This report analyses the qualifications people held in Australia using the ABS Survey of Qualifications and Work (2018-19).
This project explores if the international definitions of IVET and CVET are also suitable for the Australian VET system, including reviews of international literature and consultation with Australian VET experts.
The report presents an analysis of nationally recognised ‘training package’ skill sets, and shows how both skill sets numbers and reported enrolments have grown in recent years.
The main socio-demographic characteristics associated with being persistently not employed, in education or training (NEET) are early school leaving and having children.
Key types of ROI for individuals arising from TVET include employment and productivity (i.e. higher wages) as well as highly valued job-related returns.
This paper examines the key trends in VET participation during the period 1996 to 2014. It also looks at key policy developments and the prevailing economic conditions during this period.
The quality and rigour of assessments in VET have been key concerns for VET policy-makers, which questions the credibility of VET qualifications.
Manufacturing and retail industries tend to dominate in more economically vulnerable regions while it's the reverse for mining and construction.
In this report the authors examine how skills development in domestic plumbing occupations has responded to an increased emphasis on environmental sustainability and 'greening'. They find that rather than sustainability and greening requiring major changes in thinking, plumbing skills need to be responsive to changing technology and more generic skills such as dealing with customers are required. How and at what stage to best impart these skills is a challenge for plumbing and the vocational education and training sector.
The main impetus for the interest in innovation is that it is seen to improve productivity at the firm level and therefore improved economic prosperity and living standards. This edited volume was commissioned by the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations. The authors contribute a variety of views on innovation from different perspectives. Some of the main themes running throughout the book are reasons for firms innovating, the skills required for innovation and how innovation and skills development is supported by the training system, the firm and government. Innovation is seen as moving beyond research and development, to include new products, services and operational/organisational processes.
This paper was originally developed to help the Training and Skills Commission in South Australia consider the pathways between elements of the vocational education and training (VET) system, how they are working and what improvements can be made. It has been revised to make it national in scope. The authors reveal that quite substantial numbers of VET graduates go on to university level study or further study within VET itself. Significant numbers of university graduates also go on to study in VET. However, not all VET graduates choose to study at a higher level; a substantial proportion of students going on to further study do so at the same or lower level. This suggests that entitlement models need to consider horizontal (skills broadening) as well as vertical (only qualifications at a higher level) in their funding mix.
Governments are interested in the relative efficiency of institutions, and in addition, information on efficiency can be used by individual institutions to benchmark themselves against their peers. The main factor that was found to affect efficiency, as defined in this paper, was degree of remoteness. Further, institute size is an important factor, with smaller institutes tending to be less efficient. This paper employs a mathematical technique known as Data Envelopment Analysis to examine the efficiency of TAFE institutes.
In mid-2010 NCVER undertook a review of its building researcher capacity initiative in order to inform its direction into the future. The review found that the initiative had achieved a high profile among vocational education and training (VET) practitioners. The scholarship programs had heightened awareness about the role research can play in fostering good practice and a culture of evaluation. The review found, however, that more work needs to be done to find the best ways to encourage new VET researchers within universities.
This study examines where and how NCVER's research has influenced vocational education and training (VET) policy and practice.
This paper is a review of literature on employer engagement with vocational education and training (VET). The main conclusion is that the major form of engagement is through the competency-based training system, which is manifested through training packages. Another way employers are encouraged to engage with VET is through competition amongst training providers. This provides employers with greater responsiveness and choice.
The relationship between education, including vocational education and training (VET), and measures of health and wellbeing is explored in this report. Previous research in the area indicates that the relationship is also influenced by intermediary variables such as income. This report uses the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) data to examine the relationship between education and physical and mental health, and interviews with practitioners.
Where do higher-level VET qualifications lead? This study investigates whether they lead to employment at associate professional or higher occupations, or whether they are a pathway to university studies. Findings indicate that there are good employment outcomes for some graduates, although often at below associate professional level. The study also found that these qualifications are a significant pathway to university studies for young graduates.
This study investigates where certificate I and II qualifications lead people aged 25 and over. The main aims of these qualifications are to provide vocational outcomes, generally at lower skill levels, as pathways to further study and/or jobs requiring supervision. Findings indicate that, while the qualifications were not particularly useful in terms of gaining employment, there were some modest career advancement benefits. It was projected that low proportions of people aged 25 and over will complete these courses. Notably, further study pathways were not among the outcomes of these courses.
This study investigates where certificate I and II qualifications lead young people aged 15-24 years in terms of employment and further study. A prime motivation for young people undertaking these qualifications is to facilitate transition into the labour market. These qualifications are aimed at developing basic vocational skills or preparatory access skills. The findings indicate that certificates I and II graduates experienced reasonable employment outcomes in the 15 to 19-year-old group. However, overall, vocational and further study outcomes from certificates I and II qualifications among young people could only be described as fair. The study finds quite low rates of completing courses at certificate I and II level among young people.
The objective of this project was to examine existing literature and national data to identify key factors in achieving quality outcomes from shorter duration apprenticeships and traineeships. It was found that apprentices and trainees undertaking programs of two years or less have a higher rate of non-completion than those doing longer training and this non-completion is the key issue related to the quality of outcomes. The study identifies four key factors affecting completion rates. Of these, the actions of stakeholders have greatest impact. Awareness of roles and responsibilities emerges as an issue for attention.