There has been much research and discussion about how people with a disability engage with vocational education and training (VET). This paper summarises what we know about VET participation, education and employment outcomes, and the costs and benefits of vocational education and training for people with a disability. In doing so, it also highlights further questions and where future research efforts could be focused.
Building organisational capability relies on effective workforce development. This study examines the processes that registered training organisations (RTO) use to make workforce development decisions. It also looked at how well these align to the personal decisions RTO staff make about their own development. The research found that workforce development needs to be comprehensive, well integrated within the organisation and used strategically.
This study explores the experiences and initiatives of vocational education and training (VET) providers in three areas: income sources and mixes, 'thin markets' in VET, and research and development. Practices and policies are evolving in these three areas. The report contributes to a deeper understanding of the scope and range of VET activities in a competitive environment and the factors that shape them.
Through an analysis of major surveys, as well as interviews and case studies with firms in four industries - construction, retail trade, manufacturing and health and community services, this research brings us closer to an understanding of the factors that influence training expenditure. The research shows that survey data needs to be complemented with a program of research in a number of industries to provide a richer understanding of the drivers of employer expenditure and practices.
This report summarises the costs and benefits of studying for a VET qualification. It finds that generally students have an adequate economic incentive to enrol in VET. The best returns were for students who study higher-level qualifications (certificate III upwards), and do so part-time.
This study explores how industry in regional areas addresses skill needs realistically and economically. Labour shortages are far more crucial to industry than skill issues. The study found that enterprises, when they train, use in-house and private registered training organisations to supplement provision by technical and further education (TAFE) institutes.
This report explains the planning processes and financial arrangements underpinning the vocational education and training (VET) sector. It looks at the structural capacity of the sector to respond rapidly and efficiently to a dynamic labour market and changes in pattern of skill demand. The report finds that the complexities of the labour market and the multiple demands on the VET system mean that the planning processes used by state and territory authorities are relatively different, dynamic and, in some instances, quite complex.
The aim of this research was to identify approaches used by a select number of overseas countries-the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Norway and Germany-in their attempts to match the supply of skills with current and projected skill needs. The study focuses on the mechanisms used by, or on behalf of, governments to influence the formal and informal processes and outcomes of skills formation. This includes the management and direction of VET systems, financing and other levers that influence the type, amount and location of training and other skills-formation processes. The research found that countries use a mixture of three types of strategies to attempt to align the supply of skills with current and future needs: state regulated; regulated through agreements between the social partners, that is, industry, unions and government; and market regulation.