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This paper provides an outline of recent national and international research findings concerning the changing nature of work, skill and learning in contemporary economies. It also identifies the implications of these findings for the following issues being considered by the Senate Committee: (1) areas of skills shortage and labour demand in different areas and locations, with particular emphasis on projecting future skills requirements; (2) the effectiveness of current Commonwealth, state and territory education, training and employment policies, and programs and mechanisms for meeting current and future skills needs, and any recommended improvements; (3) the effectiveness of industry strategies to meet current and emerging skill needs; and (4) strategies to anticipate the vocational education and training needs emerging from industry restructuring and redundancies, and any recommended improvements. Key research findings are that: standard employment, i.e. a permanent full-time job, is no longer the norm for many Australian workers; there has been a rise in high skills work but an even greater rise in employment at the low skills end of the employment spectrum; learning at and through work is seen as crucial in the contemporary economy; these broad patterns and trends are not equally applicable in all sub-sectors of industry; and policy frameworks need to be concerned with both the short- and long-term needs of workers and prospective workers as a whole.