What holds together the VET sector? On the surface, the VET sector is structured around government departments, industry groups, public and private providers, unions and professional associations, training packages and quality guidelines.

However, leaders in the sector have recognised for some years that the sector is also underpinned by the goodwill that exists between the many VET stakeholders. This recognition of the importance of goodwill is demonstrated by the national funding made available for an innovative program for VET communities of practice. Such communities are defined by Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (Cultivating Communities of Practice, 2002) as groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.

Since 2001, the VET sector has seed-funded over one hundred communities of practice through the national staff development and change management program, Reframing the Future, now overseen by DEST. Research shows that these communities of practice are effective mechanisms for VET practitioners to improve their collaboration and networking with peers, industry and the community.

Potential benefits of communities of practice include the following:

• Build trust and relationships
• Provide access to new knowledge
• Foster innovation
• Enhance professional practice
• Support the management of change
• Improve organisational productivity
• Increase social capital.

I provide an example of a community of practice that realises many of these benefits in my column ‘Inside VET’ in Campus Review, 19 October 2005.