Search results

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 presents the review findings and recommendations for the NSW government. It contains an executive summary and 10 chapters. Chapter one, 'Introduction' outlines the review process. Chapter two, 'Understanding the structural mismatch in today's labour market', looks at the structural mismatch in the current labour market and identifies issues related to the supply of and demand for labour that need to be addressed. Chapter three, 'Increasing labour force and employment participation', explains the need for greater emphasis on VET to increase the labour force and employment participation rates and also outlines the broad actions that need to be taken. Chapter four, 'Forecasting the future demand for VET', considers how much and what type of training will be needed if NSW is to succeed in increasing the labour force participation rate to offset the ageing population. Chapter five, 'Setting a new vision for the VET system and TAFE NSW', sets out a new mission for TAFE NSW and outlines new approaches to skills policy based on the concept of workforce development. Chapter six, 'Taking stock of the public VET system today', examines the size and structure of the VET system, recent reforms in VET and performance measures in efficiency, effectiveness and employment related outcomes. Chapter seven, 'Achieving the mission for TAFE NSW', considers actions that will be needed to enable and encourage TAFE NSW to achieve the new vision and mission. Chapter eight, 'Improving outcomes for users of the system', discusses the complementary actions needed to improve outcomes for users of the VET system. The focus of chapter nine, 'Removing barriers to participation in VET', is on ways of increasing the participation rate in VET. The final chapter, 'Understanding the benefits and financing the costs of the proposed reforms', provides a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed reforms. Included as appendices are: Terms of reference; Access Economics forecasting; Performance of the publicly funded VET sector; Recent reforms and trends in TAFE NSW; Employers' expenditure on training, returns to training and incentive arrangements for employers; Individuals' returns on training and financial assistance available to them; Impact of training on employment; List of submissions to the review; Reference list.

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). As part of the review, IPART commissioned Access Economics to develop projections from an employer perspective of the future demand for publicly funded VET. This report presents projections for VET activity over the next 20 years for both NSW and Australia. The report contains two scenarios: (1) a baseline scenario that shows what employer demand will be if current policies are continued; and (2) a target scenario that shows what employer demand will be if policies succeed in raising participation to ensure there is no change in the ratio of aged persons to the employed population. The report discusses some of the overall benefits accruing from investment in skills development, provides a brief overview of the growth of VET activity growth over the last 20 years, details labour projections underpinning the VET demand forecast in baseline scenario, discusses some additional labour market influences on training requirements, presents projected VET activity in the baseline scenario, examines the implications for participation rates and other labour market variables which stem from the target scenario, and reports on the implications for skills development under the target scenario. Projections for the forecast period (2005-2025) include: average growth in jobs to be 0.64% per annum for NSW and 0.87% per annum for Australia; the average growth in the number of VET students in NSW to be 0.98% per annum in the baseline scenario; and VET participation in the target scenario to be at 21% of employed persons, compared with 17.8% in the baseline scenario. The contents are: Executive summary; Introduction; The benefits of skill development; Profile of VET activity; Baseline scenario - labour market projections; Additional labour market influences on future training needs; Baseline scenario - projected VET activity; Specifying the target scenario; Target scenario - projected VET activity; References.

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. IPART commissioned this report to examine the following issues relating to the matching of skill development to employment opportunities: (1) To what extent are those with VET qualifications working in occupational groups consistent with the skill level of the training they have undertaken? (2) What is the educational attainment of those employed in occupational groups which typically require skill development through VET? (3) What have been the employment outcomes for recently qualified VET students, and how close an alignment is there between the area of study and subsequent area of work? (4) What is the employment status and occupational distribution of people who attained a VET qualification some time ago? (5) What is known about the reasons why people with VET qualifications may not be employed in areas where the skills acquired can be deployed? (6) To what extent are the responses to questions 3, 4 and 5 related to differences in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level of VET qualifications? (7) To what extent are the responses to questions 3, 4 and 5 related to differences in the balance between the specific and generic components of the training undertaken? Findings indicate that: in the six months following training, around seven in 10 VET graduates are employed at the same or a higher skill level than their training, or enrolled in a course at a higher level than their training; there is a great deal of persistence in employment status from pre- to post-training, which means VET is failing to deliver for many students in need; the distribution of employment post-training bears closer correspondence to the overall workforce distribution of employment than it does to the intended areas of training, suggesting that demand holds sway over supply and that the generic skills delivered through training are valuable to employers; efficiency and utility are highest where there is a match between the intended occupation of the training and subsequent employment, and is lowest of all when the student is unemployed post-training; and destination surveys are a rich resource that can aid policy makers in making decisions on the allocation of training places, and for informing prospective students as to the potential outcomes from training. The contents are: Key messages; Executive summary; Introduction; Vocational education and training in NSW: participation and outcomes; Workforce skills profile; Employment destinations; Conclusion.

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 issues paper was prepared to assist IPART in identifying and understanding the key issues for this review. It outlines the purpose and structure of the review, provides background information on the future challenges for the VET system resulting from the changes in the labour market and the impact of an ageing population, gives an overview of the VET system in NSW, and outlines issues and questions that stakeholders may wish to consider when preparing their submissions.