The authors of this paper explore whether low socioeconomic status (SES) students benefit to a greater or lesser extent from attending high-quality schools when compared with their more advantaged peers.
This study goes beyond looking at how the financial return to training varies with qualification level and investigates the relationship between literacy skills and the incomes of workers in the Australian labour market and whether this varies with level of education.
Types of job mobility (changing industry sector, changing occupation, and changing sector and occupation) and the outcomes ensuing for those who have just completed a VET course in Australia over the years 2001–11 are examined in this report using NCVER Student Outcomes Survey data. To determine whether job quality improves with mobility, the research compares several measures before and after completing a VET course, focusing on the association between mobility and better pay, better occupational status, a higher chance of full-time employment, and a lower chance of casual employment. The results show that occupational mobility that also preserves sector-specific knowledge is associated with the best labour market outcomes.
The authors investigate the 'enablers' that support building and construction students moving from diplomas into construction management and related bachelor degrees. The research considers the broader rationale for strengthening educational pathways, particularly from the perspectives of the students who have already made the transition from vocational education and training (VET) to higher education. Consistent with other research, this study confirms that committed VET teachers and staff, opportunities for students to build confidence, and collaboration between VET and higher education providers enables the navigation of a successful pathway.
Results from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have been used to suggest there is a crisis in the literacy and numeracy skills of Australian adults. This study challenges this current view by looking at the issue from a worker's perspective.
Literacy and numeracy skills are critical in the workplace and yet little is known in Australia about the extent of numeracy training required within a workplace. This study begins to redress this by investigating the qualifications, experience, and numeracy skills of language, literacy and numeracy specialists and vocational specialists—referred to collectively in this study as vocational education and training (VET) practitioners—working in the process manufacturing industry. A degree of mismatch is found between the skill required to address numeracy needs in the process manufacturing industries and the current capacity of VET practitioners in terms of their understanding of numeracy requirements, their qualifications, skills and experience.
This report explores some of the key issues associated with the assessment in VET and reflects on some possible solutions.
In this eclectic collection of papers, 13 essayists and four high-profile discussants consider the complexity of the tertiary education system and its underlying structures.
This report explores the issues of industry currency and professional obsolescence - or the competence of an individual to perform their job - from the viewpoints of those working in the trades and the professions, with the aim to examine their suitability for VET.
This paper was written to encourage policy-makers to think about how to measure socioeconomic status (SES). It also provides some data on socioeconomic status and tertiary education participation and speculates about the likely impact of an expansion in higher education on those from a low socioeconomic background.
This report investigates whether undertaking work-related training helps those who are casually employed move into permanent or fixed-term work, and whether such training has an impact on the level of satisfaction casually employed people have with their jobs, employment opportunities and life in general.
For the first time in the history of 'No Frills', presenters were invited to submit papers for peer review, and these have been compiled into this publication.
This research reports on the effects of Youth Allowance using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY).
This report uses Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data to look at the impact of schools on a student’s tertiary entrance rank (TER) and the probability of them going to university (controlling for TER).
This report looks at the pathways Indigenous students in the Northern Territory take between VET and higher education.
Based on a three-year program of research, this report explores the barriers and facilitators of course completion reported by students with a disability who have completed an apprenticeship or traineeship.
This report uses Boyer’s four forms of scholarship – delivery, integration, application and teaching – to explore how scholarship is implemented across the different tertiary education sectors.
This research shows that older Australians use computers and the internet less than younger Australians. Therefore, in the short term, information and services aimed at older Australians will need to be provided in additional ways.
This study provides new evidence on the inter-relationships between Indigenous Australians' association with their traditional culture and their engagement with vocational education and training.
This report explores the two tools used for assessing literacy and numeracy proficiency, the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALLS) survey and Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF), and finds that, while it is broadly possible to translate the five ACSF performance levels to the ALLS scales, there is not an exact match between the two, especially at the higher levels.