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The National Review of Nursing Education 2002 was initiated in April 2001 to examine the future nursing educational needs of the health, community and aged care system in Australia and to provide advice on appropriate education policy and funding frameworks. The Review examined the effectiveness of current arrangements for the education and training of nurses, labour market factors affecting the employment of nurses and the choice of nursing as an occupation, and the key factors driving the demand for, and supply of, nursing education and training. The Review sought to make recommendations on models of nursing education and training, the types of skills and knowledge required, and mechanisms for attracting new recruits to nursing and encouraging the commitment to lifelong learning of those already engaged in nursing. The Review commissioned a wide range of research and six literature reviews. This report focuses on workforce models built for both university trained registered nurses and enrolled nurses trained in the vocational education sector. It is presented in five sections: the first section looks at the changes that have occurred in the nursing workforce during the 1990s, specifically looking at the major employment trends; the second section, using 'shift-share analysis' and primarily concerned with demand considerations, examines in detail the changes in the employment of nurses; in the third section, a dynamic model is built focusing on the supply side to better understand the relationship between nursing numbers, inflows of new graduates and migrants and outflows from the occupation; section four focuses on the interaction of demand and supply in the nursing workforce by comparing projections based on the two models; the final section offers the conclusion of the study. Details of the models and the data are described in a series of appendices.

The volume from which this paper is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 71.717; individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 71.718 to TD/TNC 71.720. The final report of the National Review of Nursing Education 2002 is indexed at TD/TNC 71.180.

This paper was also presented at the 6th National Conference of the Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET). The collection of papers from this conference is indexed at TD/TNC 71.486. Show less

The Commonwealth government created the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce to investigate the extent to which skills shortages might impact on the development of the resources sector. In particular, the taskforce’s major responsibilities were to: examine the scope and timing of major resources projects; analyse the expected demand for labour and consider supply issues; and develop a plan to address labour and skills shortage issues in the sector. To assist the taskforce the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) was asked to construct projections of the number of tradespeople for the period 2010-2020 at a detailed level and by region. The projections are based on earlier work by Karmel and Ong (2007) that takes a supply based approach. It applies historical apprenticeship commencement rates to population projections. The model also incorporates assumptions about attrition, again based on historical experience. Three sets of parameters are used, all based on historical experience and reflecting ‘good’ and ‘bad’ labour market conditions. The variation between scenarios illustrates the imprecision of these types of exercises and the ability of the labour market and training system to respond to changes in economic conditions. These projections relate to trades as a whole. Therefore it is necessary to relate them to the resources sector. To do this tables are included showing the distribution of trades employment and apprentices across the various industries in the resources sector. In this context it should be noted that the resources sector is a relatively small employer of tradespeople, and an even smaller employer of trade apprentices.

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The Australian government recognises that a strong Australian Apprenticeship system is essential to sustain a strong economy. Accordingly, an Expert Panel was appointed to provide recommendations to the government on possible ways to reform the system to ensure that it can meet Australia's skills needs into the 21st century. The panel examined apprenticeship training arrangements, including current incentives, and suggested principles and evidence to improve outcomes for both apprentices and industry. The work of the panel was underpinned by a study on related economic costs and benefits, including research undertaken by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). This is one of four reports prepared by NCVER as part of this study. The report aims to bring together some of the more important economic considerations: some theory; evidence on costs and benefits; and sustainability, by which is meant whether there are issues that might impact on the long-term future of the apprenticeship and traineeship system. Show less

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into university responsiveness to student demand at both an aggregate level and the broad field of study with the conclusion that universities exhibit some degree of flexibility. The chapters are: Introduction; Student demand; Applications, offers and enrolments; Demand and supply by field of study; Conclusion. Show less

This overview paper is based on research undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) 2012-2014 for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under the research project Research into the Financing of [technical and vocational education and training] TVET in the Pacific and on the various reports produced by ACER over the course of that research. In this paper, [it is] discussed what a regional framework for TVET finance might look like. The contents of the paper are: (1) Introduction; (2) What is TVET?; (3) What kind of TVET finance data need collecting?; (4) TVET finance data currently collected; (5) Implementation. The Appendix contains data compiled by ACER on Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji and Kiribati.

