Interview Questions

These are the draft questions that I usually refer back to. I customise them based on the type of organisation and country before emailing them prior to my interviews.

Themes for the questions:

·         Industry and community consultation

·         Partnership relationships

·         Marketing/Promotions

·         Recognition of existing skills

·         Course design

·         Pathways – Schools, VET colleges, University

·         Quality Assurance

·         Teacher collaboration programs

Partnership relationships

·         Do you have any partnerships where other organisations provide resources, delivery or assessment on your behalf?

·         How do you manage complimentary services without encroaching on stakeholder "turf'?

·         How are relationships formed between VET providers, Colleges, Universities, employer groups, unions, trade associations and resource developers?

·         How are the needs of stakeholders balanced to ensure a sustainable relationship?

·         What partnership arrangements do you have with Schools?

o   How are school based traineeships used to promote career options to students

o   Do school teachers deliver VET subjects or are these taught by external partners

o   Do VET teachers in schools have current industry experience?

o   Do school students do work placements as a part of their course? How are mandatory work placements organised? Is it difficult to find employers willing to take students?

·         What partnership arrangements do you have with Universities?

o   Do many students progress beyond Diploma level courses to complete Bachelor level IT courses?

·         What partnership arrangements do you have with Employers or industry associations?

o   Do you plan to include industry certifications eg Cisco or Microsoft into your courses?

o   Do you plan for work placement programs eg Internships, workplace projects?

Marketing/Promotions

·         How is the value of VET is promoted to students?

·         What communication strategy is used to keep customers and partners informed and able to make choices?

·         How do businesses perceptions about employee workplace readiness affect recruitment

·         When (what age) do students make course and subject selections that lead to VET college courses?

·         Do you market courses based on employment outcomes?

Recognition

·         Do you have a formal recognition process where students have existing skills from prior qualifications or industry experience?

·         How do students apply for recognition based on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)?

·         How are recognition claims processed where students have workplace experience but no prior qualifications?

Course design

·         Is there a formal pathway program for students that guides them from school to VET colleges to university and then onto the workplace?

·         Describe any workplace programs where students complete work placements or projects where they are embedded within industry.

·         How are the skills and knowledge gained from the workplace recognised within their course?

·         How is recognition and gap training managed and promoted

·         Do vocational IT courses prepare students for international certifications? eg Cisco or Microsoft

·         What resources are you using for teaching VET IT courses? Who produces these resources in house or outsourcing?

·         Do you use workplace assessments within your courses?

·         What skills are industry leaders calling for in your students?

·         How do you gain feedback from employers and industry to ensure the courses are preparing students for their workplace needs?

Quality Assurance

·         What quality assurance processes do you use?

·         How do you review your courses to ensure continuous improvement?

·         What processes do you have for assessment design validation?

·         What processes do you have for assessment moderation?

·         How do your QA systems support and share data on the complex process of - profiling, development, enquiry, enrolment, induction, delivery, assessment, course completion, QA review.

·         Do you use a "Peer Review process carried out by a group of external experts

Teacher collaboration programs

·         How does the Austrian education system collaborate with other EU countries?

·         Do you get many visits from grass roots teachers?

·         How does the Erasmus+ program and other exchange programs support your students?

·         What feedback has been received from the employers of students in the Erasmus+ program?

·         How do you strategically plan events to foster collaboration? Where do the ideas come from?

·         What has been the uptake rate and engagement with the EPALE collaboration system?

·         How does Cedefop deal with competitive interests between member countries?

·         How do you design policy that recognises the autonomy of individual EU member countries and training organisations?

·         How do teacher unions facilitate collaboration between teachers, training organisations and industry groups?