Regions are on VET radar
Understanding the role vocational education and training (VET) plays in developing regions both economically and socially is of considerable interest. This has led to two NCVER projects that focus on regions.
An enterprising approach to regional growth: Implications for policy and the role of vocational education and training by Professor Steve Garlick and his colleagues investigates how partnerships aimed at integrating learning with local employment needs can help regional areas achieve sustainable economic growth.
The report looks at how and why regional growth in Australia has changed over the past two decades. It shows that growth has split into clusters of high and low growth, which have become more apparent over time. And while a number of metropolitan areas have benefited from national growth, non-metropolitan areas have largely declined (with some exceptions).
Research has shown that human capital—the knowledge and skills derived from education, training and experience—is crucial for regional development. Garlick further distinguishes between ‘creative’ and ‘enterprising’ human capital. Enterprising human capital goes beyond generating a good idea or having high-quality skills to embracing the knowledge to ensure goals are achieved.
“Regional development practice in Australia has struggled to go beyond ‘good ideas’ and the strategic planning processes that are attached to them,” says Garlick.
“In our view, because of its links to industry and its focus on job-specific education, VET is best placed to embrace an enterprising human capital approach to regional development,” he says.
VET policy-makers and practitioners have been calling for more statistical information, in particular, about VET delivery in a specific region and how it might differ from others.
Of particular interest is information relating to the number and characteristics of students participating in VET, the types of courses they are undertaking and the number of apprentices and trainees in different skills areas.
In response, NCVER has developed the Atlas of Australian public VET.
The atlas plots students’ residential addresses and the locations of employers with apprentices and trainees into one of 69 regions (Australian Bureau of Statistics’ statistical divisions).
Each division contains data relating to the specific region and also provides a quick comparison with the data for the relevant state/territory and Australia as a whole.
An enterprising approach to regional growth: Implications for policy and the role of vocational education and training is available at
www.ncver.edu.au/publications/1801.html
Atlas of Australian public VET can be accessed from
www.ncver.edu.au/resources/atlas/intro.html
