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This paper interrogates and rethinks the notion of pathways (a Conference theme). In a knowledge society, there is need to include many other types and directions of movement within and between educational sectors throughout lifetimes. Moreover, knowledge workers’ careers are increasingly the responsibility of individuals rather than employers. Thus, individuals need to keep on reinventing themselves, engaging in ‘career investment behaviour’ (Greller 2006, p.544). This paper draws on data from two different research projects undertaken in Australia and Singapore. These projects involved individuals who had engaged in studies in two different educational sectors: the academic and the vocational. Australian respondents (N=190) had studied in both the [vocational education and training] VET and the higher education sectors; Singapore respondents (N=101) had graduated from both the formal tertiary education and the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) sectors. Their pathway experiences in moving between sectors are compared within the conceptual framework of career capital.

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Promotion by governments of the provision of pathways for learners and the principle of seamlessness in post-compulsory education over the past decade may be perceived as both positive and problematic. Seamlessness can provide considerable choice and yet can readily lead to uncertainty and indecision. A number of studies have drawn attention to the phenomenon of indirect transfer, where the movement of tertiary students is not linear but involves several moves within and between sectors. This paper explores patterns in such movements and proposes a typology of five learning pathways. The research involved in-depth interviews held with 69 students in South Australia who had experienced both vocational and higher education sectors. Such research can help educators and researchers understand more fully the experiences in and reasons for moving within and between various pathways. It can also assist policymakers and institutional planners with insights into how best to fashion relationships between sectors and tailor policies and services that help learners navigate through education systems.

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Purpose - Proposes to provide a description of the factors that underlie retention and to develop a model of the process of retention. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative study was conducted in a selected number of occupational areas. Interviews were conducted with apprentices and trainees employed under a contract of training; apprentices/trainees who had recently completed their contract of training; employers/workplace supervisors and teachers/trainers. Findings - Provides information about a range of factors and how they combined to shape the process of retention. Recognises that some of the identified factors are more amenable to interventions to enhance retention than others. Research limitations/implications - The study did not attempt to cover all occupations in which apprentices are employed, or to provide any ranking of importance of factors in relation to the retention process. The study encourages a holistic understanding of the process of retention and emphasises the dynamic nature of this process over the period of a contract of training. Practical implications - A useful source of information for those concerned with designing interventions that target factors that are most amenable to promoting enhanced retention in apprenticeships. Originality/value - This paper addresses the often neglected process of retention and offers some guidance in the design of interventions to promote retention in apprenticeships.

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One of the most significant outcomes of training reform that has taken place over the past decade has been the (re)claiming of workplaces as legitimate learning environments. With the move to de-institutionalise training, the role of the workplace mentor falls under the spotlight. Critical issues are the quality and diversity of learning occurring in such environments and the extent to which workplace mentors are ready, willing and able to fulfil what appears to be demanded of them. Since the mid-1990s, Australian research has contributed to a growing body of literature on workplace learning. Yet there is precious little attention paid to the conceptualisation of the role of mentor as it might apply in an enterprise setting or how this role might vary, and the degree to which learning is formalised, in differently sized enterprises. Our previous research has demonstrated that the single most important factor in the quality of the workplace learning is the workplace mentor. The learning environment and processes ('learning culture'?) within an enterprise provide a powerful framework which shapes how a person who helps others learn might operate. A number of authors have identified functions/skills that characterise the mentoring relationship. Insights from examining apprentices' learning on-the-job also suggest that the workplace mentor may alter the 'anatomy' of work to help the learner grasp its component parts and their interrelatedness. The extent to which these functions/skills are evident and different from those embedded in the workplace trainer standards is one of the prime foci of this research. The paper will examine this issue in the light of research data gathered within a National Research and Evaluation Committee funded project during 1998-99. Data will be analysed from a range of mentors across three states (South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria) and three industries (real estate, building and construction, information technology).

Published abstract.

The volume of collected papers is indexed at TD/TNC 60.88. Show less

Australian organisations are concerned about the global shortage of leadership talent and the increasing mobility of leaders. At the same time, studies are raising awareness among executives of the need to develop a cohort of leaders for the future. The rail industry is one sector that has been deliberating on how leadership capability can be enhanced by putting aside organisational and/or state differences in favour of a national, harmonised approach to nurture leadership development. At a time when Australian leadership talent is in short supply, this article draws on findings from research involving six major rail organisations working in partnership with universities within an Australian Government Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

The article finds that leadership development programs within the industry are infrequent, undervalued and under-resourced. It highlights the critical importance of gaining executive commitment, and develops a formative evaluation tool of 10 principles and evaluation criteria forming observable, measurable and evidence-based standards that can be appraised at the start of leadership development initiatives and programs and monitored as they unfold. The article illustrates how engaging executives in a 'formative evaluation' process before embarking on leadership development initiatives has the potential to promote successful and sustainable programs.

