This report reviews the extensive literature on women and vocational education and training. It aims to provide material useful to policy-makers and practitioners in planning responses which are appropriate to the nature and scope of women's disadvantage in VET. It also aims to provide guidance to researchers and research funding bodies on gaps in the existing research and the direction for possible future research. The report covers the political landscape (economic reforms and social trends), insights on women's participation in VET and a discussion of social justice and approaches to equity within VET. It also includes an extensive bibliography.
This paper provides a history of the research effort in the sector and examines the roles it can and does play in policy formulation and critique, as well as informing practice.
This paper examines the progress that has been made in increasing the national VET research effort, together with mechanisms that have been, or are being, developed to increase the knowledge about and use of VET research results in order to improve the impact of VET research and evaluation work in Australia.
This publication provides an overview of research findings on the pathways young people take when they leave school. Also examined are data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which track the labour market outcomes of young people.
This report documents an investigation of the ways in which VET students in the 1990s are combining both study and work in preparation for future long-term career paths.
The changing nature of indigenous involvement in vocational education and training (VET) over the past decade is one of the most remarkable transformations seen in Australia's educational history. The number of indigenous peoples in VET has grown from just a few thousand in the 1980s to almost 45 000 in 1998. Inequality between indigenous peoples and other Australians in overall participation in VET has now been eliminated. VET providers, particularly TAFE, have opened their doors to indigenous peoples. They have responded and are enrolling in VET courses in record numbers. They are staying in the programs and successfully completing them in greater numbers than ever before. However, there are still many issues that need to be addressed such as balancing representation across courses, improving pass rates and employment outcomes and reducing withdrawal rates. This study suggests strategies that focus on more appropriate provision of courses and improving the outcomes achieved by indigenous students.
This Research at a glance explores early school leaving, who early school leavers are, why they leave school early, risk factors and likely outcomes of early school leaving, and the positives and negatives of retention. It examines what is being done for early school leavers through VET in school and post-school settings and identifies major issues and 'best practice' as well as possible directions.
Four major impediments to higher youth employment are identified in this review. These are: the inability to maintain rates of economic growth sufficient to reduce unemployment without inducing inflationary pressures; changes in the composition of demand for labour favoring more highly skilled workers; systems for delivery of vocational education and training which remain poorly adapted to users' needs; and wage structures that prevent the market for youth labour from clearing.
This report addresses some of the issues surrounding small business participation in training and other learning activities, and the relationship between participation and business success. The project surveyed 181 businesses employing fewer than 20 people in the construction, manufacturing, property and business services, and the various networks of small business people. The result of the study showed that businesses with owner/managers and/or employees with post-school qualifications were more likely to be successful. Ongoing learning and training in order to improve efficiency and deal with change were associated with successful small businesses.
This consolidation study synthesises recent research and evaluation literature on generic skills, with a particular focus on the conceptualisation and piloting of the Mayer key competencies in Australia between 1993 and early 1998.
This publication is made up of 17 case studies exploring the relationships between research and development and decision-making in vocational education and training.
This report presents a review and analysis of research on the internationalisation of vocational education and training and provides an assessment of other research that needs to be conducted in this area.
This study compared costs of delivering workplace and TAFE-based courses in three industries - retail, hospitality and automotive. The data that were gathered provide an insight into the comparative costs of training and how they are distributed across governments, employers and trainees.