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This paper uses data from a recent national project on workforce development for vocational education and training (VET) practitioners in the service skills sector to examine the issue of teaching qualifications for VET practitioners in Australia. Data on the level of qualifications is limited and incomplete (Mlotkowski & Guthrie, 2010) and the continuing debate about what qualifications are and should be required of Australian VET practitioners is therefore proceeding in something of a vacuum. This paper provides some up-to-date empirical evidence about the level of qualifications of VET practitioners in teaching and learning (pedagogy) and in their industry area (or discipline). It then considers whether the qualification levels described are sufficient for the workforce and offers some suggestions about how the current situation has come about.

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The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) was introduced in July 2002 to improve the quality of delivery of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. The AQTF sets out standards for registered training organisations (RTOs) and for the accrediting bodies in the Australian States and Territories. The standards prescribe the implementation, assessment, recording and storage of information about the delivery, assessment and accreditation of training. This paper reports on a project that investigated the reactions of a number of actors in the VET sector to the provisions in the AQTF pertaining to teaching and teaching qualifications. The focus of the paper is on the effects of the AQTF standards for RTOs in relation to teaching and assessment and the qualifications of staff who carry out teaching and assessment. Show less

Few Australian school students, particularly those completing their senior secondary years, leave school without some experience of workplaces. While well over half of school students now have part-time work, the traditional work experience program is still the most common way in which secondary students gain some knowledge of workplaces. However, little policy attention is expended on work experience and it is viewed in some quarters as a 'poor relation' of structured work placements, which form part of VET in schools programs. This article presents findings about work experience derived from a recent study of school students' learning in workplaces. School-based case studies and employer interviews were used to augment the data from a survey of 1451 school students. Despite other forms of workplace engagement becoming more common, it is argued that work experience should be retained. While aspects of work experience can be improved, it is argued that the baby should not be thrown out with the bathwater.

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This article examines the extent and the usefulness of part-time work among school students in Australia. The author begins by looking at the first jobs that students often have, such as working in family shops and farms, usually paid part-time. Other children begin with paper rounds and babysitting and move on to fast-food outlets and shops. Smith identifies reasons for the increase in student workers over the last fifteen years, from supplementing family incomes in disadvantaged homes to the present financially secure teenagers who work for extra spending money or because they believe that the work will help them to get a full-time job later. Smith then addresses the relevance of this experience to the students. Following research in the United States, where student employment has been part of the labour market for a long time, both advantages and disadvantages are noted. Accepting that part-time work is now likely to be the norm for Australian students, questions must be asked about placement in vocational education and training (VET) programs; how it is seen by students and how relevant it is. Researchers from the University of South Australia and Charles Sturt University are currently undertaking a study, to be completed in early 2001, to examine in detail the learning experiences of students in all aspects of work. Show less

This research paper has been produced as part of the ILO project, Apprenticeships Development for Universal Lifelong Learning and Training (ADULT), funded by the Government of Flanders. The ADULT project aims to explore how apprenticeship systems are being modernised and transformed to promote and enable lifelong learning and decent work for youth, adults, and older workers (both employed and unemployed). This research paper examines the attractiveness and potential attractiveness of apprenticeships to those who might seek to undertake one. This study is confined to formal apprenticeships, that is those which are overseen by governments and/other bodies. It considers apprenticeship as an option for adults as well as young people. It provides examples from across the world, from low-, medium- and high-income countries. The focus is on attractiveness to individuals rather than the attractiveness to employers of engaging with the apprenticeship system.

The paper explores reasons why apprenticeships are sometimes regarded as unattractive or low status career choices. It also highlights the experiences and lessons learned from the initiatives taken by various countries in improving the attractiveness of apprenticeships. These include structural changes and enhancements to apprenticeship programs, as well as better promotion of apprenticeships to potential apprentices and those who advise them.

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This paper reports on a research project conducted in 2020 with vocational education and training (VET) teachers in Australia. The project is currently being extended. The project analysed teacher accounts where they described difficult teaching situations in VET and how learning theories explain the situations, and also how learning theories could prevent similar situations arising in the future. The main topics mentioned in the teachers' accounts can be grouped as follows: (1) students were disruptive because they didn't see a need to know; (2) the content was difficult for the students; (3) the content was difficult for particular students because of learning needs or lack of skills; (4) the teaching was boring; and (5) students' personal circumstances made learning difficult (refugee status, long-term unemployed).

The research so far has shown that VET teachers find that using learning theories is a useful way to make sense of teaching situations and consider how to improve them. It is hoped that the study, through provision of current Australian examples, will assist VET teachers and can be used in teacher-training studies at all levels and also in professional development.

