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This report presents the results from the 2002 national survey of students who undertook vocational education and training (VET) during 2002. The survey covered TAFE graduates and TAFE module completers.

TAFE graduates were defined as students who attended a TAFE institute in Australia and who completed a Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Associate Diploma, Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Bachelors Degree of at least 200 hours or one semester duration, and had an Australian address as their usual address. A questionnaire was sent to a stratified, randomly selected sample of graduates (approximately 42,000 graduates).

TAFE module completers were defined as students who were not graduates, had attended a TAFE institute in Australia and successfully completed some training in a course irrespective of the number of hours of the training, and left the TAFE system. A similar questionnaire to that which was sent to graduates was sent to a stratified, randomly selected sample of module completers (approximately 8,000 module completers).

The information collected in the survey includes: the nature of the training undertaken; the outcomes achieved as a result of completing the training in relation to employment; an indication of whether students were satisfied with the training; and whether students achieved the goals they had set for themselves before commencement. This report presents key results at a national level, giving an overview of the results and exploring the trends that emerge when comparisons are made with previous survey data. This national report is complemented by a briefer publication: Australian vocational education and training statistics: student outcomes survey 2002: in summary (TD/TNC 71.12). Show less

This reading list was compiled for the NCVER Research Forum 'Young people and VET: options, impact and implications' which was held in November 2004, in conjunction with the 2004 VETnetwork national conference. The list is a selection of NCVER publications that provide additional reading on the issues discussed.

Published abstract. Show less

This publication accompanies the report 'Who's supporting us? TAFE staff perspectives on supporting students with a mental illness' (indexed at TD/TNC 91.23). Aimed at TAFE staff, the publication provides a snapshot of the key findings of the report, including lessons from participants about strategies to help students with mental illness, and useful resources. Show less

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the extent and nature of the two-way traffic of students between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education institutions. The study used three different, but complementary sources of information: a comprehensive review of the literature; detailed analyses of existing data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST); and a questionnaire survey of all undergraduate students who commenced study in 2003 at all TAFE institutes, the three universities and a sample of private VET providers in South Australia. The study found that there was a high degree of consistency in the findings from the three sources of information. Despite the strong sense of difference between the sectors, almost three-quarters in both sectors reported feeling ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ comfortable moving from one sector to the other. Evidence suggests that it is in the transition from the VET sector to the higher education sector where the greatest degree of discomfort occurs. It was notable that the top 10 reasons for both sectors were the same (although with variations in ranking). Key messages arising from the study are: student movement within and between the tertiary education sectors - VET and higher education - is growing and complex; student motivation in both sectors is similar; and the transition from the higher education to the VET sector is smoother than the reverse. Show less

This report consists of two volumes. Part 1 deals with changing patterns in apprenticeship commencements between 1987-88 and 1993-94. This part deals with changes in commencement patterns by age and trade group. The evidence presented indicates that while commencements in different trade groups have altered greatly in recent years, the main trend has been an aging of commencing apprentices. Information is presented in both chart and tabular form. Part 2 deals with changes in the VET [vocational education and training] sector (especially TAFE) in the years 1991 to 1994. Staff of the Review indicated an interest in: changes in numbers of persons; changes in numbers of enrolments; changes in the number of contact hours; and changes in the course type (both stream and nominal length), by age and sex. Analysis of these variables appears in Part 2, in either chart or tabular form. While some comments have been made to draw attention to patterns, no conclusions are drawn about the changes in levels of participation in the VET sector from 1991 to 1994. The data, however, indicate considerable variations between the different states and territories.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This monograph examines the growth and implications of higher education offered by TAFE institutes. It is the culmination of desktop research and interviews with staff from state offices of higher education, senior managers at dual-sector universities, TAFE institutes that offer higher education and some that do not, and teachers and students across six states. It also considers several implications arising from the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008). Key messages in the report include: (i) while numbers of higher education students in TAFE are small, these may well increase as governments strive to both meet their equity objectives and boost the proportion of the Australian population with a degree; (ii) a distinctive, although not unique, feature of higher education courses in TAFE is their applied orientation; (iii) some of the TAFE institutes offering higher education see themselves developing as polytechnics, while others view their offering of higher education qualifications as an extension of their role as vocational education and training (VET) providers; (iv) mixed-sector TAFE institutes aim to help their students negotiate the boundaries between VET and higher education qualifications and adapt to learning in university, including through the provision of greater learning support; (v) institutional and industrial relations structures are impeding growth of higher education in TAFE institutes; and (vi) almost every person consulted in the project raised the issue of TAFE’s profile and its perceived lower status compared with universities.

A podcast of an Interview with Leesa Wheelahan about this publication is indexed at TD/TNC 95.20 Show less

This report contains the results for Victoria from the 1998 Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Graduate Destination Survey (GDS), conducted by ACNielsen Research on behalf of the National Centre For Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and funded by the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).

Nationally, the survey involved sending a questionnaire to all graduates (120,775) at publicly-funded TAFE institutes in Australia in 1997 who completed a Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Associate Diploma, Diploma or Advanced Diploma of at least 200 hours or one semester in duration and had an Australian address as their usual address. A total of 66,607 graduates responded, a national response rate of 55.2 per cent. Of the graduates sent a questionnaire, 24,156 were from Victoria and 13.305 responded, a response rate of 55.1 per cent.

The aim of the 1998 TAFE GDS was to measure vocational education and training (VET) graduates' employment outcomes, further study destinations and opinions of courses completed. It provides national, state and institute level data to support the National VET Strategy and information to assist in administration, planning and evaluation.

A detailed description of the 1998 survey methodology, a glossary and fieldwork materials (including the questionnaire) are contained as appendices to this report.

