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Demand-driven funding was implemented in Australia with the aim of increasing the proportion of the population with a bachelor level (or higher) qualification, driven by predicted shortfalls in demand for university educated graduates over the coming decade. While the easing of previous enrolment restrictions was welcomed by some, concerns were expressed over whether student choice would be sufficiently reflective of employer demand. This paper examines the areas of study in which the growth in admissions has occurred and the implications for graduate outcomes and skills supply.

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Context: Vocational training is viewed as a significant tool that increases employment outcomes and provides potential career advancement opportunities for individuals. Many countries are witnessing a shift from supply-driven to demand-driven approaches. The demand-driven approach in vocational training is often explored at the macro level and is associated with the perspectives of employers and labour markets. In contrast, this article explores the demand-driven approach at the micro level by focusing on the perspectives of individual learners within the context of their localities in order to position them at the centre of the skill development process.

Methods: This study used a qualitative exploratory research method and a mixture of focus group and face-to-face semi-structured interviews to obtain data to identify the practical problems that arise in real life contexts when attempts are made to prioritise vocational training demands in line with the needs of all the stakeholders. Based on the demand from the targeted learners, a competency-based vocational training course especially for women was designed, tested and evaluated in selected villages.

Findings: The results show clearly that the demands of the rural population varied, and their participation in the training course was highly influenced by access to a training centre, the duration of the training, economic returns and socio-cultural factors. The demand-driven approach works best in vocational training when it involves the relevant stakeholders and the target groups in the planning and designing process.

Conclusion: The findings illustrate that demand-driven approach should be context specific, responsive to individuals’/learners’ demands, relevant and flexible.

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This paper draws on research carried out in 1996 and 1997 for the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) as part of its evaluation of the Australian Vocational Training System (AVTA) Enterprise Stream and Small Business Stream. A series of issues important to the continuing implementation of a demand-driven approach to skill formation through the New Apprenticeships scheme are explored.

The complete volume is indexed at TD/TNC 55.85; individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 55.86 to TD/TNC 55.108. Show less

Purpose: This study investigates the various themes around the demand-driven approach of vocational education and training (VET). The study focuses on investigating two major aspects of VET. Firstly, the extant literature has been systematically classified based on seven parameters: Geography, Focus on Vocational Education, Research Methods, Economic Sector, Origin of Study, Type of Training and Level of Skill. Secondly, this study has explored various themes around the VET implementation, performance gaps and road ahead. Design/methodology/approach: Thematic analysis with the systematic literature review (SLR) method is applied to 50 research papers on VET, published between 2011 and 2022.

Findings: This systematic review has found that experiential compliments VET and VET is the medium of skill development. Further, it was extracted through themes that VET may help ensure alternate employment in rural areas and contribute to micro- and macro-level economic development. Also, there is a requirement to adopt a demand-driven approach to VET by localizing VET content and delivery. Research limitations/implications: The study's findings are directed towards the need for demand-driven and customized VET. This study also explores many potential areas for further empirical research through various themes. Originality/value: This study is a novel effort that extracts the themes constituting the effect of VETs along with the descriptive analysis of the extant literature using the SLR approach. The study has rationalized the findings by providing due coding to various parameters in the previous studies under investigation.

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The goal of the Project is to improve the living standard of the poor and ethnic minorities by equipping them with relevant skills for employment and self-employment. The Project aims to pilot an innovative approach to poverty reduction through demand-driven skills training, so that methodologies and implementation arrangements tested under the Project will be incorporated and replicated in the Government's National Targeted Program on Poverty Reduction, 2006-2010 and a follow-up program. The specific objectives of the Project are to (i) build capability for vocational training providers to effectively mobilize resources; and manage skills training, career guidance, placement services, business start-up assistance, and follow-up consultations; (ii) provide the beneficiaries selected from the poor with a comprehensive package of skills training for employment; and (iii) provide project management and coordination support. The Project will be implemented in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces in Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta, focusing on the poorest districts.

The performance and outputs of the Project will be monitored and evaluated with the following indicators: (i) 4,000 poor individuals from the target districts, of whom at least 2,000 are ethnic minority females (50%), will be provided with skills training; (ii) 70%-90% of the preemployment trainees (at least 35%-45% female) will find jobs; (iii) 5%-10% of the trainees (at least 2.5%-5% female) will have access to preferential credit schemes for starting up small businesses; (iv) two community enterprise training committees in two target provinces will be established and involved in the Project; and (v) 100 core trainers (including at least 50 female trainers) and 150 personnel of the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, training providers, and other stakeholders (including at least 75 females) from Soc Trang and Tra Vinh will participate in training courses for capability building.

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The postpandemic economic recovery critically depends on whether the thousands of Canadians who have been laid off are able to regain employment. The 2021 federal budget announced additional funding for skills training and employment supports for those most affected by the economic shutdown. However, there is still a great deal of skepticism about the effectiveness of government-provided training for unemployed and underemployed workers. In this study, the authors argue that doubts about the usefulness of spending public dollars on skills training are based on outdated perceptions stemming from past evaluations of large-scale training programs whose methodology is now being questioned. As part of their review of over 30 years worth of evidence from the United States and other countries, the authors identify the problems associated with these earlier evaluations and highlight the more nuanced conclusions of research led by practitioners in the past decade on what sort of training works, under what conditions and for whom.

