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'No Frills' is an annual Australian conference where researchers and practitioners in the vocational education and training (VET) sector come together to present, discuss and share information about key issues confronting the sector. It also provides professional development opportunities for new and existing researchers. The 2016 conference program will highlight (but is not limited to) research across three themes: Equity: supporting diversity through promoting inclusive training opportunities for all Australians; Engagement: students, providers, employers and government working together to improve access, participation and outcomes from training; and Evolution: developing a skilled and flexible workforce to adapt to rapid technological change in the workplace, and to improve national competitiveness.

Edited summary from publisher's website.

Available conference presentations and conference papers are indexed individually from TD/TNC 125.57 to TD/TNC 125.95. Show less

Skills and knowledge in the disciplines science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are often portrayed as requirements to educational and professional success but even more so to a nation's prosperity and competitiveness. However, without a reference to a definition or a consistent definition of what STEM skills are - statistics, policy development, career advice and funding support run the risk of being disjointed and may not address the problem of mismatched skills.

Currently we see headlines of a STEM crisis or STEM myth, and that STEM skills are in shortage or oversupply. Confusion arises from applying the definition of STEM too broadly and thus attempting to be generic and specific at the same time. [The presenters] suggest using the acronym STEM in its original conception in the education sector as an interdisciplinary approach to learning and thinking that dismantles the traditional barriers separating the four disciplines, and integrates them into real-world, rigorous, and relevant learning experiences. At the same time [the presenters] discourage the use of the acronym as an umbrella term for qualifications and occupations in scientific and technical fields, disregarding the subtleties and differences within the field. While investigating workforce and skills in demand it may [be] easier to think of a desired STEM product or output such as improved technology or scientific discoveries rather than distinct STEM qualifications occupations. This approach will subsequently consider a variety of skills and occupations from all disciplines, including the arts and humanities, under a combined direction.

The emphasis in the current STEM debate is placed on secondary schooling and higher education. This emphasis fails to recognise the major contribution of the [vocational education and training] VET sector to STEM products and services providing a skilled workforce. It not only provides the majority of qualifications and occupations in the engineering and technology workforce but its learning model teaches the application of skills in real or simulated workplace requirements in close collaboration with industry and employers. This model combined with the ability of agile training product responses and tailored short courses makes the VET sector an ideal environment for skill development.

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Vocational education and training (VET) has a long association with school education. From the technical schools of the 1970s, to the development of VET in Schools programs in the 1990s and the integration into the high school certificate in the early 2000s. Currently, around 40 per cent of students in Years 11 and 12 enrol in at a VET in Schools subject. But what is the impact of VET in Schools and what outcomes does it help to achieve? This presentation reports on a collaboration that has allowed a look at the destinations of VET in Schools students five years down the track. This research project aimed to facilitate detailed analyses of the training and labour market outcomes of students who have undertaken VET in Schools programs. These outcomes were investigated by looking at a range of personal and training characteristics. A supplementary aim of the project was to foster closer working relationships between [National Centre for Vocational Education Research] NCVER and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in areas of mutual interest.

NCVER used a number of datasets for this research project, including the integrated VET in Schools data with 2011 Census of Population and Housing (Census) produced by ABS. The integrated dataset facilitated more detailed analysis of the longitudinal outcomes of young people who participated in VET in Schools. In order to access the integrated data, the ABS collaborated with NCVER to release a detailed microdata file to authorised researchers through the DataLab. The DataLab is a data analysis solution provided by the ABS for high-end data users who want to undertake complex analysis of unit record files (microdata). This approach provides an example of how the ABS is transforming its approach to expanding microdata access to better support research and decision-making.

Using the extensive data available from the census, NCVER was able to investigate a range of education and employment outcomes for students five years after undertaking a VET in Schools course. The analysis covers outcomes such as labour force status, income, non-school qualifications and occupation and student characteristics such as Indigenous status, remoteness and characteristics of their VET in Schools study. The analytical results from this project will be of interest to researchers and policy makers such as those who are interested in outcomes from participation in VET. In addition, those interested in how the ABS is transforming access to microdata will be benefit from this presentation.

