Indigenous staffing in vocational education and training: Policies, strategies and performance

Between the years 2001 and 2003 there was an overall decline in the number and proportion of Indigenous staff in the public vocational education and training (VET) system. The decline is contrary to the intentions of policies across the Australian VET sector, whereby an increase in Indigenous employment was required.

• If employment targets for Indigenous staffing in VET were set according to the proportion of Indigenous students in VET (whose participation rate in VET is generally high across states and territories), then substantially higher numbers of Indigenous employees would be needed than current targets indicate, especially by providers serving outer-regional, remote and very remote areas.

• At present, uncertainties about funding affect all aspects of the employment cycle for Indigenous employees, from position identification to succession planning, to the relations between VET providers and Indigenous communities.

• As previous studies have shown, data collection on Indigenous employment in VET is currently inadequate. In particular, the current data do not reflect critical differences in the proportions of Indigenous people in urban, inner- and outer-regional, remote and very remote areas. Strategic workforce planning for Indigenous staff at system and provider levels depends on the availability of such data.

• Competition between providers for qualified Indigenous staff is likely to become extremely intense in the coming years. VET employers will need to be more proactive and more effective in attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining Indigenous staff. This study identifies a range of models of effective practice in each of these areas. VET employers must adopt proactive approaches to the development of community networks to ensure identification of potential Indigenous staff, professional and career development for existing staff, and succession planning that will ensure the long-term sustainability of training in and for their communities.

This study was conducted as part of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Indigenous research program. This research program, in addition to informing interested people about Indigenous issues in vocational education and training (VET) more generally, also aimed to provide information to the Australian Indigenous Training Advisory Council, an advisory body to the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).

The focus of this study is Indigenous staff in VET, and responds to Objective 1 of the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategy for VET (ANTA 2000a): 'Increasing involvement of Indigenous people in decision-making about policy, planning, resources and delivery'. The associated 'blueprint' for implementation of the strategy (ANTA 2002b) highlights the need to increase the number of Indigenous staff in VET.

The study aimed to explore the extent and distribution of Indigenous staff in VET, their conditions of employment, retention, and a variety of features of their experience of employment in VET through the whole employment cycle, from position identification through to succession planning.

The study employed a multi-method approach, involving policy analysis, interviews with key informants (including representatives of employers of Indigenous staff in VET, as well as Indigenous staff themselves), case studies and a survey. The project builds on the research and findings conducted as part of the mid-term review of implementation of the national Indigenous strategy for VET, Partners in a learning culture (Kemmis et al. 2004) and makes use of contemporary data from all Australian states and territories. The variety of research methods employed allowed the researchers to compose a rich picture of the state of Indigenous employment in VET, although the sample for the survey was biased towards continuing, permanent Indigenous employees in government organisations undertaking administrative and policy work. Further research should be conducted to address this bias, but the experience of this study is that face-to-face interviewing, although resource-intensive, would be more effective in reaching such employees and would more adequately capture the complexity of the issues surrounding Indigenous employment in VET.

Key findings

Finding 1

The Australian Government and all states and territory governments are aiming through policy initiatives to increase the number and proportion of Indigenous staff in VET.

In spite of these policies there has been an overall decline in the number and proportion of Indigenous staff in VET. Over the last four years, following a period in which numbers increased, there was a decline in the number and proportion of Indigenous staff in VET. This has been the result of restructuring of some VET organisations, reductions in National Indigenous Education Literacy and Numeracy Strategy funding over the period, and a possible drift of Indigenous employees from government to non-government providers. The decline was most evident among public VET organisations, especially between 2002 and 2003. On the other hand, there has been a general increase in the number of Indigenous staff employed by non-government providers between 2000 and 2003.

Implication: Employing organisations need to act to reverse the decline in Indigenous staffing in VET and more actively implement policies that require an increase in the numbers of Indigenous staff in VET.

Finding 2

There is a strong argument for setting the proportion of Indigenous students in VET (as a proportion of all students) as the target for the proportion of Indigenous staff, rather than the proportion of Indigenous people in the Australian population, as is currently the case. This report reviews data on the age and gender structure of the Indigenous population and their geographic distribution, comparing population data with data about Indigenous students and VET staff in general. It concludes that the current target is well below the target necessary to meet the requirement for Indigenous teachers for Indigenous students. The target is also below that required for non-Indigenous students, a target justified according to principles of cultural diversity in the workforce. The qualified success story of increasing Indigenous student participation in VET needs to be supported by equivalent numbers of Indigenous staff who are able to meet the cultural and educational needs of these students.

Implication: Employing authorities need to consider progressively raising Indigenous employment targets to match the proportion of Indigenous students in VET, with the double aims of improving participation and retention of Indigenous students and developing the cultural sensitivity of non-Indigenous students and staff.

