The conference recorded in this document covered a wide variety of themes and consisted of keynote addresses, research presentations, and workshops. The following keynote addresses are included: "Technician Training: A New Zealand Perspective" (Wood); and "The Provision of Information Services in Vocational Education: The Present…

This two-part guide is for printing machinists in Australia who are responsible for providing on-the-job training to apprentices and retraining to adult workers. The aim of the package is to provide training in the use of sheet-fed offset lithographic presses. Part A provides introductory materials for the on-the-job trainers, including the…

This country profile of Australia is one of a series of country profiles intended to give the user a graphic view of the structure, outputs, and legal basis of the vocational training system of individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The data, gathered by the Asian and Pacific Skill Development Programme in Pakistan, generally cover the…

This bulletin examines the labor market experience of youth in the United States and eight other industrial countries from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. The analysis focuses upon unemployment, the most visible and measurable form of labor underutilization. The report highlights the size of the youth unemployment problem and discusses some of…

This report investigates the future supply of and demand for certain types of skilled labour at the trades and sub-trades levels that will be required for these projects up to 2010. In particular, it focuses on skilled labour in the mechanical, fabrication and electrical trades and mobile plant operators and construction workers in the sub-trades.…

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…

This report provides information on trends over the years 1995-98 in the realm of contracts of training in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia's trade industries. Section 1 introduces the report. Section 2 provides a general overview of trends in apprentice and trainee numbers over the period for the major trade occupation…

A study examined access and equity in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia for youth from different social and educational backgrounds using data from a program of national longitudinal surveys. Secondary VET participation was low; youth from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to enroll; and students were more likely…

An evaluation of work experience programs in Queensland state secondary schools had three goals. It examined current practices and identified effective practices to guide program planning and development; based on expected student benefits, it provided a categorization of the types of experience that students encounter during work experience…

As of December 31, 2000, an estimated 295,620 Australians were undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship, which represented an increase of 15.1% over the number in training in 1999. The increase in participation rates for apprentices and trainees in training almost doubled from 1.2% on December 31, 1995, to 2.3% on December 31, 2000. The…

This document focuses on investigations of three main issues of "User Choice," which has been applied to New Apprenticeships since 1998. The issues are as follows: (1) why some firms do not access User Choice when arranging training for their trainees and apprentices; (2) whether the size of the firm has a significant impact on User…

A major proposition is that dual training arrangements alone do not necessarily solve quality problems in the delivery of vocational education and training (VET) nor improve VET links to the labor market. An essential strategy for Australia should be to further develop holistic training courses linked to apprenticeship models and embed both into a…

Learning and training in school-based new apprenticeships (SBNAs) in Australia were examined through a survey of school-based new apprentices in Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. Of the 2,330 questionnaires sent, 641 (27.5%) were completed. Compared with their counterparts, students undertaking SBNAs were more likely to be living outside…

Data from an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey of approximately 350 employers were reanalyzed to determine the effects of organization size and geographic location on the implementation of User Choice, which provides public funds to training providers chosen by apprentices and trainees. Among the respondents, 41.1% were small and…

Manufacturing in Australia is a large and diverse industry, employing more than 1.1 million people. Despite its decline in relative importance (from providing 16.3% of jobs to providing 13.4%), it is still the second largest employing industry. Manufacturing makes up the major component of exports, accounting for 51 percent in 1994-95. Over the…