The key insight from this research is that government-sponsored skills training can be effective, and that it is most effective when it is aligned with employers' needs and delivers the skills that are in demand in local labour markets. Especially promising are two demand-informed training models that have been adopted widely in the US: sector-based training and Career Pathways. Looking at the effects of these approaches to training on participants' employment prospects and earnings, the authors point to key factors that help explain their success, notably establishing close collaboration with employers to identify in-demand skills, carefully selecting training candidates interested in entering specific sectors, ensuring flexibility in training program delivery, and providing wraparound supports such as child care and career advice to mitigate the barriers to training faced by working-age adults. The authors conclude that the sector-based and Career Pathways training models could play an important role in Canada's labour market policy response to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)] pandemic. However, leveraging these models to their full potential presents challenges for policy-makers, researchers and practitioners.

To better align Canada's skills development systems with employers' needs and changing labour markets, the authors recommend that policy-makers actively explore the feasibility of applying these models in the Canadian context; test and scale up those that show promise; and commit to learning what works. Building the necessary infrastructure, including strong networks among training providers and employers, and producing up-to-date labour market information will also be important.

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The last five years have been marked by a flurry of research and reports trying to chart the contours of the changing world of work. 'The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 130.274], added an unprecedented level of detail to the debate. The study challenged alarmism over projected widespread job automation. The authors analyzed not only the full spectrum of technological change, but also the potential effects of globalization, demographic shifts, environmental sustainability, urbanization, increasing inequality, and political uncertainty. This report argues that the convergence of these trends will likely result in a world of work requiring specific knowledge and skills, especially complex thinking and interpersonal capabilities. As the future of work unfolds, what makes us human is what will make us employable. But the pathway to sustained employment will not be linear. No single job will be a final destination. Maintaining a career will require a lifetime of learning. An education system fit for this evolving world - one which will value and strengthen essential human traits - will require significant reform.

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Understanding the responsiveness of 'older' workers - those aged 25-54 years - to government subsidies for up-skilling is important in developing policies that can support people in obtaining skills later in life. The particular focus for this report is the first round of Victorian demand-driven reforms, known as the Victorian Training Guarantee (VTG). The VTG reforms were introduced to create a more responsive training market and were implemented between July 2009 and January 2011. How enrolment and course choice responses differ, especially between employed and unemployed individuals, is a key focus of the report. Reforms introduced in Victoria post-2012 are not part of this analysis.

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This conference was designed around two key themes: (1) positioning TAFE to meet the challenges of the global marketplace; and (2) one tertiary sector: implications for domestic and international markets. Other issues addressed at the conference were: implications for skill development as Australia emerges from a global financial crisis; a coalescence of government reforms that may be rewriting fundamental aspects of vocational education in Australia; and concerns about a 'crisis' for international students in Australia. Underneath many of these issues was a question about the distinctive mission of TAFE in a complex and volatile landscape. The conference sessions were: Overview; Positioning TAFE: market design; Positioning TAFE: Australian Apprentices Task Force; Positioning TAFE: challenges and opportunities; Winning the skills race; TAFE/tertiary and its people: talent management; Education for the changing world of work: developing skills for the new economy; Towards a coherent tertiary education approach; One tertiary sector: a university perspective; One tertiary sector: opportunities and threats for TAFE; One tertiary sector: a Skills Australia perspective; One tertiary sector: an industry perspective; Stronger pathways between the sectors; Demand driven system: choice, diversity and competition; Demand driven system; A demand driven system: dual sector institution perspective; Demand driven: union perspective; TAFE in the new international landscape; An international education strategy; Engaging with education agents; Helping to enhance accommodation options for international students; e2e Net: new options for bridging training and employment. Show less

One of the major challenges facing Africa today is ensuring that extension practitioners are well trained to enable them [to] function effectively as facilitators of change at the farmers' level. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a mid-career [Bachelor of Science] B.Sc. agricultural extension curriculum in meeting the education needs of mid-career extension agents. The study was descriptive and used a validated questionnaire to collect data from 30 purposively selected graduates of the program. The study revealed that 66.7 per cent were aged between 40-49 years, and 93.3 per cent had at least 10 years of working experience before entering the program. The graduates considered their competencies at the start of the program to be below average in all but six of the 25 courses offered under the program. After going through the program, all the graduates had competencies that were rated from high to very high. Improvement in academic status, knowledge and skills in the human relations as well as technical areas in agriculture, and attitude to work, were perceived as the major benefits of the program. The effectiveness of the program in meeting the needs of the graduates was attributed to the availability of appropriate facilities and the conducive environment for the teaching-learning process, availability of adequate and competent lecturers, committed and supportive administrative staff, balanced curriculum and a well-planned and supervised field component of the program know as the supervised enterprise projects (SEPs).

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