Recent trends in the provision of vocational education and training (VET) diplomas and advanced diplomas are outlined in this paper. The paper also looks at how people with diplomas and advanced diplomas are faring in the labour market. The picture is rather mixed, suggesting that those with diplomas and advanced diplomas fare, on average, better than those with other VET qualifications or no post-school qualifications.
School-based apprentices and trainees have recently been given more prominence as an element of vocational education and training in school, partly as a response to skill shortages in a wide range of areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide data on school-based apprentices and trainees to enable a judgement to be made about how this policy push is unfolding. The number of school-based apprentices and trainees is small but growing rapidly, numbers are concentrated in retail and hospitality training packages. Completion rates are lowest in the trades.
On the whole, educational achievements and outcomes from vocational education and training (VET) are relatively poor for students reporting a disability. This paper sought to isolate the direct effect of being a member of a particular disability group. It found that the direct effect of the disability differs between groups, and is highest for those with a mental illness, a medical condition or a physical disability.
This paper explores the issue of how vocational education and training (VET) is actually used in the labour market, in particular the match between what people study and the jobs they get. This match is pretty poor in most occupational groups with the exception of the trades. However, the paper concludes that the mismatch reflects the generic nature of VET rather than wastage. This view is reached because a relatively high percentage of graduates report their training is relevant even though they do not end up in their intended occupation.
In this interview Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel about his report 'Is VET vocational?', which explores the issue of how vocational education and training (VET) is actually used in the labour market and in particular the match between what graduates study and the jobs they get.
This paper presents some thoughts on the concept of the Tasmanian Polytechnic, drawing on a range of research mostly undertaken by NCVER. It considers a number of 'goals' that are relevant to judging the success of the endeavour, including Year 12 retention and the completion of Australian Qualifications Framework qualifications, before making a number of observations on relevant issues.
Trade apprenticeships in Australia from 1967 to 2006 are modelled in this paper. These models are used to understand how apprentice numbers in the trades respond to changes in labour market conditions. The models also allow commentary on the impact of recent government policy initiatives on trade apprentices. The paper finds that some trade apprenticeships are particularly sensitive to labour market conditions; that historical relationships between apprenticeship numbers and the labour market in the majority of occupations have broken down in the last ten years; and that government initiatives have been unable to counteract completely this trend.
This paper presents a series of stylised facts from the research literature on vocational education and training and older people. It includes the following topics: Education is front end loaded; VET is really important in providing older people a second chance; Increases in educational participation of older persons have been very modest; Education makes a large difference to workforce engagement of older people; Qualifications obtained later in life appear to pay off, at least in terms of workforce engagement; ...but training is no panacea; Skills learnt on the job are very important; and Attitudes of both employers and employees create barriers for training for older people.
The vocational education and training sector (VET) has a reputation for providing learners with a second chance. This report critically examines this idea, and finds that although VET provides opportunities for a second chance at education to many prospective students, the percentage who complete their studies and gain a qualification is modest.