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This study, carried out by the Higher Education Division of the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, focuses on regional higher education participation rates and compares that participation to the distribution of student places. The variation in higher education participation and provision across regions is examined. The data is described, the regional structure used is discussed, and the study presents a descriptive analysis of national, state/territory and regional participation rates. The role played by TAFE in the regional variation of tertiary education participation is also looked at, and areas for further research are suggested. Show less

The Fair Work Commission is responsible for reviewing and setting minimum wages for employees in Australia's national workplace relations system. Each financial year the Commission's Expert Panel for annual wage reviews conducts an annual wage review and issues a decision and national minimum wage order for employees not covered by an award or agreement. A number of reports have been released by the Commission, each addressing one or more objectives of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). This report comprises two parts. Part one, 'Background and supply-side factors affecting commencement and completion of apprenticeships and traineeships', is authored by Lucy Nelms, Kelvin Yuen, Alice Pung, Sabrin Farooqui and Joseph Walsh. Part two, 'Demand-side factors affecting apprenticeships and traineeships', is authored by Tom Karmel.

Chapters one and two of the first part of the report provide an introduction and background to the apprenticeship and traineeship system in Australia, and also examines the legislative and policy framework. Chapter three examines trends in commencements and completions of apprenticeships and traineeships, and the apprentice and trainee share of total employment, over the past two to three decades. Chapter four explores a range of supply-side factors affecting the take up and completion of apprenticeships and traineeships. This section concentrates on research findings related to factors that are specific to apprentices and trainees, and not factors that affect labour supply decisions more generally, such as household financial need or care responsibilities. Potential factors affecting supply (i.e. an individual's decision to supply their labour as an apprentice or trainee) that are explored include: personal characteristics; education and training; perceived labour market factors; wages; perceptions, awareness and promotion; intrinsic factors; and experience of working conditions and training. Chapter five provides a brief conclusion. Part two of this report focuses on the demand side, that is the impact of employers on apprenticeships and traineeships. It first looks at commencements and then at factors relating to the completion of apprenticeships and traineeships.

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An OECD (1997) report revealed that socioeconomic issues underly many aspects of equity, access and participation in education and training. The report argued that social, home and educational factors combine to explain educational disadvantage, and that these factors tend to be located in particular spatial and geographical factors. Stevenson et al. (1999) demonstrated a stronger relationship between regional participation and university provision in non-metropolitan areas. However, large variation in regional participation rates in metropolitan areas suggest that factors other than proximity to a campus are important. This report builds on the work of Stevenson et al. by using multivariate analysis to explore the relative importance of socioeconomic characteristics and access to university campuses in determining participation rates in metro and non-metro regions. Show less

This paper uses the 2011 Census data to quantify the impact of educational disadvantage among Indigenous Australians for labour market participation, employment and occupational destinations. The paper provides a snapshot of key demographics; information on participation and outcomes from senior secondary education, vocational education and training (including apprenticeships and traineeships) and higher education; and a detailed account of employment outcomes across regions and occupations. The paper then reports on studies that have looked at the need to take into account the multiple elements of economic participation, and focuses in more detail on the role of social capital and cultural attachments and employer discrimination. The paper concludes by emphasising the key findings about the role of education and the need to streamline programs and strategies.

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This case study was prepared for the international conference ‘Redefining tertiary education’. It looks at the way funding structures have changed. It then looks in some detail at three factors that have been critical in the fashioning of the structures. The factors are the growth in student numbers, public expenditure constraints and views on the appropriate balance between public and private funding. Finally, issues that are likely to affect the financing of higher education in the medium to long term are discussed. Show less