In this phone interview, Roger Harris and Michele Simons talk about how leaders in private providers juggle the educational and business imperatives of their organisation.
How do leaders in private providers juggle the educational and business imperatives of their organisation? Through interviews with senior leaders and managers, as well as employees from several enterprise, industry and commercial registered training organisations, this report examines this overarching question.
In light of recent developments in educational policy and the positioning of vocational education and training (VET) across the European Union, it was timely to explore these new directions and the lessons for Australian VET.
The findings of a study examining organisational culture and structure in ten public, private, community and enterprise-based Australian registered training organisations is presented in this report. It identifies the ways in which organisational cultures and structures shape what is possible within registered training organisations and how to manage change to build organisational capability.
Mp3 of interview conducted by Steve Davis with Roger Harris and Berwyn Clayton about their report 'Supporting vocational education and training providers in building capability for the future'.
Patterns of pathways between and within vocational education and training (VET) and higher education are examined in this study. It compares the notion of straightforward pathways with what is actually happening. The researchers interviewed 49 students in South Australia who had participated in VET and/or higher education and who had been through more than one transition between VET and higher education. The study concludes that pathways, while not necessarily seamless, and (as the title indicates) are often not straightforward, do work for the students interviewed.
This study examines the nature of the training activity of private registered training organisations (RTOs) offered to Australian students in 2003, based on data from a national sample of 330 RTOs. The study also provides estimates of the private sector's overall contribution to the total vocational education and training (VET) effort in Australia for that year. Private providers are diverse and cover a wide variety of types. Generally they are small organisations offering a wide range of programs; both accredited and non-accredited. While there are some issues relating to data quality, it is clear they make a substantial contribution to the overall Australian VET effort. It is estimated that, in 2003, private RTOs had about 2.2 million students, which compares with 1.7 million students in the publicly funded sector in that year. However, comparisons with the public VET sector are problematic because there are no estimates available of the training hours delivered by private RTOs.
Increasingly, vocational education and training (VET) practitioners work with industry and within private enterprises in arrangements that provide training for workers. This report, based on interviews with TAFE practitioners and managers, enterprise managers and on-the-job learners, highlights the expanding roles of TAFE practitioners in these training arrangements. It finds that in private enterprises TAFE practitioners introduce new elements to learning, provide support to managers and workers, build links between the organisation and TAFE and raise training standards. They also foster a learning culture, support individual workers, and act as a model of lifelong learning. The impact of TAFE practitioners' work is also analysed from the perspective of the enterprises, and findings indicate that it is valued by industry counterparts. However, the success of the training arrangement, which can significantly improve learning in the workplace, depends on establishing effective relationships between TAFE and industry.
Movement in Australia's tertiary sector - between and within higher education and vocational education and training - is a key feature of Australia's post-compulsory education system. This report investigates the extent and nature of student traffic between the two sectors, nationally and in South Australia from 1997 to 2002. Movement from university to VET was dominated by women and mature-aged students studying part-time, and the move occurred some time after completing university. Often they chose to study in a different field of education to improve their prospects in their current career. On the other hand, VET to university students tended to be younger and studying full-time, and the move to higher education tended to occur soon after completing VET. Usually they chose to study in the same or a similar field of study to retrain for a different career.
Reforms to Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector have had a significant impact on practitioners' work in public and private providers. This study analyses practitioners' perceptions of, and reactions to, the changes. The scope of these changes has been substantial and has required shifts to practitioners' habits, norms, skills and knowledge. While the greatest changes have been increased work responsibilities and shifts in relations with industry in particular, a key theme is the varied impact the changes have on VET organisations and practitioners.
Training packages are a key reform of the vocational education and training (VET) system. This report describes how the implementation of training packages has led to new, flexible approaches to training and assessment at six case study sites. It also shows this implementation has affected the role of registered training organisations, industry bodies, and enterprises. While most of these changes were positive, the case studies also revealed challenges experienced when these new approaches were implemented.
This is a report of research undertaken to investigate the current linkages between schools and small enterprises. In particular it examines the literature on structured workplace learning (SWL), identifies the issues and concerns common to the schools and enterprises that took part in the study and develops a model framework for SWL.
This study explored retention in apprenticeships and traineeships and factors that influence this process. The study is based on interviews with over 400 apprentices and trainees as well as with teachers, trainers and workplace supervisors. The study identifies a range of personal, industry, labour market, workplace and training factors that contribute to the likelihood of an apprentice or trainee completing their training. The study concludes with the view that retention is the collective responsibility of all parties involved - the individual, the employer and the provider of training.
This report summarises the views of Australian apprentices and trainees on their learning and assessment experiences in on- and off-the-job settings. It also examines through some 20 case studies the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches to learning and assessment that are being used today.
This report is a review of the literature, available research and current Australian practice on work placements. Its purpose is to draw together findings on work placements from three educational sectors in order to inform policy and practice in the VET sector.