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Governments are keen to enact policies to secure greater contributions from Australian enterprises for the skill development of their employees. Drawing on a review of international literature and data from interviews, a series of policy options are discussed and evaluated in this paper. A number of funding models are described. However, before evaluating the applicability of particular models, the purposes that government is seeking to realise through policy measures need to be clarified. These purposes range from securing a greater private sector contribution to the cost of the vocational education system through to a focus on developing employees’ skills. Different purposes will warrant different kinds of action, kinds of expenditure and policy measures. In considering what policy options are most viable, evidence from the implementation of policy elsewhere is used to discuss and predict the viability and outcomes of those measures implemented here.

Published abstract reprinted by the permission of the copyright owner.

Volumes of papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.351 to TD/TNC 77.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.354 to TD/TNC 77.437. Show less

This book of readings brings together the results of a body of research on the funding and financing of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia presented at a research forum hosted by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) in late 2003.

There is widespread belief amongst many Australian commentators that Australian employers do not provide their employees with enough training. In recent years this belief has led to calls for the re-imposition of compulsory levies on employers to ensure that they spend more on training. This belief is largely based on the analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), particularly data on training expenditure. In this chapter the authors challenge this interpretation of the data and make the case that Australian employers do not spend much less than their international counterparts on training for their employees and that the way to get employers to invest in training is not through the use of compulsory levies.

The book of readings is indexed at TD/TNC 84.03; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 84.21 to TD/TNC 84.29. Show less

Governments are encouraging enterprises to enhance their expenditure on vocational education and training to assist with maintaining and developing further national skill bases, while sharing the cost with those enterprises. However, there are clear differences between what government intends and enterprise practices. This paper reports a review of the recent literature which focuses on the expenditure by enterprise on vocational education and their interest in securing returns on that expenditure. Enterprise expenditure is far from uniform and is influenced by factors including the size of the enterprise, its speciality and location. Moreover, enterprise interest on returns on its expenditure is focused on goals that are of a different kind from those of government and may not be aligned to achieving long-term national goals of maintaining and developing the skilfulness of the workforce. Show less

This report presents the findings of a research project on learning in and for small business with the aim of identifying effective approaches to small business learning and validating those approached with other small businesses. It used the recent implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and its associated business activity statement (BAS) to study how small business learn and develop the capacities to respond to new tasks and challenges. It was anticipated that there would be no single or uniformly viable approach. Case studies were developed and semi-structured interviews were conducted in thirty small businesses representing a diversity of locations, sizes and specialities, across two states. The project proceeded in four phases: (1) small business learning about and implementing the GST; (2) identifying and delineating a model for learning in small business; (3) appraising a model of learning in small business; and (4) reporting and dissemination. The project found that small businesses had different capacities to learn the ‘same’ task and the scope of the learning task was also different across the small businesses. However, despite the diversity there were some identifiable patterns of responses which assisted in the development of a model of learning in and for small business. It is recommended that vocational education and training (VET) policy and practice be more invitational to small business. Show less

Increasing enterprises’ expenditure on their employees’ vocational education and training (VET) is of concern for governments in many countries. This article identifies and discusses policy goals for increased enterprise expenditure on VET and elaborates options for achieving these goals. Throughout, measures that attempt to mandate and regulate enterprises’ responses are contrasted with those attempting to address and change the sentiments - beliefs about and values of - decision makers within enterprises about the worth of skill development. Given that decisions about expenditure will largely be made within enterprises, ultimately the governmental goals for enhanced expenditure may only be met through the development of a sentiment within enterprises that favours this expenditure. Therefore, policy planning and enactment might be best directed to that purpose.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

In recent years, the debate over reform to national vocational education and training (VET) systems has shifted from a focus on the supply-side of VET - qualifications structures, national training schemes and institutional structures - to demand for training by industry and the role of employers in increasing the skills levels of the workforce. Yet, enhancing employer demands for training has proved to be a perennial problem for governments of all political complexions in the developed world. This paper discusses the range of government approaches to encouraging employers to invest in training and development that are to be found in the developed world. It argues that compulsory employer levies are rarely successful and that increasing the levels of investment in training by employers is more likely to be achieved through more subtle policy mechanisms.

Excerpts from published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

It is generally assumed in the Australian VET [vocational education and training] policy community that employer investment in skill development lags well behind that of our major trading partners and competitors and that investment is falling in real terms. Whilst the ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] training expenditure survey suggests that employer investment decreased in the mid-1990s, data from other sources produces a more complex picture of employer training in Australia. Data from the training practices survey, the survey of education and training experience and the business longitudinal survey together show that 80 per cent of Australians receive some form of training from their employers, between a third and half of Australians take part in formal, structured training in the workplace and that over 85 per cent of Australian enterprises employing 10 or more people provide training for their employees. There are a number of approaches that governments around the world, including in Australia, have taken towards to creating a climate that is more conducive to employer investment in skills development. These include voluntaristic approaches such as the Investors in People scheme in the UK, the creation of industry training funds such as those in the Netherlands and the imposition of employer levies. Often these schemes are tightly bound to the social, cultural and economic contexts of their countries making them difficult to reproduce. This paper will discuss some of the major international approaches that have been developed towards increasing employers' investments in training and their successes and failures.

Published abstract.

The collection of refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.622; individual refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.623 to TD/TNC 73.650. The collection of non refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.651; non-refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.652 to TD/TNC 73.680. Show less

This paper presents the findings of a review of recent literature on the topic 'Returns to enterprises from investment in vocational education and training (VET)', under two headings: Enterprises and investment; and Enterprises and returns. The complete proceedings of this conference in one volume may be found at TD/TNC 53.04. Show less

In 1990, Australia implemented an employer training levy, the Training Guarantee Scheme. The Training Guarantee was abolished by the incoming Coalition federal government in 1996 after much negative publicity about its impact, particularly on small business. Recently, there have been calls to revive the notion of an employer training levy as a result of statistical evidence that employer expenditure [on] training has declined since 1996. In this context, employer training expenditure has been taken as a proxy for employer commitment to training. This article considers the statistical evidence on employer training in Australia and concludes that the case against Australian employers is far from clear cut. Data from a variety of sources suggests strongly that Australian employers provide a similar level of training to their employees as employers in other developed countries. The paper proposes that it is the distribution of employer training expenditure that is important to long term skills formation rather than the total expenditure.

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This report is an analysis of current and recent research concerning returns to enterprises from investment in vocational education and training (VET). There is a summary of recent and current research and a discussion of the research and analysis methodology. The body of the report looks at how the reviewed research has contributed to knowledge around the topic, and identifies areas which have been well or adequately researched, areas which have been researched but where more or better research is needed, and areas where no research has yet been done. Show less