Related publications are: 1998 TAFE graduate destination survey: at a glance (TD/TNC 55.53); 1998 TAFE graduate destination survey: state/territory reports (TD/TNC 55.54-TD/TNC 55.61). Show less

This publication presents a brief snapshot of information gained from the national survey of students who undertook vocational education and training (VET) during 1999 at a TAFE institute in Australia. Information is given about two groups of students: graduates and module completers. Graduates were those students who completed their course during 1999 and graduated with a qualification. Module completer information was collected on students who successfully completed part, but not all, of the training necessary to complete a full qualification and had left the TAFE system at the time of the survey. The survey gathered information on the employment situation of TAFE graduates, reasons for undertaking the course, relevance of the training to their employment, satisfaction, and further study intentions. This document contains a brief look at some of the findings from analysis of these data.

A related publication 'Student outcomes survey 2000: in summary' may be found at TD/TNC 63.38. Show less

In 2022, the 'No Frills' conference theme was 'VET's role in transforming the future'. The vocational education and training (VET) sector has responded well to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, but how can it continue to support Australia's economic recovery and respond to Australia's shifting future skill demands? Presentations were invited to explore issues relating to the ways VET is adapting, anticipating and activating change in response to shifting future skill demands.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website.

The available focus session is: Let me introduce you to VOCEDplus! / Tracy Gamlin.

The available keynote presentations are: Game on!: how to integrate gamification in VET / Alex Jackson, executive designer, specialising in behavioural psychology and gamification at ThinkPlace; The future of vocational education: now and towards 2032 / Sophie Renton, social researcher, trends analyst and Managing Director at the internationally recognised McCrindle Research.

The available presentations are: Integrating innovations at work and learning / Stephen Billett; Aotearoa New Zealand's Reform of Vocational Education and Training (ROVE): Te Pukenga aspirations and promises / Selena Chan; Bridging life transitions: role of VET in supporting lifelong learning / Sarojni Choy, Leah Le and Stephen Billett; Journeying through VET: a case study of foundation skills learners / Michelle Circelli and Zhenyuan Li; Strategies that increase online student engagement with content / Deniese Cox; School career practitioners and the guidance provided to students pursuing STEM careers in VET institutions / Melanie Evangelista; Delivering on quality VET delivery / Hugh Guthrie; Using behavioural messages to retain vulnerable apprentices and trainees / Derek Hennessy, Zuleyka Zevallos, and Michael Lau; Where to from here?: implications of a pandemic on VET training delivery / Sheila Hume and Tabatha Griffin; Towards ensuring quality in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Bangladesh: achievement and future direction / Md Shahadat Hossain Khan; Digital capability for workforce skills: evaluating and enhancing the digital readiness of Australia's vocational education and training products / Claire Mason, Erin Knudsen and Michael Wyndham; Enabling VET's applied research capability to support Australia's transformative future / Allison Miller; The future skills needs of service-based industries and VET's role in delivering the skills / Silvia Munoz; Pathways from VET courses: insights from the VET National Data Asset (VNDA) / Damian Oliver and Nicky Wonder; Inequality in Australia: what can vocational education and training do to address it? / Don Perlgut; Vocational to higher education postgraduate pathways: short cycle upskilling for employed VET graduates / Craig Poole (coauthored by Richard Pursey, Anne Moore, Joe Growth and Lachlan Seawright); Reimagining digital skills for the manufacturing sector: an industry case study / Sharon Robertson, Philip Clarke and Geethani Nair; Understanding recent developments in VET and higher education: Australia and the UK / Erica Smith; VET teaching during 2020: COVID and beyond / Erica Smith and Daryl South; An employer led training model achieving results for Anangu workers employed by Regional Anangu Services Aboriginal Corporation (RASAC) on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) / Madonna Tomes and Janet Skewes; Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH) and TAFE NSW: a collaboration case study in rural allied health and vocational education / Nerida Volker; Multiple VETs and future realities: a worked example of policy discourse analysis / Don Zoellner. Show less

This report addresses three questions: (1) What are the practices of highly innovative organisations?; (2) How are vocational education and training (VET) providers currently promoting greater levels of innovation? (3) What other strategies have the potential to create further innovation in VET organisations? Central to this report was a review of past research designed to identify the key practices or habits of innovative organisations. This review revealed that truly innovative organisations: (1) create learning cultures which promote innovation as a core organisational capability; (2) have leaders who are ‘failure-tolerant’; (3) identify their innovators; (4) reward people who propose innovative ideas; (5) use partnerships; and (6) promote innovation through teams.

The VET organisations which were the focus of case studies were the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE (Queensland); Victoria University of Technology; Institute of TAFE Tasmania, and Onkaparinga Institute of TAFE (South Australia). In addition, minor case reports or vignettes were completed for the following organisations: the Australian Institute for Care Development; Construction Training Centre; Aviation Australia; Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE; Brisbane North Institute of TAFE; Australian Ikebana Centre College of Art and English; and Workplace Australia Group. If the six characteristics of innovative organisations in combination are proposed as the benchmark, then it is clear that the development of innovation in the VET sector is uneven. This research indicates that certain individuals and teams linked to larger industry partnerships are leading the way. Moreover, there appears to be little evidence that VET organisations have established either well-developed organisational capabilities for innovation or clear structures for rewarding innovators. Given the financial and operational constraints faced by organisations in the VET sector, this is understandable. However, there is still tremendous potential in the VET sector to increase innovation within their enterprises. They need to be serious about building and funding learning cultures and promoting innovation as a core capability within their enterprises. In addition, failure-tolerant leaders of VET organisations need to be even more creative in how they continue to support and reward their leading innovators and educational entrepreneurs. Show less