Australian workforce futures: a national workforce development strategy

This paper reports on recommendations for a fundamental overhaul in the way the nation approaches and supports workforce development, at a national, industry and enterprise level. The vision for this strategy is that Australia has the workforce capability it requires for a productive, sustainable and inclusive future, and that Australian enterprises have the capacity to develop and use the skills of their workforce to maximum advantage for the benefit of industry and the community. The key aspects addressed by the paper are: (1) meeting Australia’s future skills and workforce demands; (2...  [+] Show more

This paper reports on recommendations for a fundamental overhaul in the way the nation approaches and supports workforce development, at a national, industry and enterprise level. The vision for this strategy is that Australia has the workforce capability it requires for a productive, sustainable and inclusive future, and that Australian enterprises have the capacity to develop and use the skills of their workforce to maximum advantage for the benefit of industry and the community. The key aspects addressed by the paper are: (1) meeting Australia’s future skills and workforce demands; (2) raising workforce participation; (3) improving adult language, literacy and numeracy skills; (4) better using skills to increase productivity; (5) enhancing the capability of the tertiary education sector; and (6) creating a shared agenda on workforce futures. Several appendices are included, covering: preliminary costing of recommendations; the consultation process; specialised occupations; regional workforce participation; international examples; workforce development case studies; and a national reform agreement for Australian workforce development.