Reforming both qualifications and employment could build better links between education and work to help provide a more coherent approach to vocational development.
This report identifies two preconditions for vocational streams as well as describes scenarios of how these preconditions play out in industry.
This discussion paper introduces the overarching concepts for the three-year research program, 'Vocations: the link between post compulsory education and the labour market'. The paper also outlines the key findings from the initial investigations of each of the related research strands in the program. Overall, initial research has found that, due to the fragmentation of pathways within education and within the labour market, the relationship of pathways between education and the labour market are also fragmented. In order to understand this more clearly, the authors explore the concepts of transition systems, skill ecosystems and capabilities. A number of dilemmas for further research are also put forward.
Focusing on four vocational streams – financial services, primary industry, healthcare/community services and trades/engineering – this paper is an initial exploration of pathways into the labour market and how people actually use these pathways.
Group training organisations act as intermediaries between enterprises and apprentices and trainees to facilitate on- and off-the-job training. This report examines the role of the group training organisations (GTOs) in Australia's labour market. The authors find that GTOs, at their best, help promote sustainable work-based learning solutions by sharing the risks associated with employment and gaining new skills. However, the authors argue that changes in policy since the early 1990s are likely to undermine the provision of quality group training services. Instead, they state the best features of the group training model, such as operating on a not-for-profit basis, should underpin future reforms to all GTOs.
How does the industry training market actually operate in contemporary Australia and how well does the training market meet the needs of employers grappling with the challenges of globalisation?