Responding to emerging skills demand can be achieved by improving perceptions of career options, skills development and stronger partnerships with providers.
A series of refereed papers presented at the 22nd National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills'.
This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Lifelong Learning for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development: Developing a Research Agenda for the Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, 12-13 January 2011. Tom Karmel suggests that there are four implications of an ageing population: the need to improve labour force participation and productivity; the ageing population will provide a 'demographic dividend' because there will be fewer young people to school; increasing life expectancy changes the arithmetic of the return to investments in human capital and makes investment in the middle-aged more attractive; and ageing populations in developed countries provide an opportunity for developing countries through the export of labour services.
Recent research in the vocational education and training (VET) sector shows that students are gaining a range of benefits from their studies, beyond expected course outcomes. Students are developing new networks, and gaining confidence and self esteem through the respect received from their teachers and classmates. For some students, these advantages help them to find work and interact more easily with those around them. The networks and trust developed by students can also be referred to as 'social capital'. While many students are gaining social capital outcomes incidentally, these outcomes can also be actively developed. This paper discusses the concept of social capital and examines the link between social capital and VET. The paper also outlines ways in which social capital can be developed through VET courses and partnerships. The research shows developing social capital can be particularly helpful for marginalised young people.
Recent trends in the provision of vocational education and training (VET) diplomas and advanced diplomas are outlined in this paper. The paper also looks at how people with diplomas and advanced diplomas are faring in the labour market. The picture is rather mixed, suggesting that those with diplomas and advanced diplomas fare, on average, better than those with other VET qualifications or no post-school qualifications.
The linkage between tertiary education and the labour market in Australia is examined in this paper presented, in 2004, to the Korea Research Institute of Vocational Education and Training at the 7th Anniversary International Seminar on Linkage between Higher Education and Labour Market.