This is an overview of the report by the same name which looks at how competency-based training has helped to achieve the goal of an adaptable and flexible workforce.
This review of research provides an overview of the literature on the way in which work is changing and the effects such changes have on the VET sector. The nature of the changes is described, including the decrease in full-time permanent work, the move towards increasing part-time and casual work and employment shifts across industries. If VET programs are to be judged successful they need to address the needs of multiple clients simultaneously, and be tolerant of diversity while balancing the tensions between national and/or State policy frameworks and more localised needs. Regional frameworks to connect VET with local and community development networks are particularly important.
This consolidation study synthesises recent research and evaluation literature on generic skills, with a particular focus on the conceptualisation and piloting of the Mayer key competencies in Australia between 1993 and early 1998.
This publication is made up of 17 case studies exploring the relationships between research and development and decision-making in vocational education and training.
This report presents a review and analysis of research on the internationalisation of vocational education and training and provides an assessment of other research that needs to be conducted in this area.
This project investigates the learning support needs of post-secondary students with a psychiatric disability with a view to maximising student retention rates.
This book addresses the issue of whether or not skills learnt in one context are able to transfer successfully to other contexts. The findings showed that being able to perform a skill successfully in one context is not a guarantee of being able to perform the same skill in a different context. However, higher levels of proficiency in the first task increased the likelihood of higher levels of proficiency in the second task. Comparisons are made for males and females and for students of different ability groupings.
The review has examined the available literature related to the access, participation and outcomes for people with disabilities. It explores the range of barriers to access as well as describing some innovative models and their associated success factors. People with disabilities continue to be under-represented in the sector. Nevertheless, the provision of adequate support for individual participants is a key factor in ensuring good educational outcomes and maintaining their levels of participation.
This study reviews both international and Australian literature on provision of vocational education in adult and juvenile correctional institutions. The international research includes some studies that found that vocational education and literacy/numeracy education have led to reduced recidivism. The Australian literature, which is small scale at this stage, indicates that VET improves access to employment but the studies do not identify in what way VET assists as there are many variables which affect why prisoners participate in programs.
In the extensive literature search investigating the position of women in management and leadership in the workforce, there is consistent evidence of the way structures, practices, beliefs, values and attitudes continue to account for the problem of gender equity in the workforce. Much of the literature to date has, therefore, documented the considerable barriers to women's success in workplace cultures and environments. The emphasis in this study is on identifying the factors that currently shape the career success of women in process manufacturing.
This study compared costs of delivering workplace and TAFE-based courses in three industries - retail, hospitality and automotive. The data that were gathered provide an insight into the comparative costs of training and how they are distributed across governments, employers and trainees.
This report provides a picture of adult and community education (ACE) provision of VET programs in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia and in so doing provides a broadly based picture of the ACE sector as a whole. The report provides evidence of the capacity of the ACE sector to effectively address learner needs and to help learners link together learning. It also notes that while ACE provides considerable benefits to disadvantaged groups, many people with substantial prior educational background also choose to make use of ACE.
This project indentifies the types of Adult and Community Education (ACE) programs, provision and approaches that are most effective in meeting small business training needs in New South Wales.
This publication reports on a research project which set out to analyse recent research and policy documents on indigenous peoples' development needs and aspirations, and was aimed at assessing the extent to which current developments in vocational education and training research and policy were sufficiently informed by this separate but related body of literature. The report argues that current policy settings and research on the educational needs of indigenous Australians have been overly influenced by human capital theory and economic rationalist policy.
This title brings together what is known about workplace learning, examines it critically and proposes directions for future developments in both research and practice. The authors seek to provide frameworks for considering issues and new ways of representing the complexities of the field in an accessible form.
How do we balance the differing demands on vocational education and training to improve the national economy at the same time as assisting individuals in their need for workskills? These collected papers are from the 1997 conference 'Different drums, one beat?', which discussed the economic and social goals in Australian education and training. Twenty-six researchers, sociologists and VET economists explore alternative directions for the VET sector. The conference and the publication were jointly produced by the Centre for the Economics of Education and Training and NCVER.
Provides a detailed insight into workplace competency profiles. In particular, what they are likely to be used for; who they should target; what they should consist of; benefits gained from their use; and what problems might be encountered in implementing them.
This study of higher education graduates undertaking South Australian TAFE courses was conducted to identify the reasons why higher education graduates undertake TAFE courses after graduating from a higher education course and how appropriate they found the TAFE course to their needs. The appropriateness of teaching styles and curriculum design are also investigated.
This study is an examination of both on and off-the-job sites as learning environments. The report analyses the relative contributions of the workplace and VET providers to the learning of apprentices and explores how these environments might best complement each other. It also identifies factors which determine whether or not integrated models of learning are supported.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy was adopted almost a decade ago. This publication reviews and addresses how the policy came about and, more importantly, what it has achieved since its inception.