Susan Dawe, Senior Research Fellow, NCVER, presented this paper at the AVETRA 2004 7th Annual Conference, 17 - 19 March 2004. It reports the findings of a study which examined why some students, who complete vocational preparation, disability and Aboriginal education programs, re-enrol in these 'enabling' courses or at the same qualification level in following years. It found that the small number of students who re-enrol in these courses progress on to a more advanced level of study or explore a different vocational area. Further, they gain additional skills and maintain self-esteem. The report 'Moving on from enabling courses: Why do some students remain in enabling courses?' (Dawe, 2004) is available from NCVER's website.
This paper was presented to the Australasian Evaluation Society International Conference, in Auckland, New Zealand, on 18 September 2003. It highlights the success of the National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation (NVETRE) program in contributing to policy and planning in Australia.