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This paper presents a case study of how a curriculum for a Diploma of Youth Work was developed when key results from the industry consultation didn't align with the training package. Most specifically, when a considerable area of necessary affective practice skills - in this case revolving around the necessary dispositions to work successfully with young people - was not expressed in any readily accessible form in the training package. This misalignment reflects the tension between the apparent singularity of skills in competency-based training and the cumulative and embodied skills demanded by industry.

Using thinking tools from Legitimation Code Theory which provides a framework for the study of knowledge and education, the underlying knowledge and skills required by youth work industry and knowledges and skills valorised in the training packages were mapped. This revealed a 'code clash' between them. A second map was then developed that unpacked the embodied skills and thematic knowledge expressed in the industry consultation. A curriculum was then developed that satisfied the competency requirements with an added dimension of 'capability' to bridge this gap. This evaluative process provides a snapshot of how, whilst the imperative for quality and evaluative rigour in the vocational sector has never been higher, 25 years of vocational and industrial reform have left a legacy model of competencies and competency-based training that reflects an outdated model of industry that doesn't reflect the workplace realities and workforce complexities of the community service industries. This process provides one model for thinking beyond immediate practices to the powerful knowledges underpinning them.

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Wontulp-Bi-Buya College (WBBC) situated in Cairns, Queensland has been educating and providing training programs for adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since 1983. [The] registered training organisation (RTO) which is recognised in the [vocational education and training] VET sector, delivers nationally accredited courses, in Certificate III in Addictions Management and Community Development; Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Addictions Counselling; Certificate IV in Indigenous Mental Health (Suicide Prevention); Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Theology and Ministry. All courses are designed and delivered with a cultural appropriate pedagogical framework that ensures the success of each and every student who dedicates their self to the training. It is also through continuous improvement that not only changes with governmental requirements are implemented but also most importantly the continuous evaluation of student and employer satisfaction are adapted and up-held. [WBBC] are continuously observing students who have diverse levels in education, little or no employment outcome opportunity due to social impacts and little or no work opportunity. It is part of the cultural appropriate component that WBBC do not discriminate against those who are less privileged in the way of education and training disabilities. [WBBC] are also finding that a majority of students are not in the position to fully adapt to positive social change in the specified time frames and with the lack of service in community; in turn creating barriers as a registered training organisation who is obligated to report on quantitative research only to ensure compliance to government policies.

The College has a non-for profit status and is reliant on various governmental-funding models, which are essential to the delivery of current courses, however with new national legislated changes to current frameworks, [WBBC] are observing [their] training institution gradually being directed away from crucial key components of outcomes through qualitative research data and reporting, which steer away from principles of closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage. In the last four years, the orientation of VET as part of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy has become highly centralised on employment and outcome strategies, opposed to wellbeing and personal development. Even though WBBC has unceasingly directed its attention to becoming effective in the marketisation of the VET sector by adapting to changes to ensure compliancy to funding frameworks. It is becoming evident that [WBBC] are being slowly directed away from [their] vision to equip many students in social wellbeing, in turn creating massive gaps in the support mechanism through WBBC's training pedagogy, and the inability to assist with the social wellbeing, disadvantaging First Nations people and communities.

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This presentation will discuss a 2014/15 Auto Skills Australia (ASA) commissioned project which investigated how to increase the participation of women in automotive trades occupations. The ASA study included interviews with 87 industry participants (43 tradeswomen and female apprentices, 44 employers). The research team took a novel approach using a socio-ecological model to investigate, analyse and understand the experiences and perceptions of female tradeswomen and employers. These models are mainly used in the health sector but have also been used by a number of researchers internationally to look at occupational preferences.

Socio-ecological models consider that complex problems such as changing female participation in traditionally male occupations depend on multiple layers of nested and intersecting factors: individual attitudes, capabilities; immediate relationships with family, friends, school teachers, employers and work colleagues that affect young women's decisions to choose and stay in a trades career; community level factors that influence the experiences women have with trades such as workplace organisation and employment conditions; societal factors that have a pervasive influence on the female trades experience such as rigid beliefs about gender and work.

