The purpose of this paper is to describe what we know about apprenticeships and traineeships, with a view to assessing the likely impact of the current economic downturn on them.
This paper considers three aspects of vocational education and training's (VET) contribution to the labour market: the relationship between their training and the occupations VET graduates work in; the extent to which the qualified proportion of the workforce has increased; and the link between VET and skills acquisition. Finally, some thoughts are aired on the implications of the economic slowdown for vocational education and training.
This paper was presented to a meeting of the Wellington Exchange, an international group of higher education officials, in December 2008.