Work in Progress

Enhancing future productivity: The interdependence of workers, employers and VET

• Summary
• Purpose
• Approach
• Research questions
• Methodology
• Organisations
• Program output

Summary

Purpose

This project aims to identify potential underutilised pools of labour, and ways in which VET initiatives, job networks, and labour market intermediaries can help overcome current and deepening labour supply constraints on economic growth. It also aims to identify how VET initiatives can contribute to improving approaches to workforce development and enterprise performance to ensure industries have the capacity to meet current challenges, and the ability to adapt in the future. The research will include in-depth studies of two sectors—childcare and meat processing—and it is anticipated that broader lessons will be learnt through these two sectors.

Approach

Quantitative and qualitative

Research questions

The research aims to understand the complex relationships between VET, employers and individuals and their effects on workforce participation and firm performance. The guiding questions are:
• Under what conditions does VET contribute to
(i) lifting workforce participation?
(ii) improving firm performance through workforce development?
• How, if at all, does employer policy and practice contribute to (i) and (ii)?
• How can VET policy and practice be changed to assist in maximising workforce participation and firm performance?

Methodology

This is a three-year research program involving a combination of approaches:

2008
A statistical mapping exercise that will analyse labour stocks and flows of under-employed and un-employed persons and will provide an understanding of the common elements of underutilisation.

Key informant interviews that will provide rich lines of inquiry from a range of viewpoints. They will also help identify potential ‘best practice’ sites and associated organisations involved in successfully training, recruiting and retaining employees from the underutilised groups identified in the statistical mapping exercise.

2009
Original case studies and life histories. In-depth interviews with employees and managers from a range of occupational groups with a number of organisations will be conducted. For both industries they will include where applicable the CEO, HR Manager, Centre Managers and both qualified and unqualified workers. This approach allows the researchers to address the issues as seen from a range of positions within each site. This method will allow the researchers to ‘unpack’ what lies behind the apparent problems confronting each group.

2010
Key informant interviews with personnel from labour market intermediaries including job network providers, group training providers and other local services will assist in identifying individuals who are outside of the labour market. Life histories will be undertaken with those people to gain direct evidence of barriers to the labour market and assist in clarifying the different categories of NILF and ‘job seeker’ that are evident.

Organisations

The Workplace Research Centre (previously known as ACIRRT) was established in 1989 as an Australian Research Council-funded Key Centre. The Centre is an independent, multi-disciplinary organisation which is now self-funded. Based at the University of Sydney, the Centre is one of Australia’s leading multi-disciplinary labour market and work research and training organisations. It monitors and analyses the changing nature of work and the labour market through a range of research and training programs. Integral to this is an examination of the wider institutional, economic and social structures as they impact on the workplace, organisations and individuals. Over the past 18 years, the Centre has retained a broad labour market perspective. It enjoys a reputation for independent, authoritative, rigorous and innovative research. The WRC is proud of the fact that its clients include employers from the private and public sectors, employer associations, unions and community based organisations.

Program output

• Publication  Understanding the undertow: innovative responses to labour market disadvantage and VET
• Publication  Interview with Tanya Bretherton on 'Developing the child care workforce: Understanding "fight" or "flight" amongst workers'
• Publication  Workforce development in early childhood education and care: Research overview
• Publication  Developing the child care workforce: Understanding 'fight' or 'flight' amongst workers
• Publication  Understanding vocational education and training, productivity and workforce participation: An issues paper

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