Pod - Apprenticeships and traineeships

Professor Erica Smith

Professor and Personal Chair in Vocational Education and Training
Associate Dean Research
Federation University Australia

Erica is an experienced researcher and has managed many national and international research projects. She is convenor of the Australian Council of Deans of Education Vocational Education Group (ACDEVEG). Over more than 20 years, Erica has provided advice to the Australian government on a range of VET issues via invited input to parliamentary inquiries and expert round-tables, background papers, and committee participation. Erica has been researching apprenticeship for 25 years and is co-chair of the International Network on Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP), which was founded in Germany. She hosted the 2015 INAP conference in Ballarat in 2015. She was invited to write the chapter on apprenticeships for the International encyclopedia of education (2010) and has edited three special journal editions of Education+Training on the topic. Erica has been the project manager for four international research projects on apprenticeships for the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2013, and contributed to other ILO projects. She has been an invited speaker on apprenticeships in three continents. Erica’s research group Researching Adult and Vocational Education (RAVE) has been designated a Research Priority Area by Federation University. Erica has completed major research projects funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) on skill in jobs traditionally considered unskilled, on Enterprise Registered Training Organisations; and on VET teachers and the contribution that their qualifications make to VET quality. She has completed many NCVER-funded projects including a recent study of employer training.

To view Erica's work and further information please see her institutional profile.

The state of apprenticeship during the COVID-19 pandemic: reports from seven countries
(Source: Urban Institute via YouTube, May 2021)