Increasing competition in the vocational education and training sector over the last two decades means it is timely to understand how the market structure has changed.
This report documents the implementation of the national student training entitlement funding model within Australia's states and territories, and assesses the commonalities and differences between the jurisdictions.
This paper summarises a variety of views on the development of the nationally-coordinated student entitlement system from 17 thought leaders with longstanding involvement in the VET system.
This paper reflects on the history of VET in Australia over the last two decades and explores the how the system has evolved in an effort to strike a balance between specific local, industry and learner needs.
What can Australia learn from how other countries regulate vocational education and training? New research investigates regulatory models and quality assurance frameworks applied to the training sector.
This research reports on the effects of Youth Allowance using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY).
As part of the three-year research program, 'Vocations: the link between post compulsory education and the labour market', this working paper sets the policy context and direction of the entry to vocations research stream. After looking at the current ‘in-school’ element of VET in Schools programs and jurisdictional differences, the paper raises a set of questions for discussion. For example, are more advanced and intense programs of VET in Schools needed to deliver stronger labour market outcomes? Do VET in Schools programs need to be more directly connected with post-school VET programs?
Using interviews with adult migrants over a period of two years, the authors look at how undertaking an English as a second language (ESL) class helps to facilitate integration into Australian society.
Increasing productivity by moving people from welfare to employment is a priority for the Australian Government. This report considers the complex issues of helping those marginalised from the labour market into employment. Case studies of innovative intermediaries illustrate that both demand and supply factors must feature in order to provide successful assistance to disadvantaged job seekers. Strategies used include networking, adapting to changing conditions and reinventing themselves to fill gaps in the provision of support. Vocational education and training, often touted as an ideal pathway into employment for disadvantaged groups, is described by these intermediaries as inert in the absence of social and economic support.
To what extent do local governments use vocational education and training as a staff retention strategy? Human resources personnel from a selection of councils around Australia believed that a lack of career development or training opportunities might cause an employee to leave their organisation. The had some reservations about the quality and value of VET, but planned to continue to use it for staff development as it is the most widely available option. This paper is by a novice researcher from the Community of Practice program, which is part of NCVER's Building Researcher Capacity initiatives.
Half a dozen VET researchers and commentators contemplate the future of the VET sector. Their thoughts point to the need for more effort to articulate the role of VET in tertiary education and to streamline its governance.
This paper focuses on issues which affect the capability of TAFE providers to meet their clients' and stakeholders' needs and draws extensively on the reports of the consortium research program which examined ways to help build vocational education and training (VET) provider and workforce capability. The paper puts this research, most of which was completed in 2006 and 2007, into a contemporary framework. It suggests that TAFE providers need to be free of unnecessary central constraints to help them meet their strategic business needs. This includes more direct control of human resources matters and industrial relations.
Innovation is an important aspect to teaching and learning in the VET sector, and a range of workshops conducted in 2009 identified some key ways of promoting this: using networks to spread new ideas, learning to change in small degrees rather than by radical reform, and encouraging practitioners to reflect on organisational change.
This paper reflects on the impact of the recent financial crisis on particular groups in Australian society and comments on whether the VET sector is well placed to meet the challenges of the recovery.
How the trend towards an integrated tertiary sector impacts on the way NCVER thinks about its research and statistical activities is briefly considered in this discussion paper.
This paper provides an account of the management strategies and processes that TAFE institutes use to evaluate their performance.
This report considers different perspectives of higher education qualifications offered by TAFE institutes, focusing on associate degrees and degrees.
NCVER commissioned six leading thinkers to offer insights into what is meant by a training market, constraints upon that market and the areas for improvement in the system which would allow consumers greater choice.
This literature review provides a historical account of the development of competency-based training in Australia and summarises the issues arising from the range of reviews conducted on elements of the national training system. The review was commissioned by the National Quality Council and originally published on its website.
Understanding Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system can be daunting for observers. This paper, written as a background paper for a visit from the OECD, describes Australia's VET system and how it relates to the broader set of education and learning options that are available to Australians.