This report investigates attrition in the trades by comparing the rate at which tradespeople leave their occupation with that of professionals. It also determines whether attrition is influenced by economic conditions, and if a trade can provide a good start to a career in the professions. The report concludes that attrition in the trades is no higher than in the professions; the rate of leaving particular occupations may vary, but overall the results between the two are very similar. The economic climate also makes little difference to the attrition rate.
This overview provides a discussion about the report ‘Attrition in the trades’, and concludes that the problem of attrition in the trades is more one of perception than reality. A comparison between trade and professional workers revealed that trade workers are not more likely to leave their occupation than their professional counterparts.
One of the significant challenges facing Australia is the ageing of the population. This challenge has led policy-makers to consider how older workers can be kept in the workforce. To help generate discussion on older workers, NCVER commissioned six researchers to draft essays on various issues around keeping older Australians engaged with the workforce. These essays, and responses by six additional discussants, were presented at a roundtable held in Canberra in May 2011. Themes to arise from the roundtable included the need to consider the diversity of older workers, the challenges of low literacy and numeracy skills for some older workers, discrimination and stereotypes, and the recognition that not all older workers want to keep working.
The corrective services industry has a strong history of, and commitment to, the provision of learning and development to its staff. Many Australian correctional jurisdictions are now implementing e-learning tools for this purpose. This research identifies a number of barriers and enablers which impact on the success of e-learning within corrections centres. Barriers can include attitudes and skills of the learner as well as issues associated with computer access and the security of personal information entered into e-learning programs, while enablers include cost-effectiveness and flexibility. The research was funded through NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiative and was undertaken by a novice researcher in the Community of Practice Scholarship program.
Pre-vocational programs, including VET in Schools, are increasingly providing a pathway into traineeships in the same way that pre-apprenticeships are an established route into apprenticeships in the traditional trades. This report uses data from the 2010 Apprentice and Trainee Destination Survey and finds that the benefits of pre-vocational programs are mostly apparent for early school leavers (especially those who leave school after Year 11) and trainees in sales, clerical and administrative, and labouring occupations.
What makes for a good approach to leadership development in vocational education and training (VET)? This paper evaluates the existing leadership development program at the Canberra Institute of Technology. Participants in the program felt that it was useful and that they could articulate what the institute wanted its leaders to do, but did not identify themselves as responsible for this. The author suggests that there is a need for clearer articulation of the roles and expectations of leaders. This paper was developed by a novice researcher in the community of practice program and was funded as part of NCVER's building researcher capacity initiative.
This report investigates skill matches to job requirements for workers in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. It might be expected that differences between the four countries in economic growth, technological innovation and structural change in the labour market may have led to differences in job skill requirements and use. This research finds, however, that the broad match of workers to jobs that use their skills is quite similar for the four countries, although some differences in the patterns of skill use over time were identified. This is one of the research reports resulting from a three-year program of research ( ).
In June 2011, NCVER ran a forum ‘Is VET worthwhile?’, to bring together the suite of research from four programs of work conducted over three years (2008–2010) by the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia; the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research at the University of Melbourne; the Social Policy Evaluation, Analysis and Research Centre at the Australian National University; and the Workplace Research Centre at the University of Sydney. This paper draws on the themes that emerged from the research and the forum discussion. It finds that whether VET is worthwhile for the wide variety of people who access it – students, workers or employers – depends on who you are and why you use it.
This publication presents information about students’ intentions to complete a vocational education and training (VET) course.
Moving from adolescence to adulthood can be a time of flux for young people as they try out different school, and post-school work and study choices. This research synthesis highlights what helps young people make this transition a success and what might work against them.
This briefing paper draws on two prominent social capital frameworks to investigate how the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) can be used to investigate social capital and youth transitions. It also explores the impact of social capital on the educational and social outcomes of young people by looking at international studies as well as related research that makes use of LSAY data.
This final report from a three-year research program puts the focus on the ability of VET to respond to workforce development challenges, particularly in industries characterised as low-skill entry points to the labour market. The key findings highlight the lack of incentive for workers in the meat processing and childcare sectors to train beyond mandatory levels due to casualised working arrangements and little reward for upgrading qualifications. To improve workforce development, using the concept of a vocation implies the capacity to move literally between different skill clusters potentially removing some of the stigma attached to hierarchical structures.
One of the challenges policy-makers face is the lack of systemic analysis around the concept of labour mobility, especially in relation to how mobility is changing and what can be done to improve it. Case studies of the mining, meat processing and early childhood care occupations and analysis of data from the longitudinal survey Australia at work have been undertaken to explore key issues and implications for advancing the labour mobility research field.
Research in the social sciences is routinely affected by missing data. Not addressing missing data appropriately may yield research findings that are either 'slightly off' or 'plain wrong'. This study demonstrates why and how frequently used simple remedies for missing data can impact on research results. The authors provide the target audience (i.e. producers and consumers of social science research) with a step-by-step guide on how to implement multiple imputation, which is the standard method for dealing with missing data. They encourage researchers to carefully consider the potential impact of incomplete information and to use modern missing data methods whenever possible in their own work.
Achieving the transition to adulthood is not straightforward. This briefing paper defines a successful youth transition based on previous research and considers a range of factors that affect transitions. A number of interventions which can help young people make a successful youth transition are also discussed.
Innovation is seen as a way of increasing productivity in firms and also increasing prosperity for the nation. This examines what is meant by innovation, the relationship between innovation and productivity, and the types of skills that are relevant to innovation. It also discusses the implications of innovation for the training system, government and enterprises.
Helping people with disability participate in the labour market is one way to enhance their economic and social well-being. However, low levels of education among people with disability generally can hinder their participation. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this study looks at the role of vocational education and training (VET) qualifications not just in labour market outcomes for people with disability but in improving their working conditions. Whether post-school qualifications lessen the impact of disability onset is also examined. Completing a VET qualification is found to improve the rates of full-time employment in the longer term for those previously out of work or working part-time. With this comes greater financial independence.
Looking at apprentice and trainee data and employment data back to 1995, we find that declines in apprentice commencements lead declines in total trades employment by four quarters, whereas declines in trainee commencements appear to lag declines in employment in non-trade occupations. Based on this historical relationship, the reduction in apprentice and trainee numbers suggested a much larger decline in employment than eventuated. The low proportion of redundant apprentices who were able to resume training is concerning. However, because apprentice and trainee commencements rebounded so quickly, we anticipate only a minor interruption to the supply of tradespeople.
This paper investigates what might be the vocational equivalent to completing senior secondary school. Three dimensions are considered: volume of learning, educational complexity and labour market, and other outcomes at age 25 (the last based on the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth). The report finds that no vocational pathway can be considered to be equivalent to Year 12 in a literal sense; vocational pathways form an alternative to Year 12 but are not equivalent.
Ensuring all Australians have equal access to education has been a key driver of state and federal governments since the late 1980s. 'Lifting' skills of individuals through education, training and employment is an integral focus of public policies to redress disadvantage and improve social inclusion. Using Australian and international research, this At a glance explores how vocational education and training system responds to and fosters the social inclusion policy agenda.