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This paper was prepared for the Australian Government's National Resources Sector Employment… Show more

This paper was prepared for the Australian Government's National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce, which was created to investigate the extent to which skill shortages might impact on the development of the resources sector. It applies historical apprenticeship commencement rates to population projections to provide an estimate of the number of tradespeople likely to be working in the Show less

Governments are interested in the relative efficiency of institutions, and in addition, information … Show more

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 Show less

Making use of the NCVER Apprentice and Trainee Destination Survey, this paper focus on wages and… Show more

Making use of the NCVER Apprentice and Trainee Destination Survey, this paper focus on wages and the impact they have on the decision not to continue with an apprenticeship or traineeship. The broad conclusion is that increasing training wages would have little effect on completion rates. For apprentices, it is the premium associated with becoming a tradesperson that counts, not training wages. Show less

One of the distinctive characteristics of the VET sector is that many students wish to learn… Show more

One of the distinctive characteristics of the VET sector is that many students wish to learn specific skills and have no intention of completing a full qualification. This paper estimates the completion rate of VET course enrolments with a mathematical modelling approach in order to fill a gap in performance measures for the sector. Show less

Using a 'life tables' approach for recently commencing apprentices and trainees, this technical… Show more

Using a 'life tables' approach for recently commencing apprentices and trainees, this technical paper provides information on the methodology used to estimate completion and attrition rates . Show less

This paper was presented at the 2009 Economic and Social Outlook Conference, 5-6 November at the… Show more

This paper was presented at the 2009 Economic and Social Outlook Conference, 5-6 November at the University of Melbourne. It takes a sceptical view of the push for 'green skills', arguing that skills required in the labour market evolve relatively slowly, and that the way business operates is driven by changing costs, new technologies and new regulations, with sustainability being only one of Show less

The NCVER Apprentice and Destination Survey collected, among other things, data on reasons for not… Show more

The NCVER Apprentice and Destination Survey collected, among other things, data on reasons for not completing an apprenticeship or traineeship. This paper finds that poor working conditions or non-sympathetic bosses or workmates have an immediate effect for many. By contrast, the desire to do something different (such as study at university) or better (such as getting a better paid job) remains Show less

The traineeship model is currently targeted at a broader group of people compared with the original … Show more

The traineeship model is currently targeted at a broader group of people compared with the original target group of young unemployed persons as envisaged by the Kirby Enquiry. This report aims to assess the effectiveness of the model for young people, particularly young early school leavers. The findings suggest that traineeships are an important pathway for female early school leavers. However, Show less