Finding 3

As a percentage of the overall population, Indigenous people are younger than their non-Indigenous counterparts and have significantly shorter lives. In statistical terms Indigenous people are likely to have fewer years in which to complete their studies, gain employment and experience, and perhaps move into a career in VET teaching.

Implication: Employing authorities need to focus on the recruitment and retention of younger Indigenous staff.

Finding 4

Indigenous staff in VET occupy a variety of positions as teachers, managers, administrators and support staff and are often involved in more than one of these roles. While a small number of Indigenous staff have been employed in VET for many years (15 years or more), about one-third have been in the same job for five years or more, and a sizeable majority (58.8%) have been in their positions for two years or less. Indigenous staff in VET are highly mobile, with a history of jobs both inside and outside the VET sector.

Implication: Employing authorities need to work towards creating employment conditions that reduce employment instability for Indigenous staff, especially in the early stages of employment; for example, by guaranteeing continuing funding for Indigenous positions.

Finding 5

Most current Indigenous staff in VET are satisfied with their present jobs. However, a number identified a range of problems in employment and employment conditions that need to be addressed if Indigenous staff are to be retained. Indigenous employees in VET report experiencing barriers to initial employment in the sector (for example, uncompetitive salary rates or difficulties about the kinds of qualifications or previous experience required for a particular position), as well as difficulties in gaining access to professional and career development regarded as appropriate to the position and opportunities for personal and professional advancement.

Implication: Employing authorities should adopt specific and appropriate principles for Indigenous recruitment, selection and retention. Some suggestions are made in this report.

Finding 6

Across Australia, policies and strategies urge strategic workforce planning and more culturally sensitive employment practices throughout the employment cycle. Nevertheless, Indigenous informants contacted in the course of this study reported experiences of culturally insensitive treatment in relation to most phases of the employment cycle. Respondents frequently commented that overt, covert and institutionalised racism affects the capacity of employers to attract and retain Indigenous staff. This racism is particularly obvious when the bond between work and community life is misunderstood. A lack of deep cultural understanding and taking a 'Western' perspective are other ways of describing the current situation.

Implication: Employing authorities need to establish and support strategies that welcome Indigenous ways of working. These include respecting culture, eliminating racism and supporting workplace practices that provide flexibility and cultural comfort for employees.

Finding 7

An Indigenous community development approach to employment practices is likely to be the most appropriate way to meet the concerns of Indigenous staff in VET. A strategic workforce planning approach will go some way to meeting their concerns, while a bureaucratic approach is least likely to address their concerns.

Implication: Employing authorities need to adopt the Indigenous community development approach to Indigenous staffing. Some suggestions about this approach are made in this report.

Finding 8

Many Indigenous-controlled VET providers, particularly those in rural and remote areas, have created pathways within their organisations to encourage the employment of more qualified Indigenous VET staff. The potential success of these pathways is often compromised by unstable and short-term funding that militates against long-term and systematic planning.

Improved monitoring is needed to achieve more strategically justified, systematic and culturally sensitive employment for Indigenous people in VET. Evaluations of employment strategies for increasing and retaining numbers of Indigenous staff in VET have identified many strategies to improve employment of and for Indigenous staff in VET. More widespread implementation of these strategies is needed.

Implication: VET employers need to monitor Indigenous employment and employment conditions to ensure that their employment practices are strategic and culturally sensitive.

Finding 9

Indigenous staff report that there are many opportunities to be involved in decision-making about Indigenous education, but not necessarily about Indigenous employment or employment conditions. Indigenous staff report that their employment conditions have a positive impact on the provision of VET, especially in relation to Indigenous people and communities, but concerns about employment, especially job security, reduce morale and commitment.

Implication: VET employers need to consult regularly with Indigenous employees about Indigenous employment and employment conditions to encourage higher levels of Indigenous participation and retention in the VET workforce.

Finding 10

Organisations and systems involved in VET across Australia need to participate in the collection of accurate, complete and comparable data about Indigenous employment. The Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs has agreed on a standard set of categories for reporting on staffing nationally, but most jurisdictions continue to maintain their existing and incompatible categories for data collection. The ministerial council proposals are only a first step towards reporting to inform strategic workforce planning. More detailed data on the employment status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff are needed to meet this objective.

Implication: All VET employers need to participate in collecting agreed, accurate, comprehensive and comparable data for monitoring Indigenous employment in the sector.

Finding 11

More secure funding than Commonwealth supplementary recurrent provisions is needed, particularly in some jurisdictions, if uncertainties about employment and employment conditions are to be overcome for Indigenous staff. There is also a need to implement Indigenous employment policies more vigorously in 'mainstream' VET—at the organisational and departmental levels, not just in Indigenous-controlled registered training organisations and Indigenous units in technical and further education (TAFE) institutes and colleges.

Implication: VET authorities and employers need to design their budgets to provide a secure funding base for Indigenous employment in VET and extend the proportion of Indigenous employment in 'mainstream' programs.