Search Results

The is the sixth innovation report since the announcement of 'Backing Australia's ability', the Australian government's five year innovation statement. It provides an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of Australian government departments and agencies against the themes of 'Backing Australia's ability', along with their progress in addressing broader national goals through their implementation of the National Research Priorities. The report additionally presents the findings of the third Australian Innovation Scorecard, comparing Australia's innovation performance to that of other countries in the OECD. It thus provides a broader global context for Australia's innovation activities and a means of tracking the nation's progress in an increasingly competitive global economy. Finally, the report outlines the important role that key institutions and strategic planning processes are playing in informing the future of Australian science and innovation and ensuring that Australia remains well-placed to benefit from its investments in the future.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) funded a project in 2001 to analyse and report on industry requirements for 'employability skills'. This project was jointly managed by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was completed in March 2002. Employability skills were defined for the purposes of the project as 'skills required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one's potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions'. The project was commissioned to provide: (a) advice on possible new requirements for generic employability competencies that industry needs, or will need in the forseeable future, since the development of the Mayer key competencies; (b) clear definitions of what Australian industry and enterprises perceive as employability skills and the terminology being used to describe them; and (c) a proposed suite of employability skills and assessment and reporting options. The project also investigated industry reactions to the proposed suite and reporting options and undertook case studies involving a number of large enterprises and focus group research with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This document reports on the case study research undertaken with 13 large enterprises to determine individual enterprise's views on necessary employability skills, approaches to developing, monitoring and assessing these skills, and how education and training providers could contribute more effectively to the development of employability skills. Analysis of the findings produced a possible model for the consideration of these skills within the wider environment of the organisation and determined a priority set of employability skills and personal and interpersonal skills and attributes. The model embraced four areas: the context in which the skills are applied; a focus (i.e. organisational goal); the skills themselves; and core personal and interpersonal values and attributes. The report describes each of these areas using examples from the case studies. It then addresses three issues: training within companies; ways in which enterprises track and assess employee skills; and a summary of employers' views on how the education and training sector could better support the development of employability skills.

The project final report is indexed at TD/TNC 70.178. The literature review is indexed at TD/TNC 70.179 and the report on the SMEs research is indexed at TD/TNC 70.181. Show less

The Ministerial discussion paper ‘Higher education at the crossroads’ (indexed at TD/TNC 71.381) has raised a wide range of issues and challenges facing the Australian higher education sector. A number of issues papers to follow will examine in greater detail some of the major challenges raised in the Ministerial paper. This issues paper explores issues in relation to governance, management and workplace relations. Over the past decade the environment in which universities operate, and the academic enterprise itself, have changed dramatically. The years ahead will present new challenges to the way in which universities are governed, managed and held publicly accountable. This paper covers some very broad issues about the regulatory environment in which universities operate and the appropriate scope of public accountability. It also deals with more focused questions about government red tape, the effectiveness of university governing bodies, the efficient and effective use of resources and possible improvements to workplace practices within universities. The chapters are: Introduction; Legal and accountability frameworks; University governing bodies; University management issues; Workplace relations. Appendices contain examples of the objects and functions of universities and analysis of Australian university council membership. Show less

Concerns about reporting requirements for dual-sector institutions (i.e. those which deliver both vocational education and training (VET) and higher education awards) were highlighted in submissions and responses to the Higher Education Review in 2002 as well as the 2003 Victorian TAFE Governance Review. In 2004 DEST and the Victorian Department of Education and Training jointly commissioned a project to investigate the reporting requirements arising from State/Territory and Commonwealth relationships with Australia’s dual-sector higher education institutions. The purpose of the project was to: (1) determine current reporting requirements for dual-sector institutions under Commonwealth and State arrangements; (2) identify possible means of simplifying these reporting requirements to reduce unnecessary duplication, tension and complexity; and (3) examine the financial and non-financial implications of the proposed changes. PhillipsKPA was selected to conduct the project which was approached in six phases: (1) project initiation; (2) documentary review and analysis; (3) issues identification, including preliminary consultations and workshop design; (4) workshop with institutional representatives with direct responsibility for the processes needed to meet reporting requirements; (5) consultation with other stakeholders; and (6) reporting. The report focuses on the issues that have been identified as priorities by the dual-sector institution representatives through the course of the preliminary consultations, workshop, and subsequent consultations.

The initial issues and options paper of ‘Simplifying dual-sector reporting requirements’ is indexed at TD/TNC 90.658. Show less

This report provides a comprehensive review of Australia's innovation structure. It summarises the programs and projects supported by the government under 'Backing Australia's ability' and other innovation initiatives, and demonstrates how investment is helping to maintain Australia's competitiveness and foster an environment of innovation excellence. There are three key elements to Australia's science, technology and engineering base: research and development; commercialisation, and developing and retaining skills. A framework has been developed to provide an overview of measurable inputs and outputs. This framework is titled the Australian Innovation Scorecard 2002, and it has been designed to benchmark Australia against other OECD countries. This scorecard is based on 15 headline indicators to measure innovation performance, and is designed to reflect the flow of the innovation process. The scorecard shows that overall, Australia's performance compares favourably with other OECD counties, ranking among the top 10 in the OECD for 10 of the indicators used. However, it also illustrates that there are areas in which Australia could improve.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