This approach produced new understandings of the female tradeswoman and employer experience and evidence leading to suggestions for a range of new approaches to increasing female participation in traditionally male trades. For this particular industry the key outcomes from the research included: development of a profile of the attributes of young women likely to choose and succeed in one traditionally male trade; an understanding of the factors that attract women to automotive trades occupations; identification of the value that employers who employ tradeswomen recognise that these women add to their businesses; an understanding of employer and co-workers attributes and behaviours that facilitate the participation of women in trades; identification of the [registered training organisation] RTO attributes that facilitate successful female apprenticeships; strategies for transforming traditionally male trades based workplaces into workplaces that welcome female tradespeople; recommendations for a comprehensive approach to increasing female recruitment and retention based on analysis using the socio-ecological model, a site-saturation approach. This year [the presenters] hope to apply this approach to a broader range of non-traditional trades, including licensed, building and engineering trades.

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Employers around the world are experiencing critical shortages of skilled technical workers. Young people in our communities lack employable skills, including technical and language skills, as well as problem solving, analysis and the proper attitudes and belief systems for success. At the same time, unskilled jobs are disappearing, and rising levels of unemployment and poverty are causing individual and community hardship. Young people who receive no skills training, or who are trained for jobs that are not in demand in their communities, frequently drop out of school and the workforce and into poverty. Communities around the world are suffering from widening gaps in wages and incomes due in part to skills set disparities. These gaps have created significant pressures not only on those trying to support their families, but also on the very economic stability of the communities where they live.

Technical Education for Communities (TEC) is a solution. TEC is a global initiative of the Cummins Foundation that targets the technical skills gap through local vocational education programs. The program delivers industry-relevant skills training so that graduating students can secure good jobs in their community. TEC has a community focus and seeks to build coalitions with like-minded partners to sustain improved education outcomes. Business partners have engaged at an individual site and at a global level across multiple sites. TEC began with programs in 10 sites around the world. These sites were selected after reviewing a variety of factors, including local leadership engagement, local industry need and commitment to coalition building. By using a standard education model and set of tools, the program helped partners develop effective curriculum, market relevant skills, qualified teachers, career guidance and the practical experience needed by students.

TEC coalition partners engage through steering committees to help guide the school, and serve as teachers and mentors, and provide workplace learning opportunities such as apprenticeships, internships and job shadowing opportunities. Together, we are working to make our global communities stronger through skills training. In Australia, the underrepresentation of women in industries considered to be 'male-dominated' such as mining, construction and utilities and automotive, continues to affect gender equality, industry performance and [the] nation's economy. Similarly, employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians remain poor and are getting worse. A targeted approach to recruitment of these groups through TEC has seen participation numbers increase and it is anticipated individuals will move into sustainable employment, education or further training pathways. The TEC program in Australia has a particular focus on the automotive industry, predominantly for roles that lead to employment opportunities in the light vehicle, heavy vehicle, mining and engineering industries. TEC target's students in [vocational education and training] VET in Schools (VETis) programs and will eventually be delivered through eight Trade Skills Centre facilities across Australia. Industry collaboration is at the forefront of this type of project.

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Questions about the extent to which informal caring responsibilities affect participation in education and educational attainment are important to many policy areas. Policy development in areas of formal child care, aged care, disability services, paid parental leave, family-friendly policies in workplaces, female labour force participation and gender equity can be informed by evidence of how caring affects educational participation and attainment. This is particularly true for women, who bear the brunt of providing informal care in Australian society. Indigenous Australians are more likely to have informal caring responsibilities than non-Indigenous Australians, with contributing factors including higher fertility rates, higher rates of disability and poorer access to formal care services. Peak fertility for Indigenous women is in the 15-24 year age group, a time when many young people complete secondary education and embark on post-school education. Vocational education remains the predominant form of post-school educational engagement among Indigenous Australians, despite increasing numbers participating in higher education. Yet there is little research examining relationships between caring responsibilities and Indigenous people's participation in vocational education and attainment of vocational qualifications.

