Training important for welfare to work

April 30 2008

The journey from welfare to work is difficult for many and often requires more than a willing worker, according to new research. The vocational education and training (VET) sector is the one education sector ideally placed to assist welfare recipients into work.

Two studies published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research suggest that many long-term welfare recipients need basic educational skills before they can embark on more job-oriented training and finally move on to paid work.

One of the NCVER reports, The role of vocational education and training in welfare to work by John Guenther and colleagues, focused on what makes training programs effective for people moving from welfare to work.

It says that among the challenges faced by jobless people and vocational education and training institutions are the personal circumstances of the jobless themselves.

To overcome these barriers the report calls for the VET and welfare systems to be flexible in dealing with jobless participants over problems caused by personal issues such as transport, child care and ill health.

Similarly, a study by Kate Barnett and John Spoehr, Complex not simple: The vocational education and training pathway from welfare to work, has also found that issues such as lack of transport or child care services formed barriers to jobless people in training.

Addressing these concerns, both studies say jobless students need adequate pastoral care and support services while undertaking vocational training as part of their move towards paid work.

ENDS

To download a copy of The role of vocational education and training in welfare to work, please visit http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/1986.html; a copy of Complex not simple: The vocational education and training pathway from welfare to work, is available from http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/1987.html.

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