learners in communities to source some training and redevelopment of the skills that they need to manage the change that is happening in their environments. I hope that we will see a huge commitment to this sector in the coming years.