About

Thank you to over 300 national and international delegates from Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and Ireland who attended and presented at the 24th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference ‘No Frills’.

Themed around youth, pathways and skills, program highlights included sector relevant keynote addresses and over 50 presentations across five concurrent streams. This provided delegates with diverse insights from government, academic and employer perspectives.

A huge thank you to our co-hosts, the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and TAFE NSW’s Western Sydney and South Western Sydney Institutes, who provided excellent venue facilities and terrific support.

Thank you also to all our sponsors. This conference would not be possible without their ongoing support.

Program

View the 2015 conference program.

Keynote addresses

The conference kicked off with higher education and tertiary education expert Professor Peter Shergold discussing the big opportunities arising from the advent of every single RTO reporting their data in 2015. “NCVER has big data. Its statistical storehouse provides a strong foundation for evidence-based policy, stimulates creative research and informs a contestable public market for the provision of VET. The onset of total VET activity (TVA) can vastly increase our understanding of how citizens exercise educational choice” said Professor Shergold, Chancellor of UWS & NCVER Board.

View Professor Shergold's video presentation.

Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Assistant Minister for Education and Training, shared his vision for NCVER “I have a vision for NCVER that is very clearly NCVER becoming a one stop shop for data collection in the training and vocational education sector right around Australia. That they are the clearing house for all the needs, whether they be the needs of the Commonwealth Government, the needs of state and territory governments, or the needs of regulators.”

View Senator Birmingham's video presentation.

International workforce development and apprenticeship expert Nicholas Wyman discussed how partnerships involving employers, communities and educators can bridge the skills gap. He suggested it was about people finding the right education at the right time whether that be VET, workplace training or university.

View Nicholas Wyman's video presentation

In keeping with the youth theme, guest dinner speaker, Jan Owen from the Foundation for Young Australians, shared her insights on the importance of investing in young Australians and how we must work together to build the confidence and capabilities of our young people.

Papers and presentations

Refereed papers

24th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills': refereed papers

Other papers and presentations

Papers and PowerPoint presentations, including keynote presentations, are available to download from VOCEDplus, NCVER's free international research database for tertiary education.