Conservation and Land Management 2007 Trade Teacher of the Year Winner, Andrew Nicholson from Albany Western Australia is putting his developmental prize money to good use.
Mr Nicholson was named the inaugural Conservation and Land Management 2007 Trade Teacher of the Year by The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence in November 2007 and has been quick off the bat rolling out his developmental project this week.
As part of winning the 2007 Trade Teacher of the Year award Mr Nicolson received a prize of $10,000. The first $5,000 was to put towards developing a holistic training program for Forestry workers.
“I have developed a Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) training model for the Forest Product Commission (FPC) that has enabled their employees to be trained and tested for applied knowledge in the field, rather than in the classroom," he explained.
Mr Nicholson is a veteran teacher in the Primary Industries portfolio of courses, having taught at the Great Southern TAFE in Western Australia for the past twelve years across agriculture, horticulture and conservation & land management areas.
“In total we have developed 9 modules which enable employees of FPC who are deployed to work in the plantations and in regeneration to complete the self assessment worksheets. The modules are designed so that if employees are unable to complete a section they can organise a training refresher course to ensure they are up to date with the latest practices."
The module that Mr Nicholson has developed has been incorporated into FPC’s employee performance reviews and provides an easy and clear development guide for both the employer and supervisor.
The Chief Executive Officer of The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence, Brian Wexham said that the Trade Teacher of the Year Awards have become an important initiative.
“The Institute has been established to promote and advance learning, teaching and training in Australian trades education. One of our three key purposes is to foster and recognise excellent standards and teaching in trade’s education and training.”
Mr Nicholson also believes in using horticultural teaching to reach marginalized groups and extend their skills sets and has worked with local at risk kids, prisoners and Aboriginal communities.
About the Trade Teacher of the Year Awards
The Trade Teacher of the Year Awards were first awarded in 2007 and were established by The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence to recognise excellence in training and teaching across the eight industry groups of focus for The Institute: Automotive; Building and Construction; Electrical; Manufacturing; Metals and Engineering; Hospitality and Personal Services; Rural and Farming; and Mineral Resources.
A total of 18 awards were presented across 18 categories in the inaugural Trade Teacher of the Year Awards, each with prizes of $10,000 to individual teachers or teams of teachers who work in a trade area. The prize money was awarded as a $5,000 cash prize and a $5,000 developmental activity or program that will contribute to industry and teaching.
