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The 'Tasmania: a state of learning' structures were borne from widespread discussion with the Tasmanian community between 2000 and 2003 to identify the optimum model for lifelong learning within the state. At secondary high school level, with compelling research supporting the benefits of education and training beyond Grade 10, a major component of this initiative is guided by legislation introduced in 2005. This legislation is a response to the communities overwhelming support which now requires students exiting from Grade 10 to participate in training and learning. To support this initiative each government high school now has the additional resource of a pathway planning officer who conducts a minimum of three interviews of 45 minute duration with each student through Years 8, 9 and 10. This pathway planning process now accurately identifies student vocational interests. Utilising the strengths of this structure a partnership has been developed between the new Tasmanian polytechnic institution and government high schools to complement student vocational interests and target skills shortage areas within the Australian workforce. This innovative program has drawn plaudits from each of the key stakeholders due to its unique interactive pedagogy and the breakthrough in industry/training/education interface to create this educative model. The program provides students prior to electing an academy or polytechnic educative direction with the opportunity to gain an extended experience in one of 15 vocational options. The program has been so popular that schools have dedicated Traineeship and Apprenticeship Pathway Program (TAPP) classes within their senior curriculum timetables. The educative structures created allow students to complete units of competence from within training packages for apprenticeships and traineeships qualifications accredited within the Australian Qualifications Framework. This paper examines the outcomes from the program and the schools results on student involvement from attitudinal and academic perspectives.

This study aimed to assess the longer-term effect for individuals of completion of vocational education and training (VET) qualifications. It aimed to identify how VET graduates’ employment and education outcomes change over time after they complete their qualifications. Associate diploma graduates’ outcomes are compared with those of individuals who completed Year 12 but completed no further education qualification. The outcomes of skilled and basic vocational qualification graduates are compared with individuals who did not complete Year 12 and did not undertake any post-school qualifications. Key findings are: (1) completion of VET qualification improves the full-time employment outcomes of graduates compared to individuals who do not undertake post-school qualifications; (2) male VET graduates appear to enjoy more substantial immediate benefits from completion of their qualifications than do female graduates; (3) the actual fields in which VET graduates complete their qualifications also have an impact on their outcomes; (4) People with a disability, people who live in non-metropolitan regions of Australia and people from non-English speaking backgrounds experience poorer full-time employment rates than other groups in Australia, however there does not appear to be a VET-specific element to these outcomes; (5) individuals who complete VET qualifications and work full-time tend to enjoy higher wages, work in higher status occupations and have higher rates of permanent employment than members of their comparison groups; and (6) VET graduates appear less likely to be studying at any point in time or to have recently undertaken a training course than university graduates in the data used in this report.