Adult retraining and reskilling in Australia and South Korea

This study explores the mechanisms utilised by adults in Australia and Korea to keep their skills current or to enhance their range of skills.

The study identified areas of the vocational education and training systems in the two countries which are providing positive outcomes for adults who are retraining and upskilling, and also highlighted areas of the sector not adequately servicing the needs of this group. Synergies were identified between the Korean and Australian training systems to assist each country improve their delivery of vocational education and training to adults who wish to improve their skills.

Adult education and training

There has been increasing demand for adult training in Australia and Korea over the last decade. The shift in growth of employment in the service sector in both economies has resulted in increased demand for skilled workers and a decline in the demand for unskilled workers. The demand for skilled workers has grown because of changes which have taken place in the manner and mode of employment. Demographic changes taking place in Australia and Korea have also impacted on the training needs of older workers.

Over the coming years, it is anticipated that participation in formal education or study will continue to increase amongst Australian and Korean adults. Adults will be required to upgrade their skills and learn new skills throughout their life to keep up-to-date. The training sector will need to be more flexible in their provision of training and adapt to the changing requirements associated with the growth of non-standard employment, such as the shift to part-time, casual, outsourced or home-based work; downsizing; occupational change and the development of new occupations.

Furthermore, as the proportion of young people in the Australian workforce declines, employers will need to look towards older people as a source of labour. Employers' skill requirements, that are currently being met through training young people who are entering the labour force will, by necessity, need to be partially met through reskilling older workers.

Implications from the Australian-Korean experience

Although there are differences in the economic and enterprise structure and industry profiles of the Australian and Korean economies, both economies are currently facing changes of a similar nature, particularly in the growth of employment in the service sector and changes in the nature of work.

Therefore, the vocational education and training systems in both countries need to be responsive to economic change. Both countries need to give more attention to adult retraining and reskilling as the proportion of young people in the working age population declines.

1. Implications from the Korean experience

Outcomes from training provided by employers

Although the proportion of employers providing training to employees is comparable in Australia and in Korea, the types of training provided and outcomes for employees differs between the two countries. Korean employers are much more likely to provide training that will assist an employee to gain higher-level skills that enable them to gain a promotion. On the other hand, training undertaken by Australian employees are usually relevant to the tasks performed in the current job. Australia could do well by developing a training culture which encourages employer sponsorship of training in higher-level skills.

Encouragement of enterprise training - the employment insurance scheme

The Korean government introduced the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) in 1995. This scheme has had limited success in increasing the amount of training provided by small firms. Large firms have been the main beneficiaries of the training programs and not all firms that contribute to the fund actually provide training for their workers.

Nevertheless, the number of workers trained in 'advanced' courses has increased since the implementation of the new training policy under the EIS. Therefore, Australia could consider a training scheme such as the EIS as a means of encouraging firms to provide higher-level training for their employees. However, the Korean experience suggests that, to be successful, the scheme should include part-time and casual workers and older workers.

Lifelong learning

The results of the study indicated the value of high school completion and post-school qualifications for lifelong learning. In both Korea and Australia, people who are better educated were more likely to participate in training throughout life. Thus, the low rates of attrition from schooling before the completion of secondary school would suggest that Korean students are better prepared for operating in a lifelong learning environment than Australian students whose school attrition rates are higher.

2. Implications from the Australian experience

VET through lifelong learning

Over the last two decades, Australia has developed a VET system which is very broad in its coverage. Adult education is an integral part of the Australian VET system and barriers restricting access to adults retraining and reskilling have been removed.

Today, most VET participants are adults who are training or re-training for job-related purposes. One-quarter of all VET participants in Australia are over 40 years of age. In fact, a VET student/trainee is far more likely to be an adult who is already employed and upgrading his or her job skills, than a young person who is studying in VET to gain an entry-level vocational qualification.

Publicly funded training

The hallmark of the Australian system of VET over the past 30 years has been a policy by successive governments to establish and develop a comprehensive system of public TAFE colleges and institutes across the nation.

Australia's current VET system, involving a very diverse offering of VET training at different levels to such a high proportion of the total population, would simply not be possible without a strong system of public TAFE institutes and other public VET providers.

Flexible delivery and the modularisation of training delivery

The modularisation of VET programs involves breaking up longer courses into shorter programs (such as subjects) that are capable of assessment as each element or subject is completed. This has promoted the enrolment of a more diverse range of students in VET, particularly adults who are already employed. Modules have encouraged people to take shorter bouts of training to meet a particular skill acquisition need, without requiring them to immediately enroll in a full VET course leading to a qualification.

The Australian Qualification Framework

The AQF was designed to provide consistent recognition of the outcomes achieved from education and training across all sectors of senior secondary schooling and universities. The AQF system in the VET sector is designed around a set of competency standards that need to be achieved in different training programs, rather than qualifications being set according to the amount of time taken to undertake a course of study. Thus, different people will take different amounts of time to complete any given VET qualification.

Students who successfully complete the requirements of a recognised course or training package qualification with a registered training organisation are entitled to a certificate or diploma under the AQF. Status or credit for subjects or units of competency completed with another training provider, or through recognition of prior learning, should be taken into account when determining entitlement to a recognised qualification. In most instances the certificate is issued by the registered training organisation on application by the student.

The Korean government is trying to integrate workplace learning into the VET system through the amendment of the vocational qualification system. The Australian experience suggests that the reforms take place in the broader context of the VET systems in Korea.