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In 2012, the Australian government introduced a 'demand-driven' entitlement system for domestic higher education students in which recognised higher education providers are free to enrol as many eligible students as they wish in eligible higher education courses and receive corresponding government subsidies for those students. This paper examines the impact that already has occurred as a result of this decision and the likely long-term effects that this will have on higher education in Australia.

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In this publication, the author shows that the formal way of vocational education and training (VET) in rural areas often ignores the illiterate, the less education, and the poor. The author demonstrates that VET programs need to be demand-driven and consider the socioeconomic aspects of particular regions. Therefore, the significance of the study at grassroots level helps customize VET programs to respond to the demand of the individual vocational training needs of rural people by keeping their endogenous needs at the centre of vocational skill development process. The findings and lessons learnt from action research are also intensively discussed as guiding principles for demand-driven approaches from the learner/societal perspectives.

Edited excerpt from publication.

The contents are as follows: Historical overview of vocational education and training in India; Demand-driven approaches in VET; Developing curriculum for sewing vocational training; Competency-based sewing curriculum development; Evaluation of competency-based sewing vocational training. Show less

In this study, [the author] examines the impacts of demand-driven vocational education and training (VET) reforms on access to training for people with disability. Impacts are estimated for Victoria using population enrolment data and difference-in-differences estimation, using enrolments in New South Wales as the counterfactual. [The author] finds that the Victorian reforms substantially increased access to VET for people with disability, but not to the same extent as for those who are not equity group members. Of particular interest, results suggest that up-skilling requirements that limited publicly funded places in VET to higher level courses restricted access by more for people with disability.

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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 growth trends in student numbers for the 10 Australian Universities with the highest enrolments in 2014 have been examined. They account for 39 per cent of all student enrolments, including 53 per cent of research student enrolments. Changes in the undergraduate, postgraduate coursework and research training categories for the period 2009 to 2014 are reported. Domestic and overseas student trends are included. These 10 universities increased their student intakes by more than 81,000 in the period under review. Considerable variations in their responses to the student demand-driven policy reforms are evident. Three universities - Deakin, Melbourne and Queensland - each increased their intake by more than 10,000 students. Deakin is the standout university with a 38.6 per cent increase in undergraduate enrolments and a 76.7 per cent increase in research students. Melbourne reported a 98.7 per cent increase in postgraduate coursework students and a decline of 11.6 per cent in undergraduate students as an outcome of its curriculum reforms.

Interestingly, the percentage domestic student profile changes occurring in many universities outside the 10 largest universities are greater in all enrolment categories. The system-wide strong growth is expected to bring very significant resourcing challenges to avoid an escalation in attrition rates and to enable the academic quality of the Australian higher education system to be maintained.

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This paper explores for the first time the impact of a demand-driven training program on labor turnover at both firm and worker level. Launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade (MDIC in Portuguese), Pronatec-MDIC allows firms to demand courses which some of their workers apply to. Difference-in-difference estimates find that workers who enroll in the courses demanded by their employers increase their job tenure by 8.89 months compared to non-enrolled nominees. However, those who complete the training stay in the job 3.36 months less, on average, than those who do not. At firm level, results show that having a course approved is associated with higher turnover in the short run when considering subgroups of workers who participate in Pronatec-MDIC. The effect dissipates in the third year, suggesting that it takes time for firms to adjust their labor stock after course demand but stabilize afterwards.

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Attracting skilled foreign workers has become a high priority for countries seeking to be economically competitive, but their methods for doing so vary. Since entering office, President Trump has called for the United States to adopt a more 'merit-based' system, looking to Canada and Australia as potential models. In demand-driven immigrant selection systems, including the one in place the United States, employers choose the workers they need to fill existing vacancies, and the government screens them to ensure they are eligible for admission, as well as to prevent fraud and enforce security protocols. By contrast, countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand use points-based systems in which governments take the lead, selecting among prospective immigrants based on labor and human-capital considerations, including professional experience, education, holding a job offer, and destination-country language proficiency.

This report compares these two models - going beyond their day-to-day operation to examine the political and philosophical foundations that underpin each. Crucially, after years of development, many selection systems incorporate aspects of both models; as the authors note, 'most employer-led and points-based systems are now somewhere nearer the mid-point along the continuum between labor-market and human-capital considerations'. Looking ahead, the report offers recommendations for policymakers charged with managing immigrant selection systems in a time of labor-market and demographic change. These include ensuring that selection systems are flexible and responsive to changing conditions, studying newcomers' integration outcomes to inform future admissions criteria, and finding ways to not only attract but also retain skilled foreign workers.

Excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

Over the next five years, the Australian higher education sector is expected to undergo major change as the 'Bradley review' recommendations are progressively implemented. One of the key elements of the reform agenda is the move to a demand-driven funding model, imposing greater dependence of universities on the power of student choice. This report discusses an Ernst and Young industry-wide study of the key drivers of student choice, the competitive performance of different universities and institutional responses to the introduction of demand-driven funding. Key findings and recommendations for key players in the Australian higher education sector are included.

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As demand for higher education has grown, there has been a trend towards science, engineering and especially health disciplines. These are among the most expensive fields to teach. The shift towards more expensive fields, on top of bigger than expected growth across all fields, increases the potential cost of a demand-driven system. In a demand-driven funding system, universities have less scope to cross-subsidise more expensive (as well as less popular) courses. Current base funding rates are less than the cost of delivery in all disciplines, with the biggest shortfalls in more expensive fields. Without changes to funding, universities will have limited capacity and incentives to offer enough places in the fields that students want. The fundamental contradiction is that volume has been deregulated but price remains fixed.

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