This study provides a comprehensive picture of the way in which employers navigate the Australian training system and establish partnerships with registered training organisations. It provides insight into how practices have evolved over the last 20 years.
This research examines the 'psychological contract' or the unwritten expectations of employers and employees in an employment relationship. The particular aim of this study was to discover whether mismatched expectations have any effect on retention in apprenticeships and traineeships. Overall, there was a very high level of agreement on the obligations of the two major parties and so mismatched expectations turn out not to be the explanation for high attrition rates. But paying greater attention to the areas perceived as deficient, such as employers providing specific time for training, fair treatment and resources to do the job, may be a means of improving retention.
In this 30 minute podcast, Steve Davis talks with Tom Karmel, Erica Smith and Damian Oliver on insights from research into apprenticeships.textInterested in the story behind the numbers, Tom discusses the findings from his work on individual completion rates that show occupation and employers' size matters, with the implication being that the relationship between employer and apprentice is critical. Erica talks about the all too often unspoken expectations of apprentices and employers—the psychological contract. She finds that writing down these expectations at the start of an apprenticeship does help all parties. Damian examines whether pre-apprenticeship programs deliver on their promise of improved retention rates and finds their impact varies by occupation and prior education level. Implications for policy-makers and training providers are drawn out throughout the podcast.
This good practice guide is based on research that set out to identify the features of high-quality traineeships and those factors that either facilitate or inhibit their quality. To assist providers and employers offering traineeships, the guide sets out the features of good traineeships, starting from the recruitment phase through to completion.
This study explores the common features of high-quality traineeships using case studies from the cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance, and meat processing areas.
This report looks at whether pre-apprenticeships increase the potential supply of tradespeople, with a special focus on electrotechnology, automotive and engineering students. It found that pre-apprenticeships have been used in Australia for many years and are widely regarded as a valuable strategy for increasing the supply and quality of potential apprentices. Pre-apprenticeships are favoured by employers because they weed out unsuitable candidates and improve retention, while apprentices see them as a useful way of gaining experience in the trade.
This report explores how learners, and the process of learning, were presented within a sample of courses that led to Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training. This course was highly regarded by the graduates surveyed and found to offer a sound basis about vocational education and training (VET) teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the study suggests that approaches to learning that are promoted need to draw more extensively on processes which empower learners rather than seeing them as individuals with 'deficits' to be addressed. Ongoing debate and critical reflection among VET practitioners, as well as practitioner-led systematic inquiry into teaching and learning, are needed to promote the development of workplace-centred and attribute-focused learning in VET. This will be valuable as the new Training and Assessment Training Package qualifications are introduced.
How experiences with the workplace while at school affect young people after leaving school is the subject of this report. The experiences include those gained through work experience, school-based New Apprenticeships, part-time work and vocational placements in VET in Schools programs. Specific areas explored include the views of young people on the value of the various workplace experiences; for example, in relation to their staying at school and their post-school-to-work plans and pathways.
This report aims to provide a clearer understanding of how and why enterprises use nationally recognised type of training. It finds that an enterprise's decision to engage in recognised training is not made lightly and decisions are made afresh each time a new training need arises. Successfully embedding training in enterprises involves a three-phase process - engagement, extension and integration. In most cases, it is dependent on: positive initial engagement; extension of training through a 'VET evangelist' who 'sells' the benefits of recognised training and persuades management; and, integration of competency standards associated with recognised training into many human resource processes. The availability of funding strongly influences whether enterprises use recognised training. However, one of the key reasons why more enterprises have not taken up this training is lack of awareness.
This report focusses on employability skills that young people entering work for the first time, or novice workers, need. It examines the nature of the skills that employers seek when recruiting young people and the processes and techniques which can be used in the workplace to develop these skills. The report synthesises the findings of a comprehensive literature review and 12 case studies.
What motivates school students to undertake school-based new apprenticeships and how satisfied are they with the outcomes? The students themselves answer these questions in this report on the findings of a survey of school-based new apprentices in three Australian states. Questions cover the students' appreciation of the quality of learning and training they received, the effectiveness of work experience, how it influenced their career decisions, the effects on their studies at school and the students' views on workplace learning in a variety of industries.
This study of school students in workplaces looks at their perceptions of what they learned, why and how. It also examines the application of learning from school in the workplace and vice versa. An extension of the report by Smith and Green, "School students' learning from their paid and unpaid work".
This project examines different ways in which young people still at school experience workplaces through paid work, vocational placements and work experience. The study is based on a survey of students in Years 10, 11 and 12 in 13 schools in NSW and SA. In fact, 1451 responses were received. In addition, case studies were carried out in five schools.
This report analyses the changing parameters of staff development that are emerging from the changing environment of VET in Australia. It illuminates the changed structure of the VET workforce and the differentiation of the roles of practitioners across different types of registered training organisations and it identifies the implications of such changes for the future design of staff development.
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.
This report examines the effect of competency-based instructional techniques on VET teachers and trainers both at national level and at specific sites. The report contains a comprehensive literature review of concepts and models of staff and professional development. It comprehensively reviews actual and desired forms of staff development in relation to CBT and develops a model of effective staff development practice.