There is strong evidence that learning gained in, through and for work, whether it is through employment, voluntary, community, domestic or any other kind of work, helps to equip people with the capabilities that can improve their working lives, their employability and their life skills (Lester and Costley, 2010, Beehives, 2018, WEXHE, 2019).…

The main purpose of this guide is to provide some ideas for employers of apprentices to provide an environment in which strong informal bases of support can succeed. Formal mentoring is an important aspect of apprenticeships; however, it is also informal mentoring--practices that are difficult to formally nurture--that plays a significant and…

It has been eight years since the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (also known as "Closing the Gap") set out a series of areas and targets designed to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous outcomes on a range of measures. A key objective was to halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous…

Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

In Australia, like many western countries, there has been a convergence of education policy around a set of utilitarian and economistic approaches to vocational education and training in schools. Such approaches are based on the assumption that there is a direct relationship between national economic growth, productivity and human capital…

This paper was presented at the Australian Federation of Travel Agents Industry Leaders & Educators Engagement Symposium held in Sydney on February 12, 2015. With industry sustainability becoming a strong concern, even within growth sectors, this paper identifies issues to be considered in ensuring that the education and training system can…

This paper was a keynote address at the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) conference held in Canberra in April 2012. The author notes that industry is arguably the key stakeholder in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector, but is not a single actor nor a disinterested consumer of…

In recent years, the level of participation and attainment by Indigenous Australians in education and training has improved, yet substantial gaps still exist between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. Education has to be a key focus if the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment rates is to be closed. This report…

"Research Messages 2014" is a collection of summaries of research published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2014 in the context of changing economic, industrial, social and education conditions, organised under the following broad categories: (1) Productivity: to sustain and build Australia's human…

"Research messages 2011" is a collection of summaries of research projects published by National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2011. The publication also has an overview essay that captures the themes and highlights from the research for the year, including: (1) the initial education and training of young people and…

Research messages 2010 is a collection of summaries of research projects published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to organise its research and analysis: Industry and employers; Students and individuals; Teaching and learning: VET system; and VET in…

This literature review, undertaken for Australian Industry Group, shows how multiple variations and combinations of formal, informal and non-formal learning, accompanied by various government incentives and organisational initiatives (including job redesign, cross-skilling, multi-skilling, diversified career pathways, action learning projects,…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of an Australian Tripartite Mission appointed by the Minister of State for Labor and National Service to examine the methods of training skilled workers in a number of European nations from which Australia is obtaining migrant labor. The Mission summarized its findings of…

This paper highlights on-going concern in Australia about the contested terrain of skills shortages, particularly as they apply to traditional trades. The paper reports on a school-based study of student career choice that was undertaken for the federal government to inform its deliberations. Drawing on the study, the paper examines key issues…

The impact of labor hire companies (employment agencies) on Australia's apprenticeship system was studied. Three data collection strategies were used: literature review; survey of a random sample of 200 labor hire firms in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia; and case studies of four recruitment and labor hire firms and…