Welcome to VECO - Vocational Education Coordinators Online. The VECO community includes coordinators, teachers, careers advisors, workplace supervisors, workplace trainers, employers and others involved or interested in Vocational Education and Training programs in Australian schools. In particular VECO is for those involved in structured workplace learning programs.

The VECO community uses an email discussion list (voced-coord) as its main means of communication. Through this forum people share ideas, have their questions answered, share resources, find out the latest news and debate issues. This means powerful networking between those involved in the same job - that of providing relevant high quality school to work pathways and options for young people. What happens on the list is only the tip of the iceberg but represents the core activity.

This website is used to support and record some of the online activity of the VECO community. In addition some information archives are developing within this website as a result of that online activity. Check us out by browsing the voced-coord archives and please join in if you are interested in the school to work jigsaw!

JOIN THE VECO COMMUNITY

Join in or just browse around to see if Voc Ed Coordinators Online is for you! VECO uses email based discussion lists as a main community-building tool. By developing online virtual communities in this way, a powerful exchange and support takes place between people involved in the same field.

In this section of the web you can find out how to join the general VECO community through the discussion list voced-coord or a special focus network such as reworking9-10, wadu-net or  rrave-on. You can also browse the voced-coord archives to review past discussions on the voced-coord list. There is provision for new special focus lists as the need is identified from a grass roots level.

Don't miss out meeting our special online guests. These important visitors join the voced-coord list on a regular basis.

Finally, if you're new to the online world or Email discussion lists (and maybe nothing we just said made any sense), don't worry. We have Help Pages designed to get everyone on board.

SHARE INFO

There are three main ways you can share information at the VECO site.

First, register your Australian workplace learning program in the Program Registry. You may wish to add your own program. This database has been developed in response to a desire expressed through the voced-coord list to have such information available on the web. Programs are self registered so that coordinators can decide what is published about their program.

Second, explore the Resources Library which allows VECO community members to easily share the resources they are developing or wish to recommend. Categories available are: Program management, marketing, assessment, workplace training, general work skills and industry specific curriculum areas. Please come here to list your favourite resources so others can benefit. 

Use the Community Noticeboard for important news! 

Learn form others through the stories and case studies in the VECO Gallery

LEARN: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

This is where you can find information about VECO workshops as well as selected VECO workshop materials.

This section also includes an events calendar that is updated regularly and a collection of conference reports.

WHAT'S VECO?

This section tells all about the VECO project. The project description gives a blueprint for building online communities for those involved in school-industry workplace learning programs with a particular emphasis on coordinators of these programs. The project components are outlined along with definitions and underlying beliefs.

INTERNET LINKS

What's a Website without a handy list of other valuable places in cyberspace? This section of the VECO Web links to organisations, publications, research and VET indexes that are relevant to workplace learning and entry-level training in schools.

First published April 24, 1997. Last modified June 15, 1998.