About the research

Effective models of employment-based training by Sarojni Choy, Kaye Bowman, Stephen Billett, Louise Wignall, Sandra Haukka

Apprenticeships and, more recently, traineeships, are a time-honoured way of training people for certain occupations. What makes them distinctive is the combination of work experience and off-the-job training. The success of this training model—employment-based training—raises the obvious question of whether the model can be adapted to new occupations and higher-level qualifications. Looking at alternative models of employment-based training, particularly for higher-level qualifications, was the focus of this research by a team led by Sarojni Choy from the Queensland University of Technology.

The researchers discovered that the uptake of higher-level vocational education and training (VET) qualifications is constrained by employers’ preferences for either university degrees or for demonstrable skills rather than credentials. They did, however, conclude in this report, Effective models of employment-based training, that enhancements to current models could encourage more effective training for higher-level qualifications.

Key messages

• Any new employment-based training arrangements need to take account of the age, literacy and numeracy levels of new entrants, and workplace conditions. For most new entrants, it is important to have a contract of training of sufficient duration to allow them to accumulate and learn from experiences. Fast-tracking can assist more capable learners, as can recognition of prior learning processes.

• Those seeking higher-level qualifications within employment-based training want greater autonomy to manage their study.

• The five enhanced models proposed will require a review of the complexities of the regulatory environment and of education and training delivery and employment conditions. In addition, employment-based training models for higher-level VET qualifications need to be able to compete with university qualifications.

The report’s recommendations are based on case studies in the manufacturing and child care industries, and their relevance and applicability to other industries are yet to be determined. The authors emphasise that one size does not fit all and that employers must consider different training strategies in order to develop higher-quality skills.

Two other recent National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) reports of relevance to the issues raised in this research are:

• Accelerated apprenticeships: Employer, apprentice and teaching staff perceptions by Victor Callan (NCVER 2008)

• Higher-level vocational education and training qualifications: Their importance in today’s training market by Sue Foster, Bernadette Delaney, Andrea Bateman and Chloe Dyson (NCVER 2007).

Tom Karmel

Managing Director, NCVER

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