There are many factors which might cause a student to drop out of a course of study; some of these are preventable. This paper describes the piloting of a survey tool designed to identify students at risk of not completing. Attendance was found to be the strongest predictor of module completion; low or declining scores on the survey were also predictive of students dropping out. The research for this paper was undertaken by a novice researcher in the Community of Practice Scholarship Program, which is funded through NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiative.
This survey collects information about the destinations of apprentices and trainees approximately nine months after leaving their training. Information was collected on employment outcomes, reasons for non-completion, satisfaction with the apprenticeship or traineeship, and further study destinations.
This briefing paper assesses the effect VET in Schools programs have on school retention, post-school vocational education and training (VET) and employment, and on young people's school and post-school aspirations. VET in Schools programs are seen as a way to increase Year 12 retention through broadening subject choices in the school curriculum. Research based on the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth suggest that, while participation in these programs has positive effects on attitudes to and satisfaction with school, it does not necessarily lead to increased Year 12 retention. However, participation in VET in Schools can influence a small group of students, who are intent on getting a job straight after school, to change their post-school plans to include further VET study or an apprenticeship or traineeship.
This briefing paper draws together findings from two LSAY (Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth) research reports: 'Participation in and progress through New Apprenticeships'; and the 'VET pathways taken by school leavers'. These two reports use data obtained from young people who were in Year 9 at school in 1995 and whose educational and occupational activities were traced each year thereafter. Student characteristics, fields of training, commencement and completion rates, and reasons for discontinuing are all explored. This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth research program.
This briefing paper draws on findings from several LSAY Research Reports (5, 27, 31, 33 and 41) which report on how student attitudes and engagement in the formative school years influence subsequent participation in post-compulsory education and training. Data is used from two LSAY cohorts: students who were in Year 9 in 1995, and students who were in Year 9 in 1998. Attitudes to school in the LSAY program are based on student responses to a set of 30 items, and intentions to further study are recorded in Year 9. This paper, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.
This study provides a comparison of the post-school education systems of Australia and Canada using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australia Youth and the Canadian Youth in Transition Survey. The results indicate that the Canadian college system is more attractive to high achieving school graduates than is the somewhat comparable Australian VET sector.
One of the distinctive characteristics of the VET sector is that many students wish to learn specific skills and have no intention of completing a full qualification. This paper estimates the completion rate of VET course enrolments with a mathematical modelling approach in order to fill a gap in performance measures for the sector.
The traineeship model is currently targeted at a broader group of people compared with the original target group of young unemployed persons as envisaged by the Kirby Enquiry. This report aims to assess the effectiveness of the model for young people, particularly young early school leavers. The findings suggest that traineeships are an important pathway for female early school leavers. However, traineeships are poorly targeted if the target group is disadvantaged young people.
Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia surveys, the report finds that for people who are not working, completing a VET qualification does increase the chance of employment and more so for people with a disability.