During the past decade both Australia and China have implemented reforms to their educational systems to develop labour force skills for the new globalised markets. This report describes the major features of the vocational education and training sectors in China and Australia, and their strategies and reforms, with emphasis on links between secondary and post-secondary vocational education and training.
This brief report describes new developments and initiatives in the UK on the issue of employability skills. The report focusses particularly on: *The Enterprising Skills Development Movement *A brief history of employer involvement and government partnership initiatives regarding employability *Future development of both key skills and enterprise skills in vocational education and training An appendix for this report is now included, updating the content of employability skills development in the UK. It concentrates on the wider key skills programs, and enterprise skills and education.
The financial benefits of gaining a VET qualification are calculated and assessed in this report. Using data from a representative sample of Australian employees, author Chris Ryan compares the wages and after-tax returns for individuals with different qualifications and with different levels of experience and labour market participation.
The long-term benefits of a VET qualification are compared with the long-term employment outcomes for university graduates and for individuals whose education ceased at Year 12. Also looked at are the long-term effects for VET graduates with disabilities and from non-English speaking backgrounds and what differences exist for males and females over time. Author Chris Ryan uses data from two major surveys to assess the value of various VET qualifications for lifelong learning and longer term employment opportunities.