This exploratory piece of work aims to illustrate the potential of matching methods in vocational education and training (VET) research.
What would prompt people to undertake education and training in their mid-20s and beyond and what are the benefits? The authors investigate what motivates people to undertake education and training at more mature ages and the impact of this on their labour market outcomes. They found that males who undertake further education and training after the age of 25 years did so for reasons related to their current employment (for example, towards promotion or a different job), whereas for females a key motivator was simply getting a job. For both males and females, a sustained increase in job satisfaction following completion of the study was also found. Data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey and the Survey of Education and Training was used in this report.
The distinction between VET and higher education in Australia is blurring. The purpose of this paper is to examine – through the conduct of a case study of engineering qualifications (AQF6) delivered in Victoria – how education and training providers and students are likely to respond to different fees and funding arrangements under the student entitlement model.
Using data from the 2009 Student Outcomes Survey, this report looks at the pay-offs of completing of a vocational education and training (VET) qualification on a range of outcomes, and identifies the groups for whom completion is particularly important.
This report compares the outcomes for young people who complete certificate I or certificate II qualifications with the outcomes for similar individuals who are not participating in post-school education and training, using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth.
Lorraine Dearden talks in this podcast about work she has co-authored on widening participation in higher education in the United Kingdom (UK).
In recent decades Australian immigration policy has focused mostly on accepting high-skilled migrants. This report explores the question of whether participation in further training differs for these migrants compared with that of native-born workers in similar jobs. The research shows that foreign-born workers in Australia seem to receive the training they need, but this depends on whether or not they are native English speakers. Non-native English-speaking migrants demonstrate low training participation rates. They also have lower literacy skills and are less likely to be in employment.
This paper provides a conceptual basis for a three-year (2011–13) research program exploring the capacity of individuals and groups to make transitions through learning, training and work across locations. Three research projects will examine how regional or community factors and social capital affect those transitions. The three projects are: the influence of job conditions on geographic labour mobility; migrant women in regional Australia; and neighbourhood factors in the decision to participate in post-school education and training and the labour market. A synopsis of each project is given in this paper.
To provide insights into how young people may fare in the current economic downturn, this study examines the experience of youth in a previous downturn.
This paper aims to explain the extent to which variation in apprenticeship completion rates can be attributed to factors relating to 'culture' of the employer and apprentice.
This paper quantifies the impact of different dimensions of socioeconomic disadvantage on Year 12 completion.
This publication provides information on tertiary education and training in Australia, including statistics on participation, pathways and outcomes. The data in this publication are sourced from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection. The publication covers participation in Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) certificate I qualifications through to doctorates by research, as well as enrolments in a single vocational subject. Information is presented on students and equivalent full-time students.textFurther tables on pathways were added to the Excel data tables in March 2013.
This paper was a keynote address at the AVETRA conference held in Canberra in April 2012. Karmel notes that industry is arguably the key stakeholder in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector and discusses six areas of research which raise questions about VET and industry, either in terms of how public training funds are allocated or the educational principles on which VET is based.
Mental illness can be particularly disruptive to education and training outcomes. This report explores the factors that contribute to successful course completion for students with a mental illness, with a particular focus on the role of disclosure.
This paper aims to 'lift the lid' on completion rates, explaining how they are defined and how they are calculated.
This highly-popular annual publication provides a collection of summaries of research projects published by NCVER in 2011.
Language, literacy and numeracy are necessary for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Being able to measure the level of proficiency in these skills, and any changes in the level of skills, is important for getting a sense of how well language, literacy and numeracy programs are working. Two measurement tools used in Australia are the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) survey and the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). This paper outlines an NCVER study which will investigate whether it is possible to map the performance levels of the ALLS to the performance levels of the ACSF in order to gain more frequent information than is currently available about the literacy and numeracy progression of adult learners against national goals.
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.
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.