The contribution of vocational education and training to Australia's skills base

The vocational education and training (VET) sector is not as well understood as the school and university sectors. People understand that it is about giving individuals skills for work and for meeting the skill requirements of business. But many fail to realise that it is very broad and goes far beyond the traditional trades. Indeed, change to management and commerce is the largest area of activity within VET.

The link between the VET sector and the labour market also needs to be considered; it is too easy to simplify the relationship between training and the workforce. For example, while most graduates of trade training work in the trades, this is the exception rather than the rule, since most VET graduates work in occupations other than the field in which they trained. This means that the bulk of VET, while vocational, is of a generic nature, with the skills being used in a wide range of occupations. In addition, we know that skills are also learned on the job. The looseness in the relationship between training and work can also be seen in the spread of qualifications held by people in a particular occupation and the changes in these patterns over time. The paper also points out that not all qualifications are valued equally by the labour market. For example, a certificate III/IV in architecture and building commands a considerable premium relative to other fields. Similarly, high-level qualifications are not valued in some occupations. A transport worker or a plant operator does not need a degree to get a job in their field.

The paper ends with some thoughts on the implications of the current downturn on training. We need to worry about possible skills shortages emerging when the economy moves into a recovery phase. However, this is more an issue for the trades than for most other occupations. A number of reasons can be offered here: trade employment is very cyclical; trade training takes a long time; and apprentices (mostly young men) are the main source of entry into trades. Other occupations are better placed because the link between training and the occupation is looser and the recruitment pool is much larger.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER