International VET Conference
Nic Thomas was a recent keynote speaker at the Insources 2017 International VET Conference held in Sydney in June 2017. Nic spoke on the topic of quality in the Vocational Education and Training sector and expressed that to make for an effective VET system, we need to collaborate. The keynote speech was delivered in his […]
What is a Training and Assessment Strategy?
A TAS or Training and Assessment Strategy is a high-level view of a program. The intention is to convey information such as; The qualification (if applicable) The units Any clustering (grouping) of units The target group The method of delivery The method of assessment Timeframes for delivery and assessment Qualified delivery and assessment staff Required […]
What is a Program Risk Methodology
What is a program risk methodology? Most of us are familiar with the process of risk management; identify, analyse, manage and so on- if you want more information it’s quite nicely bundled up within the International Standards for Risk Management: ISO 31000:2009. However, the concept of a program risk management methodology seems quite foreign […]
What is a monitoring and evaluation strategy?
A monitoring and evaluation strategy enables at a high level, an effective strategy to allow for the ongoing review, analysis and understanding of the performance of a project (or program) through its life. This sets a framework to enable correct and accurate reporting, provide a basis for continuous improvement and mechanisms to evaluate the successes […]
What is a Process Contract?
The Process Contract This post is not intended to provide legal advice, nor be specific to your individual situation. It is to provide a broad view of process contracts within a procurement framework. What are Process Contracts? With regards to the procurement process it has been a long held belief that there is a single […]
Business Case
The Project’s Business Case It’s a shocking reality that many Project Managers have never sighted their project’s business case. It’s true that a Business case takes many different shapes and sizes and called by many different names for that matter, however there are some identifying elements which should be present in every business case. What […]
I got 99 priorities but the list ain’t one!
Life is busy! Constant requests coming from everywhere; our work, personal life, need to exercise, eat well, have fun and get things done. We need goals, or whatever you call them; some form of marker to set our direction. I find if we don’t have these we kind of just drift aimlessly reacting to whatever […]
Ethical Marketing
2016 VET Conference in Parramatta Ethical Marketing Presented by Nic Thomas This video covers the first part of the presentation, due to tech issues ( which seemed to plague the session) only half the session was recorded. The remaining can be viewed through the slides below. The full presentation slides
Airport Methodology
Project Management made simple The etymology of formal project management has its roots in key industries; construction, engineering and defence, where a formal application was required to effectively manage complex projects. Given the respective scale of these projects the approach had to be robust in preventing the core of the project from stakeholders; large teams, […]
A new thing a month
The new thing a month challenge Background Learning should be a constant ongoing part of our lives, but lets face it we are all busy. Admittedly some more than others. In the midst of being busy we often engage in routine activities and play in the confines of where we feel safe and as such […]
The Value of the Qualification
Didn’t get that job you thought you had in the bag? The problem is getting worse; qualified workers are getting the jobs over the experienced ones. I have recruited many staff as a manager and project manager as whilst I personally went down the university pathway prior to gaining my practical experience I have always […]
What is positive risk?
What is a Positive Risk? Positive risks are event which have a positive impact on your objectives. I think it’s the word “risk” that throws many people off. For many people the term “risk” has negative connotations; i.e. something bad will happen, I will lose money, get injured, crash my car etc.. Contrary to […]
Innovation in Education
The world around us changes at a rapid rate, the emergence of disruptive technologies seem to be the ever present reality. The replacement of our existing technology with newer, better models, functions, features and effectively leading us to replace what we hold in the perpetual chase for the newest. Arguably and until recently innovation in […]
Innovation, Revenue Streams and Financial Modelling
As part of the 2016 Accolade VET Innovative Business Models Conference in Sydney Nic Thomas spoke about how to innovate in the Education sector, specifically the vocational Education and Training (VET) as well as thinking of ways to diversify revenue streams and closed off with a quick case study on financial modelling. Hope you enjoy […]
What is a PMO?
What is a PMO? A PMO could refer to a bunch of different things which may be different to each person’s context, and yes that’s why speaking in acronyms can backfire. In this context we are referring to a PMO as a Program Management Office. Even though we have expanded what we are referring to […]