This publication contains nine short descriptive case studies of local adult education programs, including viticulture, women's reentry into the work force, music theory, work skills for people with disabilities, local history, intergenerational family literacy, and workplace training. The studies give a good overview of the diversity of learners'…

This report focuses on use of large-scale economy-wide models in Australia for occupational forecasting and their use in the vocational education and training (VET) sector for making decisions about training profiles across occupational areas. Section 2 reviews objectives of VET policy as defined in the legislation and Australian National Training…

In vocational education and training (VET), user choice is a means of achieving a more client-responsive training system by allowing clients to have greater choice over how their training needs are met. Funding arrangements linked in some direct way to the expressed demands of individual clients are essential for effective operation of a user…

Changes in the extent, pattern, and outcomes of young Australians' participation in firm-based training from the 1980s to the 1990s were analyzed by comparing data from the Australian Youth Survey (AYS) and the Australian Longitudinal Survey (ALS). In 1994, 46% of those in the AYS sample participated in formal training (at age 16-24 years) and…

A project was conducted to examine the impact of vocational education and training (VET) research on decision making in VET in Australia. Data were collected from the following: a literature review; a symposium attended by state-, territory-, and national-level VET policymakers and planners and VET providers; semistructured telephone interviews…

This summary report provides an overview of 23 pilot projects conducted in Australia to provide job training in more flexible modes. Each one- or two-page summary describes the following: state in which the project was conducted, flexible approach used, aims/methodology, participation/access, achievements/challenges, suggestions/dissemination, and…

A project studied two of the six employment-related key competencies identified by the Australian Finn Review and the Mayer Committee--communications and math--in relation to small businesses. Background reading covered needs of small business and the work of key competency studies and projects, both in Australia and overseas. Project observations…

This paper summarizes 14 case studies from 13 countries commissioned by Unesco to describe the educational provisions for adults in the special context of scientific and technological development and to study a selected number of programs at greater depth. The countries chosen by Unesco are all countries with developed or developing industries,…

This document presents tips and ideas to support apprentices and trainees during their training in Australian workplaces. The booklet begins by explaining the types of assistance provided by the following organizations across Australia: state training authorities; new apprenticeship centres, registered training organizations; and group training…

This report examines the participation of Australia's vocational education and training sector in aid projects in Southeast Asia and the Pacific from 1980-1997. It begins with background information on training assistance to developing countries, and it outlines the economic and educational assumptions underlying Australia's aid program to six…

A project investigated the integration of key competencies into workplace training in Australia. Part 1 of the project researched the work of personnel engaged in on-the-job training (OJT) curriculum development in five industries to find out how key competencies were being incorporated into OJT curricula and to suggest models to guide this…

A study of the Australian higher education and vocational education and training (VET) sectors analyzed their education and training outputs (the education and training services and products provided by the sectors to other persons or entities) and outcomes (the effect of completion of a course provided by a sector for its clients). Data were…

An evaluation of the extent to which research influences decision making in vocational education and training (VET) at the policy level necessitates consideration of these three areas: (1) decision making; (2) research; and (3) linkages. First, the impact of research on decision making incorporates these two elements: (1) use; and (2) influence.…

This paper is one of five supporting papers to "A Bridge to the Future: Australia's National Strategy for VET 1998-2003" (ED 420 764). Although some equity client groups in Australia are now relatively well represented in vocational education and training (VET), patterns of enrollment and achievement are not uniform. To respond to this…

Clerks, salespersons, plant and machine operators and laborers, and related workers, defined as operative workers, currently form more than half the work force. They share the following characteristics: comparatively low earnings, limited qualifications, often employed in industries subject to economic restructuring and sensitive to economic…