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This paper reports on the analysis of three years research of undergraduate cooperative work term postings and employer and employee evaluations. The objective of the analysis was to determine the factors affecting student and employer success and satisfaction with the work-integrated learning experience. It was found that students performed better and found co-op placements with an increasing emphasis on leadership in their senior years; however, students rated their first employer the highest. Furthermore, senior students were more successful than junior students in work placements abroad, and extended work terms at the same employer did not increase student satisfaction.

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This report examines the ways in which Australian employers retain skilled staff as well as the ways in which employers enhance their ability to use the skills of their people. The study involved a variety of organisations representing a cross-section of industries from small to large employers. It focuses on the role of human resource management practices, including fostering a 'learning culture' and high performance work practices. The study found that while strategies such as increasing wages and family friendly policies may increase an employee's job satisfaction, the key driver in determining if employees remain with an organisation is if they feel they are learning and progressing in their careers. It also highlights that training, especially nationally recognised training, is strongly tied to decisions made by employees on whether they will stay with their employer.

A podcast of an Interview with Andrew Smith about this publication is indexed at TD/TNC 94.160. Show less

The relationships between higher education and the world of work revived in the late nineties as a major issue of debate in Europe. The world of the professions was confronting with dramatic changes in terms of competences, mainly due to the globalization of the economies, a move towards a knowledge-based society, and technical development. As education providers, the universities were interested in exploring the competence needs of the employers on the labor market. To analyze the way universities prepare the graduates for the requirements of the labor market, in terms of competences and skills, the European Commission funded the REFLEX project, a survey undertaken in 2005 covering working graduates in 13 European countries five years after they had left higher education. Using the data set on 31,800 young European graduates, this chapter looks at the links between higher education and graduate employment, with special emphasis on the transition period from student life to the professional life, the graduates’ views of their preparation for the labor market (competences possessed and required), graduates’ satisfaction with their jobs, earnings, and early career mobility patterns. It also explores the factors influencing the choice of degree course, graduates’ views on their study program (e.g. modes of teaching and learning, and assessment), and what contributes to academic performance.

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In 2000, ACER introduced cohort reports as part of its Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program to ‘provide an overview of the education, training and labour market experiences of the whole cohort on a regular basis, contributing to discussions of issues that affect young people’. Cohort reports supplement data already available from government statistics on enrolments and apparent retention rates. These reports are aimed at helping researchers to see the potential of the database as they use a wider range of the variables than may be used in the LSAY research reports.

This report contains information about the experiences of the 1995 LSAY cohort in 2002. Information on this cohort was first collected in 1995, when these young people were Year 9 students in Australian schools. The modal age of respondents at the time of the 2002 survey was 21 years. Highlights from this report include: 36% of the cohort were engaged in training; 25% were at university and six per cent at TAFE or a business college; five per cent were undertaking an apprenticeship or another form of study; more females than males were at university and TAFE, while more males were in apprenticeships; the majority of this cohort were not studying in 2002, with most either having completed a qualification or at least participated in some form of postsecondary education and training in previous years; only two per cent were not in the labour force and had not undertaken any form of postsecondary study or training; and most members of the cohort were happy with their lives. The contents are: The Year 9 class of 1995 in 2002; Education and training activities; Employment; Social aspects; Appendix; References.

Other cohort reports relating to the Year 9 class of 1995 are indexed at TD/TNC 78.211, TD/TNC 78.213 and TD/TNC 78.217. Show less

This book presents new evidence on how teachers learn to be teachers, suggesting that more attention be paid to the emotional, relational, ethical, material, structural and temporal dimensions of the teaching experience. Based on empirical research, including interviews with new teachers, by teachers themselves, on a scale rarely seen before, the contributions reveal the complexity of learning in a professional context and highlight what really matters in teaching. Policy critique is offered along with ideas for future research. Key questions are examined, such as: what do beginners go through in the workplace?; what is the experience of new teachers as they join one of the largest workforces in the developed world?; what do teachers learn in the school? The chapters are: Linda's story: a new teacher's tale / Lesley Walker; The early professional learning of teachers: a model beginning / Jim McNally, Allan Blake, Nick Boreham, Peter Cope, Brian Corbin, Peter Gray, Ian Stronach; A new concept of teacher-researcher? / Colin Smith and Lesley Easton; Feeling professional: new teachers and induction / Brian Corbin; Who can you count on?: the relational dimension of new teacher learning / Jim McNally; Making room for new teachers: the material dimension in beginning teaching / Phil Swierczek; The temporal, structural, cognitive and ethical dimensions of early professional learning / Brian Corbin, Allan Blake, Ian Stronach and Jim McNally; Job satisfaction among newly qualified teachers in Scotland / Nick Boreham; Fun in theory and practice: new teachers, pupil opinion and classroom environments / Peter Gray; Design of the times: measuring interactivity, expert judgement and pupil development in the early professional learning project / Allan Blake; An age at least to every part: a longitudinal perspective on the early professional learning of teachers / David Dodds; The implications of early professional learning for schools and local authorities / Colin Smith; The invention of teachers: how beginning teachers learn / Ian Stronach. Show less

