Apprenticeships and vocations: assessing the impact of research on policy and practice

This report assesses the impact of NCVER’s research against two themes: the role of apprenticeships in a modern economy (focusing on work relating to completions) and the nature of the vocations and competencies required by industry. The evaluation spans work published from 2005 to 2015 and examines the impact of 32 publications, complemented by input from a number of stakeholders who were asked to report on their use of NCVER’s research outputs. The evaluation, based on a combination of quantitative metrics and qualitative methodology, shows how NCVER’s publications are influencing policy and practice in the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Key messages

• The analysis identified:   
  • 42 553 downloads of the reports from NCVER’s website/portal
  • 2952 full record visits on VOCEDplus
  • 632 citations across various sources, including policy and legislation
  • 217 references across an assortment of media outlets.
• While metrics alone do not directly signify impact, they do suggest NCVER has a sizeable knowledge footprint, with the publications in this study gaining widespread attention within Australia and internationally.
• In terms of policy:
  • Evidence was found of the research directly influencing six discrete policy documents or legislation and informing numerous submissions across 30 national or state/territory reviews. These submissions often led to an appearance by stakeholders or NCVER at parliamentary Senate House of Representative hearings.
  • Stakeholders also reported a research impact on polices designed to address apprentice completion and commencement rates, the way in which pre-apprenticeship programs are structured, industry training strategies and mentoring support for apprentices.
• With respect to practice: stakeholders suggested the research has informed better recruitment and pastoral care practices for apprentices. The vocations research has influenced several professional development programs for VET practitioners.  

While the interplay between research output and policy and practice is never straightforward and there are many factors influencing policy decisions, connections do occur. This report in particular has highlighted the remarkable variety in which NCVER publications are used and valued, based on the views of responding stakeholders.

Dr Craig Fowler
Managing Director, NCVER