Reasons why persons with VET qualifications are employed in lower skilled occupations and industries

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) was asked by the New South Wales (NSW) government to review the state's skill base and identify the future challenges for the vocational education and training (VET) system over the next 20 years. The aims of the review were to: determine the future demand for skills in NSW for it to achieve high levels of labour force participation and productivity; and identify the action needed to ensure the VET system is best placed to support these long-term skill requirements. The focus of the review was on publicly funded VET programs provided by registered training organisations (RTOs). This report, in response to the review, provides an assessment of the reasons why some people with VET qualifications and skills are not working in occupations commensurate with those skills. The scope of the assessment was to answer the following questions: How has the overall occupational pattern of employment in Australia changed over the past decade and how has this affected people with VET qualifications? What occupations utilise VET qualifications/skills and has this changed over time? What socio-economic and demographic factors are associated with employment in jobs that do not use people's VET qualifications? Which of these factors can be seen to have the most impact on the employment outcomes of people with VET qualifications? Findings indicate that 'those most likely to be in jobs below their skill level are disproportionately women, working less than 40 hours per week, employed as casuals, migrants from a non-English speaking background, young, qualified in the fields of society and culture, management and commerce, education, health or creative arts and employed in transport, agriculture or retail'. Reasons for this include: structural change in the economy has moved employment away from VET dominated occupations; the increased share of women in the workforce is likely to have reduced the quality of the skill match; and some industries have a relatively poor record of making use of their workers' skills/qualifications. The contents are: Executive summary; Introduction; Literature review; Structural change; The characteristics of people who are employed below their VET skill level; Conclusion.

Documents relating to this review are indexed from TD/TNC 87.382 to TD/TNC 87.387 and at TD/TNC 88.51.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) was asked by the New South Wales (NSW) government to review the state's skill base and identify the future challenges for the vocational education and training (VET) system over the next 20 years. The aims of the review were to: determine the future demand for skills in NSW for it to achieve high levels of labour force participation and productivity; and identify the action needed to ensure the VET system is best placed to support these long-term skill requirements. The focus of the review was on publicly funded VET programs ...  [+] Show more