The way school students understand work through their paid part-time work and participation in school-based apprenticeships has the potential to inform career decision making and further education pathways. Through classroom-based interventions this project sought to assist student's and teacher's understandings of 'authentic' work experiences. The role of the school and teachers in preparing students for vocational outcomes raises many issues, including the support and skills required to facilitate discussion and activities on the realities of the working world. Reflection upon work experiences, when directed effectively by teachers, enables students to critically appraise the world of work beyond school and post school pathways.
This report presents a profile of technical and further education (TAFE) institutes for the 2003 calendar year. The project was undertaken to illustrate the extent of variation in the sector. The report also provides data on TAFE institutes that can be used by the institutes for planning, performance monitoring and marketing purposes.
This study, undertaken for the National Electrical and Communications Association, profiles the electrotechnology workforce and focuses especially on how the industry is adapting to the rapidly changing environment. Through analysis of data and interviews, the study found that the electrotechnology industry has adapted well to its customers' demands to integrate the electrical and communication skills into a narrow range of occupations. Skills shortages remain in the industry but tend to be region or occupation specific.
The question of how the skills and knowledge of the adult language, literacy and numeracy workforce can be improved is particularly relevant in view of the ongoing debate on how language, literacy and numeracy skills should be taught. This study reflects on the professional development needs of the three sectors--vocational trainers, specialist teachers and volunteer tutors-- of the Australian English language, literacy and numeracy workforce. Important issues affecting the workforce include entry pathways, attitudes, responsibilities and barriers to gaining professional development. Preferred modes of professional development delivery along with skill gaps among the workforce are identified to provide guidance for future workforce development planning.
Research messages 2005 is a collection of summaries on all research projects published or completed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research in 2005. The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to organise all of its VET research and analysis: Industry and employers; Students and individuals; Teaching and learning; VET system; and VET in context. Forty-two pieces of work are included and each summary provides details of how to access the full research report.
This report compares the provision of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom. It finds that training policies are increasingly based on similar general principles which promote the improvement and reform of vocational education and training, although the implementation of these principles tends to remain specific to each country.
This suite of overviews provides a comprehensive summary of each of NCVER's managed adult literacy and numeracy research projects funded in 2004. The suite of reports examine a wide range of literacy and numeracy issues - from its definition in policy-making terms, teaching and learning approaches and outcomes, to the professional development needs of literacy practitioners. The research also covers literacy practices and various approaches across Indigenous and ethnic communities, industry, volunteer and community settings.
Assessing the social and economic costs of poor adult literacy and numeracy skills, and the benefits of investing in such skills, is largely unchartered territory in Australia. This feasibility study explores the frameworks and methodologies available for determining and measuring such benefits and costs across a number of life domains, including health, finance and small business.
Difficulty with literacy and numeracy is a significant barrier to Indigenous students accessing vocational education and training. This study explored the literacy and numeracy support systems available to Indigenous VET students and determined which systems work for both students and teachers and produce positive outcomes for Indigenous students, including successful completion. This has resulted in a set of best practice guidelines for designing and developing literacy and numeracy support systems for Indigenous students.
This report looks at the transition to full-time work of young Australians who did not attend university after leaving school. It focuses on identifying the factors that are important in promoting full-time work. It analyses the influences of social background and demographic factors, effects of education and first experiences in the workplace in post-school years. Research report no. 49 This report, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
This report looks at the impact of vocational education and training (VET) provision on school completion rates and on initial post-school outcomes for different groups of students. Schools were grouped into seven types with three broad models: (1) school model with workplace learning; (2) TAFE model with workplace learning; and (3) VET without workplace learning or no VET. The findings were that the 'TAFE model' seemed to promote positive post-school outcomes while the 'school model' promoted better completion rates for participants. Research report no. 48 This report, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
The research investigated the learning preferences of New Apprentices and training preferences of their trainers in the manufacturing, community and retail services sectors, and outlines how this data can be used to inform trainers. The study showed that the preferred workplace features of trainers and New Apprentices in manufacturing were quite different from those in retail and community services. The nature of work and industry shapes what is expected to support learning in any particular workplace. The practicalities of industry workplaces mean that preferences cannot always be met, and hence the expectations of both trainers and New Apprentices need to be clarified early in their working relationship.
School vocational education and training (VET) programs were introduced to provide more diverse pathways to work and further study for young people. This report investigates whether these programs provide successful outcomes for participants, in terms of retention to Year 12 (or its vocational equivalent) and full-time engagement with employment or learning. The report finds that participation in school VET programs has a small negative impact on retention from Year 10 to Year 12 overall but that there is a positive impact on Year 10 to Year 11 retention. There is a clear positive impact on post-school outcomes for students who participate in school VET programs in Year 11 but do not go on to complete Year 12. Finally, the report looks at whether school VET programs have been successful in establishing post-school VET pathways. The results show that these programs provide a clear pathway for some students, particularly for boys studying in the areas of building and engineering. For most students, however, the pathway is not so direct.
This report explores how learners, and the process of learning, were presented within a sample of courses that led to Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training. This course was highly regarded by the graduates surveyed and found to offer a sound basis about vocational education and training (VET) teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the study suggests that approaches to learning that are promoted need to draw more extensively on processes which empower learners rather than seeing them as individuals with 'deficits' to be addressed. Ongoing debate and critical reflection among VET practitioners, as well as practitioner-led systematic inquiry into teaching and learning, are needed to promote the development of workplace-centred and attribute-focused learning in VET. This will be valuable as the new Training and Assessment Training Package qualifications are introduced.
This study explores the extent and distribution of Indigenous staffing in vocational education and training (VET) and various aspects of their employment experience within the VET sector. It notes a recent decline in Indigenous staff numbers to below the set targets that, the author's argue, are in themselves too low. The report offers many suggestions as to how to improve numbers and experiences of Indigenous staff in VET throughout the employment cycle, from position identification through to succession planning.
Recognition of prior learning is a process whereby people have the skills and knowledge they have developed outside the formal education system assessed and valued against qualifications frameworks. This publication gives an overview of recent research into recognition of prior learning within the Australian vocational education and training system.
This study investigates where certificate I and II qualifications lead people aged 25 and over. The main aims of these qualifications are to provide vocational outcomes, generally at lower skill levels, as pathways to further study and/or jobs requiring supervision. Findings indicate that, while the qualifications were not particularly useful in terms of gaining employment, there were some modest career advancement benefits. It was projected that low proportions of people aged 25 and over will complete these courses. Notably, further study pathways were not among the outcomes of these courses.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate, from a national perspective, the impact and outcomes of market reform in vocational education and training (VET), particulary the introduction of competitive tendering and 'user choice'. It does so by examining the structure, composition and dynamics of contestable or 'quasi-markets' for VET, assessing the impact and effects of market reform on providers and clients, and evaluating the outcomes, both intended and unintended, of market reform in VET.
Presented to the Second Sino-Australia Vocational Education and Training Conference at Chongqing on 3-5 August, 2005, this paper looks at linkages between the Australian vocational education and training system and the labour market--the formal legal and administrative structures, general skills development, and the dynamics of the labour market.
Teaching and learning styles in the vocational education and training (VET) sector have changed substantially over the last decade in response to changed national and international conditions. This 'at a glance' describes these changes, which can basically be summarised as a shift from traditional teaching in classrooms to facilitating learning, and involving a substantial reliance on the workplace in the learning process. Making this shift can be a challenge for some VET teachers and this publication offers useful strategies and models for dealing with the changes.