The release of the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset (ACLD) by the Australian Bureau of Statistics provides a valuable opportunity to examine outcomes for the Indigenous population in 2011 in the light of their circumstances in 2006. Longitudinal data - information relating to the same individuals over a period of time - can support analyses of individual transitions, yielding clearer insights into social processes. Using cross-sectional census data to assess change over time in outcomes for the Indigenous population is additionally challenging because of changing Indigenous identification. This means that when using census data to compare average outcomes of the Indigenous population in 2011 with 2006 (for example), we do not know the extent to which those who identified as being Indigenous in 2011 are the same people (after taking births and deaths into account) as those who identified as being Indigenous in 2006. Changes in identification might therefore be driving any observed change in average outcomes for the population, resulting in misleading conclusions about whether outcomes are improving or worsening. Longitudinal information can help to address this problem because, even if people change identification, groups (however these groups are delineated) comprising the same individuals over time can be analysed. The ACLD provides a relatively large Indigenous sample (about 22,000 people who were identified as Indigenous in 2006).

The research presented here draws on multivariate analysis using the ACLD to examine how Indigenous people's caring responsibilities in 2006 were associated with their subsequent entry into TAFE and attainment of their first educational qualification. The analysis examines whether caring for children and caring for someone with a disability have different associations with vocational education participation and attainment. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of some policy implications and reflections on the strengths and limitations of the ACLD for this type of research.

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Key issues addressed in this presentation are research done by the VET Development Centre (VDC) in developing and conducting a program to support [vocational education and training] VET staff in working with Indigenous learners, the evaluation of this program and the constraints and challenges faced by the VDC in working in this area. Strong student-teacher relationships are critical to the success of education programs. Educational research points to 'quality teaching' as one of the important success factors in delivering high quality and equitable education and training. In the VET sector, as in other educational sectors, the delivery of training to Indigenous learners is often by non-Indigenous educators. The creation of culturally safe learning environments is a vital ingredient to successful learning, meaning educators with cross cultural awareness are better equipped to work effectively with Indigenous learners.

This presentation shares action research conducted by the VDC over the last four and a half years. The research is focussed on designing, delivering and evaluating professional development to support VET educators in working with Indigenous learners. This work has been funded by the Victorian government and is aligned to the Wurreker Strategy. It is informed by the federal government's 'Closing the Gap' campaign. This work includes the design and delivery of professional development programs for teachers in TAFE, private registered training organisations and adult community education providers. Delivery commenced in 2011, with programs delivered in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 and planned for 2016. Grants were funded for training organisations to conduct projects aimed at building staff capacity to work with Indigenous learners in 2015 and again in 2016. Participants in programs and grant recipients evaluated their experience and the feedback received was used for continuous improvement. An independent evaluation of the program was conducted in late 2015 by [Australian Council for Educational Research] ACER.

The presentation will report on: the outcomes of an environmental scan of best practice in Indigenous education which supported the design, delivery and evaluation of professional development programs and prioritising of grant applications; the design and delivery of professional development programs delivered in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 to support VET teachers working with Indigenous learners and changes to this in response to the experience gained in previous years and other pressures; the conduct by training organisations of VDC funded projects aimed at building Indigenous capability of the organisation; and evaluation outcomes and VDC's response to these.

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The paper examines major changes in the funding of [vocational education and training] VET from 2010 and apparent changes in equity, in efficiency in meeting workforce needs and in quality standards. It briefly discusses the operation of the training market and why good and bad outcomes may have occurred. It suggests ways in which shortcomings might be addressed. From 2010 there has been a rise and then fall in student numbers, fluctuating total levels of real funding in the public system, a substantial decline in government real recurrent expenditure per annual hour of training, shifts in funding shares between Commonwealth and states, expansion of government funding to private [registered training organisations] RTOs under various entitlement schemes, huge growth of VET FEE-HELP, cuts in government grants to employers of trainees, and a relative decline in assistance to VET students through Youth Allowance and Austudy. The paper draws on previous analyses in this area. It uses data on funding, students and graduates from [National Centre for Vocational Education Research] NCVER, the Productivity Commission, budget papers and annual reports of the Australian Department of Education and Training and the Department of Social Services and selected state and territory information.

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