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Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from two panel discussions at the 29th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills', held on 7-10 July 2020. Topics covered in the lively discussion include new directions in skills planning, digital technology and the role it plays in aged and community care, insights from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), and the role of parental influence in taking on apprenticeships. Speakers are Professor John Buchanan, The University of Sydney; Ms Anne Livingstone and Dr George Margelis, Australian Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council; Mr David Redway, Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment; and Professor Erica Smith, Federation University.

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At this time most young people leave school having had some experience in workplaces either through work placements arranged through their schools or as part-time workers. This paper presents the findings of a research project which examined the different types of learning experienced by students in the different modes of experiencing the workplace. The project also examined whether some students find access to such work experience more difficult than others.

The volumes of collected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 69.351 to TD/TNC 69.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 69.354 to TD/TNC 69.445. Show less

Much of the recent discussion around employability skills in the post-compulsory education sector has been based upon a deficit model of young people. While peak industry bodies propound this view, there has been comparatively little empirical research into the attitudes of individual employers. This paper reports on part of the findings of a research project carried out in 2002 into young people and employability skills. A considerable amount of data was generated that described employers’ experiences of, and opinions about, young people as potential employees.

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Research into school students and their experiences of the world of work, both during their school years and the first few years post school, has offered some insights in to some of the factors influencing the decisions young people make about their career options and pathways. This paper will explore some of the data from a research project which in itself was a follow-up study to two previous projects, one with a range of school students and one with school-based new apprentices. While the study was designed to find out the effect of workplace experiences while at school on post-school pathways, qualitative findings suggest that each individual has a unique context, story and blend of circumstances which produce the individual's pathway. This is the focus of this paper. The research also offers some valuable insights into the types of experiences, guidance and support that young people could find more useful in terms of finding out more about work and study options and possibilities.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 9th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 86.226 to TD/TNC 86.262. Show less

This research study aimed to find out how teenage workers developed their employability skills in their first formal jobs and set out to document the processes by which first-time workers develop these skills while at work. During mid-2002, case studies were carried out in 12 Australian enterprises (including three group training companies) of varying size, and drawn from different industry areas. The enterprises were located in four states: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, and included examples of novice workers who were part-time student workers as well as school leavers in their first jobs. Industry areas chosen were indicative of those employing the majority of novice workers, and included fast food, retail, electrical, electronics, hairdressing, hospitality, administration, local government, manufacturing and newspaper delivery. The study found that although employability skills may be developed through a range of activities and at a variety of locations, there are reasons why workplaces are appropriate and even vitally important sites for their development. Employability skills are developed throughout a person’s working life and hence employers need to view the process of employability skills development as a whole-of-workforce issue. Finally, there was little indication from the research that employers desired novice workers to be any different from the way they were already. They accepted that, in employing a teenager who had never worked before, they would have to put some effort into making the employee a functioning worker. The report is therefore not advocating any radical departure from existing practice, but merely an extension of such practice to more workplaces. The report also offers a number of suggestions for formalising many of the strategies which already exist. Show less

This chapter, a summary of the 2003 report by the same authors ‘The development of employability skills in novice workers’ (indexed at TD/TNC 74.02), reports on a research study which aimed to find out how teenage workers developed their employability skills in their first formal jobs. The term used in the study for young workers in their first formal job was ‘novice workers’. With young people in Australia commencing formal part-time work as early as 13 or 14 years of age (and even younger in some cases), employability skills are not necessarily developed at school. Many young people are gaining these skills primarily through their part-time jobs while they are at school or in their first jobs. The research was based on case studies which were carried out during mid-2002 in 12 Australian enterprises of varying size and drawn from different industry areas (including three group training companies). The enterprises were located in four states, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, and included examples of first-time workers who were part-time student workers as well as school leavers in their first jobs. The study found that employers of young people accepted their role in helping these young people to develop their employability skills and saw the benefits of doing so. This chapter highlights the range of approaches which employers use to encourage the development of these skills. The study confirms the importance of the workplace as a site for learning and developing employability skills.

The collected volume of research readings is indexed at TD/TNC 77.12; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 77.227 to TD/TNC 77.237. Show less

This paper reports on the first phase of a research project which investigated how young people in non-metropolitan areas in Australia imagine and navigate their pathways as they leave school and make choices about their future trajectories. The overall research question was: How do, and how could, young people imagine and navigate pathways related to post-school education, training and employment? There were three sub-questions: Who are the influencers and how do they affect the decisions? What could change to provide better post-school outcomes for a larger proportion of young people? What could change for communities and employers to better utilise young people's talents? The paper involved interviews with relevant organisations in the communities who had frequent contact with young people. This was the first phase of the project. Later phases involved interviews in schools and with young people, both those still at school and those who had left.

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This study examines the nature of young people's learning experiences in the initial months of work. A small sample of 16 to 18 year old apprentices, trainees and 'junior' employees were interviewed about their attitudes to learning at work in their first year, and the areas or 'domains' where learning took place. Lastly, seven 'facilitating factors' are outined - those factors present which make it easier for young workers to learn across the full range of domains. Show less

This article examines the scope for state intervention in the training and learning environment of young people in initial employment. It reports on the findings of a qualitative study of 11 teenagers entering full-time employment in New South Wales, Australia, relating to the breadth and depth of the young people’s learning in their jobs, and the factors which facilitated or inhibited their learning. Differences were found between those young people who were in formal contracts of training - apprenticeships and traineeships - and those who were not. It is argued that government intervention in young people’s training need not be confined to the policy area of apprenticeships and traineeships. Other possible points of intervention by the state are suggested, using examples from the case studies to illustrate the beneficial effects which might flow from such intervention.

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This report presents the main findings of the ILO survey on national initiatives to promote quality apprenticeships in the G20 member states. It was conducted between September and December 2017 as an ILO initiative to take stock of and widely share good practices in this area. The study focuses on the G20 economies, collectively representing a large part of the world, accounting for around 85 per cent of global economic output, two-thirds of the world's population, and 75 per cent of international trade, thus providing a good starting point for a global overview of apprenticeship. Another reason for the focus on the G20 is its strong policy commitments to apprenticeships and related initiatives in recent years. The survey was designed to document initiatives and promote knowledge-sharing with a view to facilitating social dialogue on skills development, particularly on quality apprenticeships. The socio-economic contexts in which apprenticeship training takes place vary from country to country. Hence the national initiatives presented in the report may not be directly comparable.

It is important to note that the aim of the survey was not to describe the differences among apprenticeships systems nor to make an international comparison of apprenticeship promotion efforts. It is thus beyond the scope of this survey to compare and gauge the effectiveness of policy interventions and actions taken by the ILO's tripartite constituents. The report has four main sections and eight appendices. The main sections are: (i) introduction; (ii) findings and good practices A: government actions (referring to appendices 3 and 4); (iii) findings and good practices B: social partners' actions (referring to appendices 5, 6 and 7); and (iv) summary and conclusions. The appendices are as follows: (1) the three survey instruments; (2) list of organizations responding for each category in each country; (3) tables of the governments' quantitative responses; (4) tables of government quantitative responses by country; (5) tables of employers' organizations' quantitative responses; (6) tables of workers' organizations' quantitative responses; and (7) tables of employers' and workers' quantitative responses, by country.

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