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In recent years, there has been considerable research activity focusing on the changing role of teachers, trainers and assessors in vocational education and training ( VET) contexts. However, equal attention has not been paid to the many general staff employed in a wide range of work roles in registered training organisations (RTOs). Like teachers and trainers, the work of general staff contributes to the enactment of VET polices and their work is continually being reinvented in the changing context in which VET now operates. However, unlike their teaching/training counterparts, their voices and experiences have been largely absent from research examining issues related to the VET workforce and the building of organisational capability in RTOs. The study reported in this paper is one attempt to address this significant gap in the VET literature. The paper analyses data collected from general staff as part of a national study examining careers in VET. It examines the ways in which general staff move into VET, how their working lives unfold over time and their plans for remaining in the VET workforce in the next five years. The paper pays particular attention to the ways the working lives of general staff differ from those of their colleagues employed as teachers and trainers and the types of support that general staff are able to access in order to further their career ambitions in VET.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 11th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 92.459 to TD/TNC 92.499 and from TD/TNC 92.701 to TD/TNC 92.716. Show less

Much has been written about the pervasiveness of change within the vocational education and training (VET) sector and much rhetoric has been spoken about the range of factors that are shaping the emerging ‘new’ work of teachers and trainers. Arguably, however, not as much research attention has been paid to the micro world of teachers’ and trainers’ work and the ways in which change has impacted on their daily work practices. While successive waves of training reform indeed embody the outward changes with which teachers and trainers need to wrestle, changes are also occurring ‘out of sight’ in the ways in which teachers and trainers construct and understand their work roles and the relationships they form and manage. This paper reports on a study which examined the nature of the changes being experienced by VET practitioners. Issues relating to the perceived extent and impact of the changes affecting the ways in which VET practitioners think about, organise and carry out their work are explored. Outcomes from the study confirm that, far from being ‘neutral conduits’ through which training reforms flow unhindered, VET practitioners act and respond in various ways to the changes they are experiencing.

Published abstract.

The collection of refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.622; individual refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.623 to TD/TNC 73.650. The collection of non refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.651; non-refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.652 to TD/TNC 73.680. Show less

This study explored retention in apprenticeships and traineeships and the factors that influence this process. The objectives of this research were to identify and describe factors that underlie the process of retention, analyse those most amenable to change and examine a number of interventions that could be used to enhance retention and contribute to increased completion of apprenticeships and traineeships. A qualitative research approach was taken in the study. Interviews enabled a close exploration of the factors that contribute to retention and completion within various occupational groups. The report offers a review of the literature, a description of the methodology and an analysis of the findings and conclusions. Show less

Vocational education and training (VET) practitioners have been subject to unparalleled change in the past 10 years. Building on previous work (Harris et al. 2001, indexed at TD/TNC 66.01), this project set out to explore how the changing environment is impacting on practitioners’ work and the implications these changes have for the quality of VET provision and the role of the new VET professionals. Three main research approaches were employed: a literature review, 10 focus group discussions in five states in both capital cities and regional areas, and individual interviews. A total of 64 interviews were undertaken. Drivers for change were identified and personal responses to these changes were analysed. Finally, there is a discussion of the changing context of VET practitioners’ work and of the VET workforce itself, and an exploration of the notions of role expansion, role diversification, role balance and role tension, all concepts relevant to today’s VET practitioners. A key theme is the differing impact of the various drivers for change on VET organisations and individual VET practitioners. The report indicates that policy frameworks and implementation strategies need to be sensitive to the nature and scope of change required for the different contexts in which VET now operates. Show less

As universal trends of globalisation suck companies into a worldwide marketplace vortex, organisations and leaders are being forced into redefining what it takes to succeed. Talented leaders therefore are an integral part of business strategies that underpin how organisations thrive in these environments. As a sheer matter of survival, both exogenous and endogenous factors now require companies to know what it is that they are looking for in their leaders, make full use of the talents of all leaders and be prepared to adjust their talent management strategy as environmental conditions change. Since leadership in organisations is now more complex than ever before, talented leaders can translate the company's purpose and intent to people in teams, engaging their commitment to enhance business productivity. This chapter explores how organisations are making sense of these realities by presenting information from the literature and a recent case study from Australia.

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