A research study was conducted to identify barriers to enrollment in and expansion of apprenticeships and traineeships in the western region of Melbourne, Australia. Data were collected through conducting six focus groups (a total of 180 tenth- and twelfth-grade students) from six schools in three Local Government Areas; surveying 400 local…

Because a growing proportion of the world's working population is in the informal sector (in work areas generally outside the sphere of state protection), planners of vocational training for adults must pay closer attention to those concepts of teaching and learning that have relevance for the informal sector, and they must develop strategies for…

These 43 conference papers on vocational education and training (VET) markets are grouped under three broad themes describing them. Sixteen papers deal with the VET product and providers: "The VET Market" (Kemp); "Market Frameworks in VET" (FitzGerald); "The New Zealand Market Approach" (Barker); "An Economic…

The question of whether apprenticeships and traineeships can survive in Australia's emerging social and economic environment was explored through a review of two bodies of research. The first consisted of recent reviews of the quality of traineeships in Queensland and Tasmania and apprenticeships in Victoria. The second was a study on the future…

This document contains four symposium papers on enhancing employee skills. "The Effect of Study Skills Training Intervention on United States Air Force Aeromedical Apprentices" (John C. Griffith) demonstrates how study skills intervention resulted in a significant increase in the end-of-course scores of a sample of 90 randomly selected Air Force…

In forestry, as in other fields, technological advances have resulted in significant changes in work practices and skill requirements. Vocational training and improvement of forestry workers' skills through lifelong learning can help achieve sustainability in forestry. The objectives of lifelong learning are to integrate people into working life…

Vocational education (VE) in Switzerland is characterized by diversity and pragmatism and is shaped by the country's geography, political system, economy, and culture. Roughly two-thirds of all Swiss youth participate in some form of vocational training at the upper secondary level. Vocational certificates and higher vocational certificates can…

A study analyzed mitigating conditions and factors that prevented the uptake of apprenticeships and traineeships among young people aged 15-19 years of age who had left school in Victoria, Australia. Data were based on a thesis completed in May 2000 involving analysis of theoretical research, observation in the field, and case study interviews…

The position of women in South Australia's process manufacturing industry was examined, and the implications of the study findings for the vocational education and training (VET) sector were discussed. Of the 393 companies to which surveys were sent, 136 (35.8%) returned valid responses. Of the 8,000 people employed in the industry, only 26.1%…

The vocational education and training (VET) outcomes of Australian school-leavers were examined. School non-completers identified in the 1995 national cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) were tracked annually from 1995, and their school experiences, educational attainment, and postschool participation in education,…

One strategy to increase participation in vocational education and training (VET) by Australians with a disability involves intervention at the secondary school level to reduce early school leaving by providing structured VET learning and work placement opportunities. The Enterprise Career Education Foundation's Lighthouse initiative, which was…

Germany's Dual System, which consists of in-school and in-enterprise components, facilitates entry into 374 recognized technical, white-collar and blue-collar occupations listed in training regulations that are grounded in legislation. The Dual System's origins and development in Germany were examined along with several attempts to replicate the…

The evolution of Germany's dual apprenticeship system and the challenges now facing it were reviewed. The following topics were considered: (1) the progression from craft guilds to vocational training; (2) the history of Germany's dual apprenticeship system from its organization in the 1970s; (4) apprenticeship in the dual system; (3) Germany's…