Although vocational education and training (VET) is often sidelined in policy debates about innovation and how to promote it, some research and theory highlights ways the sector does contribute. VET can be, for example, positioned as an instrument of 'knowledge diffusion' and thereby an active element in so-called 'innovation systems'. But the…

More than 30 of the 43 universities in Australia offer an exercise science and/or sport science degree programs. In the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, more than 160 Registered Training Organisations offer Australian Government approved fitness training courses. The paper is a self-reflective exercise based upon mentoring placement…

This article seeks to provide a school perspective on the nature and quality of the partnerships which schools form with businesses in order to deliver work placements and workplace learning in Australia. It found that the ability of schools to engage with external partners depended on the ability of school leaders to define and communicate the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of participation in workplace learning among senior secondary students in Australia. Work placements are deemed to be effective if they meet policy objectives of improving student transitions by (a) enhancing Year 12 completion rates and (b) increasing the engagement of…

As many, perhaps most, high-school students engage in paid part-time employment, there is available in any Australian senior school classroom a range of work experiences that can be used to assist students to consider and reflect on working life and post-school pathways. Furthermore, these experiences are more readily available and authentic than…

This paper reports findings from a survey of former students from six Australian rural school clusters. It compares the experiences and outcomes of students who had participated in a school vocational education and training (VET) program with those who had not. School VET courses intended to provide a pathway to local employment appear to be…

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…

A study examined student participation in work experience and workplace learning programs using 1996 and 1997 data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth on a cohort first sampled in 1995 when students were in year 9. Findings related to work experience programs revealed few differences between students who took part in work experience…

This report investigates the medium-term outcomes of vocational education and training (VET) programs delivered by rural schools for youth and their communities. Former students from six rural school clusters in six states were surveyed, including those who participated in school VET programs and those who did not. Principals and school VET…

A research study in Australia examined the nature, extent, and methods of workplace learning for school students. Following a literature review that found that the proportion of school students who work part-time is increasing but that there is relatively little research on the learning outcomes of either work experience or work placements,…

A study examined processes of state training authorities, group training companies (GTCs), training colleges, and employers to ensure that apprentices/trainees (A/Ts) who are suspended or terminated due to lack of work have access to on-the-job training. Data on apprenticeship and traineeship commencements and cancellations were collected from…

Australia's property and business services industry is its third largest industry and has been the fastest growing industry over the last 10 years. The industry is composed of a diverse range of activities, including real estate sales, legal and accountancy practices, employment placement services, labor and equipment hire, scientific and market…

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…

This document contains five monographs on correctional education in the United States and internationally. "Towards a Renaissance of Prison Education: International Preconference Symposium" (Carolyn Eggleston, Alice Tracy) reports on a joint symposium of the Correctional Education Association and the European Prison Education Association…

The literature on work placements in education and training courses and current Australian practice related to work placements was reviewed. The review focused on the school, university, and vocational education and training (VET) sectors. The following major issues were considered: lack of a common name and common body of literature; purposes of…