‘Enterprising ACE’ is the name given to Adult and Community Education providers who are rising to the challenge to meet the workforce training needs of small and medium businesses in their local areas. This will be the subject of a series of webinars to be presented by ALA later in the year.
A recently released study, commissioned by Adult Learning Australia, looks at seven ACE organisations that have developed a capacity to work with local businesses through their adaptive and innovative approaches to training.
Researcher and author of the report, John McIntyre, says: “for some years there has been evidence that small and medium enterprises are seeking out ACE organisations to assist in their workforce development. Yet this contribution remains a hidden one, underplayed in the ‘ACE story’. Little is known about the way ACE organisations connect with small and medium enterprises and how they develop these client relationships.”
The goals of the research were firstly; to understand how ACE organisations are assisting local businesses to meet their workforce development priorities and secondly; to learn more about how ACE organisations are developing their capacity to deliver responsive training.
McIntyre was also interested in the way ACE organisations perceive this business development in relation to their overall organisational philosophy and strategy.
The report focuses on how ACE providers are innovating as organisations as they position themselves to deliver a range of education and training services to their communities.
The study presents evidence that there is a vigorous edge of educational innovation and transformation in the sector. “Enterprising ACE organisations give a high strategic priority to meeting local business needs; they are embedded in local networks and have good intelligence about emerging community needs,” says McIntyre “their success is highly dependent on effective leadership by individuals and boards of management.”
ALA Webinars
ALA is currently developing a series of webinars for ACE providers designed to stimulate their entrepreneurial nature including marketing and promotion skills. They will be presented later this year. For further information, contact Patricia Gross at pat.grosse@bigpond.com.