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Due to the emergence of disruptive digital technologies the shape of the Australian workforce is rapidly changing and the development of [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] STEM skills is an imperative. However, there has been a decline in the number of students studying STEM subjects in senior secondary school. In addition, women are underrepresented in many STEM disciplines. The University of New England is a regional Australian university where a large proportion of students are from rural and regional areas, are mature-aged, and come from low [socioeconomic status] SES backgrounds. Many commence their tertiary studies in STEM with diverse backgrounds, often without the necessary assumed knowledge. A mentoring program was designed to assist female students develop STEM-related study and career goals. Important components of the program included: face-to-face and online training and professional development for participants, two mentors (one academic and one industry-based) per student, accessibility for students studying at a distance, guest speakers, and outreach activities promoting STEM to the wider community. This program could be readily adapted for other cohorts of students (e.g., indigenous students) and expanded (e.g., for all students embarking on STEM studies). The program helped students recognise and address potential roadblocks to a sustained and successful STEM-based career, build confidence in pursuing study and career goals, and develop sound decision-making skills in career planning. For mentors, the program offered STEM-related professional development opportunities. Furthermore, academic mentors reported a positive impact on their approach to STEM teaching as a result of participation in the program.

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This chapter examines the potential of quality apprenticeship in meeting multiple demands: skill development, changing industry needs, and promoting inclusivity. There are many and large societal and economic expectations of problems which apprenticeship should solve. These expectations vary among various actors. They range from solving youth unemployment and safeguarding decent jobs for young and disadvantaged persons, to supplying companies with a trained workforce, and boosting international competitiveness. More recent demands including apprenticeships' ability to cope with rapidly changing job roles. There are, however, risks associated with expansion of apprenticeship systems, including the possibility of contributing to exploitation, discrimination and exclusion of social/racial groups and/or certain occupations. Any radical changes risk upsetting existing balances in outcomes for different stakeholder groups. Moreover, apprenticeships need to retain the flexibility to cope with the demands of the future of work.

Guided by the question '(How) can apprenticeship be an answer to youth unemployment?', the chapter provides a conceptual discussion and presents challenges and opportunities in developing such apprenticeship programmes in the evolving world of work. It discusses strategies and policy directions by drawing on several national examples, and provides an analysis of such practical examples from national and/or sectoral cases in Asia and the Pacific. These examples illustrate attempts to address complex social and economic issues and developments through apprenticeships, in a manner that aims to assist inclusion of young people in the labour market but does not neglect other imperatives such as national and company skills needs. Some options are proposed and discussed which could help countries to meet stakeholder needs in this evolving context while also ensuring inclusive outcomes.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 134.550. Show less

With an increased emphasis on quality, most educational institutions are paying more attention than in the past to staff development. While the devotion of increased resources to training is always to be applauded, the training of teachers in further and higher education (FE and HE) poses particular differences. Participation in staff development activities is often voluntary rather than compulsory; and even where it is compulsory it is difficult for the employing institution to force teachers to implement what they learned in staff development activities. What is more, the majority of teachers in both FE and HE sectors in Australia are employed on a casual basis. Such teachers (who come from very diverse backgrounds) often fall completely outside the net of any formal staff development activities. This paper uses a model of enterprise training to examine the reasons why further and higher education providers may offer staff development. Examples of staff development associated with the introduction of competency based training (CBT) in the VET sector and online learning in the university sector are discussed. A model of engagement in staff development which was developed for a recent National Research and Evaluation Committee (NREC) project 'CBT: a staff development perspective' is then used to analyse the propensity of different groups of staff to engage in staff development opportunities which are offered by their employers.

Published abstract.

The two volumes of collected papers are indexed at TD/TNC 64.287 and TD/TNC 64.355. Selected papers from volume one are indexed from TD/TNC 64.288 to TD/TNC 64.320; selected papers from volume two are indexed from TD/TNC 64.321 to TD/TNC 64.354. Show less

This paper examines a question posed in 2019 in the International Journal on Training and Development: 'How do we solve a problem like apprenticeship?' Data sources covering a substantial number of countries are used to present findings on, and analyse, initiatives that have been implemented or that have been considered, and then to develop some analytical constructs to help address the question. Fundamental issues such as the status of vocational education and training and the status of apprenticed occupations are important, but the nature of the apprenticeship arrangements, within countries and within industries are also major factors affecting perceived attractiveness.

The paper therefore argues that the heterogeneity of apprenticeship systems and arrangements is a major barrier to solving the attractiveness problem. Moreover, the heterogeneity of potential apprenticeship applicants means that marketing campaigns or other efforts to attract more, and higher quality, apprentices need to be cognisant of individuals' backgrounds, characteristics, and aspirations. Some tentative ways of addressing these matters are presented, but the conclusion is that the topic needs large-scale research.

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