The National Review of Nursing Education 2002 was initiated in April 2001 to examine the future nursing educational needs of the health, community and aged care system in Australia and to provide advice on appropriate education policy and funding frameworks. The terms of reference included initial registered nurse preparation, enrolled nurse education, education for specialisation, continuing education and the relationship of nursing with other groups in the health workforce. The Review examined the effectiveness of current arrangements for the education and training of nurses, labour market factors affecting the employment of nurses and the choice of nursing as an occupation, and the key factors driving the demand for, and supply of, nursing education and training. The Review sought to make recommendations on models of nurse education and training, the types of skills and knowledge required, and mechanisms for attracting new recruits to nursing and encouraging the commitment to lifelong learning of those already engaged in nursing. The Review commissioned a wide range of research and six literature reviews. This final report contains the summary and recommendations from the Review and the supporting arguments for the recommendations. It is organised into the following sections: Introduction; Summary; Overview of strategies and recommendations: (1) Australian healthcare context; (2) nursing education and practice today; (3) Australian nursing - the future; (4) emerging models of care; (5) an integrated national strategic direction; (6) nursing careers; (7) education and training; (8) organising and planning nursing work; (9) conclusion. Several attachments and tables containing additional related information are included.

The volume of literature reviews undertaken for the National Review of Nursing Education 2002 is indexed at TD/TNC 71.173. Show less

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) funded a project in 2001 to analyse and report on industry requirements for ‘employability skills’. This project was jointly managed by the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was completed in March 2002. Employability skills were defined for the purposes of the project as ‘skills required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one’s potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions’. These skills are also referred to as generic skills, capabilities or key competencies. The project was commissioned to provide: (a) advice on possible new requirements for generic employability competencies that industry needs, or will need in the forseeable future, since the development of the Mayer key competencies; (b) clear definitions of what Australian industry and enterprises perceive as employability skills and the terminology being used to describe them; and (c) a proposed suite of employability skills and assessment and reporting options. The project also investigated industry reactions to the proposed suite and reporting options and undertook case studies involving a number of large enterprises and focus group research with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This project final report provides a contemporary perspective of Australian industry on employability skills. It contains: an overview of the Australian economy and the role that skill development plays in supporting economic growth; an overview of the literature review undertaken; an overview of the research undertaken with industry; key findings in relation to an employability skills framework; project findings in relation to developing and assessing employability skills; and conclusions and recommendations.

Three supporting research documents were produced by the project. The literature review is indexed at TD/TNC 70.179, the report on detailed case studies with large enterprises is indexed at TD/TNC 70.180 and the report on the SMEs research is indexed at TD/TNC 70.181. Show less

This report is prepared in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Skilling Australia's Workforce Act 2005 and includes an assessment of the performance of the national training system during the year. The report provides detailed information on the operation of the national system, its achievements and challenges, and the outcomes achieved for the system’s clients. This report covers the 2005 calendar year and is presented in four sections. Section 1: 'Introduction and context' provides an outline of the report, describing the economic and social context for the national training system during 2005, and outlines the major components of the national training system. Section 2: 'Performance of the national vocational education and training (VET) system in 2005' contains an analysis of the system's performance in 2005 against agreed key performance measures. Section 3: 'Annual national priorities for 2005' reports the achievements and outcomes against the annual national priorities for 2005, and is underpinned by examples and achievements of the state, territory and Australian governments. Section 4: 'Appendices' provides time-series statistical tables on the national training system's performance and includes information on the data sources used as well as additional state and territory data. Show less

This report provides an overview of three major projects which add to the knowledge of the skills needed to ensure social and economic prosperity in Australia, and the skills currently available. The first section, 'Overview of industry skills reports', synthesises nine individual industry reports, which involved a comprehensive identification of common and unique factors that will drive future skills needs and skills shortages. It examines the impact on industry of changing participation rates, market pressures, technological change and regulatory compliance. It then discusses strategies for industry, government, training providers and individuals to respond to these issues. Section two, 'Skill ecosystems', argues that expanding the supply of qualified people is only a partial solution to the skills issues. The skill ecosystems report demonstrates how changes such as industry restructuring, intensified economic competition, new forms of business and industry organisation, have an effect on skill needs and business performance. The final section, 'A well-skilled future: tailoring VTE to the emerging labour market', outlines a research program that aims to improve the understanding of how the labour market is evolving, and how the vocational and technical education (VTE) system can play a role in developing skills levels and matching supply to demand. The National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) at Flinders University and the Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning (CPELL) of the University of Melbourne have been commissioned through the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to undertake the research program. Show less

In 1999, the Australian Federal Government acknowledged skills shortages as a critical issue for the national economy. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) surveys showed that skills shortages had become a major concern for its member industries. In response, an industry-led process designed to identify how an industry-government partnership could address the issue of skills shortages in Australian industry was instituted by the Government, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA). This strategy involved an investigation of skills shortages in specific industries by industry working groups which would inform an Action Plan to minimise skills shortages for each industry. The Action Plan would be implemented by an industry Task Force over a period of two years. Emerging technologies are important for Australia’s economic development and for adding value to Australian products for export. The AIG and the government believe that priority should be given through the National Skills Initiative to investigations in the area of ‘emerging technologies and skills development’. This report outlines an action plan to assist in resolving skills shortages in industries that use or are involved with emerging technologies. The action plan seeks to develop innovative and targeted models of training that allow cross-sectoral training incorporating competencies drawn from current National Training Packages. The focus is on new entrants to the workforce and existing workers moving into emerging skill areas.

This National Industry Skills Initiative document is copyright Commonwealth of Australia reproduced by permission. Show less