Although various antecedents of expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment have been addressed, previous international experience, predeparture cross-cultural training, and cultural intelligence (CQ) have been most frequently examined. However, there are few attempts that explore the effects of these antecedents simultaneously or consider the possible influencing variables that can impact cross-cultural adjustment. In addition, empirical findings on the effects of these antecedents are somewhat mixed. Hence, there is a need for integrative studies exploring the mechanism of cross-cultural adjustment to deepen understanding of how previous international experience, predeparture cross-cultural training, and CQ affect expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment.

In this regard, [the authors] considered CQ as a variable that mediates the influences of previous international experience (work and nonwork) and predeparture cross-cultural training (length and comprehensiveness) on cross-cultural adjustment. Additionally, an expatriate's goal orientation was considered as a moderating variable that influences the effects of previous international experience and predeparture cross-cultural training on CQ. Results using a sample of 190 Korean expatriates partially supported the hypotheses. The mediating effect of CQ and moderating effect of goal orientation were partially supported. The previous international nonwork rather than work experience and comprehensiveness rather than length of predeparture cross-cultural training were more positively related to CQ. The theoretical contributions, practical implications for human resource development (HRD) practitioners, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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Philip Morris Holland is a cigarette manufacturer in the Netherlands and is part of Philip Morris International. The company practises a proactive employability policy. Employees are encouraged to be aware of career possibilities inside as well as outside the company. While there is no hard data to attest to the benefits of the policy for the company, success can be measured by high job satisfaction and low staff turnover.

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Health Workforce Australia's (HWA) national workforce innovation and reform program is driving change across the health and aged care sectors to create a more productive, sustainable and consumer-centred system for the future. Evidence is increasing on what service and workforce reforms work, why they are successful and how they might be implemented nationally. This report demonstrates the scale and pace of reform being delivered across Australia by those on the frontline of service delivery. They are striving to deliver a consumer-focused service that is innovative, improved and provided within existing constraints. In many cases, participation in HWA's health and aged care workforce projects has enabled a local acceleration in reform that has the potential to be replicated nationally. The evidence developed through the local and national evaluations of the 52 projects outlined in this report will allow for the further uptake of good ideas and disinvestment in what has proven not to work. The formal evaluation reports that are scheduled for completion in September 2014 will assist with the development of policy advice to government, the diffusion of successful workforce models and implementation support for future adoption sites.

HWA's investment in workforce reform is already creating energy for change, which is being supported and promoted through the health and aged care sectors. Across 99 project sites, roles have been redesigned for over 2,200 members of the health and aged care workforce. Consumer and carer satisfaction rates are high with many stating the services delivered by the redesigned workforce are more responsive and better suited to their needs. The Expanded Scopes of Practice program is delivering four large-scale, innovative health workforce reform initiatives that focus on role redesign and expanding the scope of existing health professionals in acute and primary care settings. The role redesigns have the potential to improve the patient journey, reduce waiting times and ease pressure in areas of high demand, such as emergency departments, by equipping health professionals with the skills and experience to undertake expanded roles. There is a need to implement and evaluate these models systematically, to assess whether they are suitable for wider (national) roll-out and to determine the conditions where they are most likely to succeed.

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The significance of transfer of training to organizations has been acknowledged by many studies. However, the consequences of transfer of training, particularly for employees, have still not been adequately explored. The present study was conducted to address this gap. Specifically, it explores the relationship among transfer of training, service quality and job satisfaction. Data for this study were collected through surveys of employees, their supervisors and their colleagues. Data were analysed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that transfer of training is positively and significantly associated with both service quality and job satisfaction.

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This paper reports a qualitative study of young people in their first year of full-time work. Interviews with young people, their TAFE teachers (where appropriate), their parents and their employers gave a rich picture of the young people's experiences. The focus of the study was on what the young people learned and how they learned it and this paper emphasises in particular the importance of learning opportunities in career choices and in subsequent job satisfaction. The importance of the existence of a contract of training is emphasised.

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