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The number of young people commencing apprenticeships and traineeships whilst at school, and monitored by their school, has grown considerably, encouraged by State and Federal governments, since the first participants began in 1997. There has as yet been little research into the nature of the training given to, and learning experienced by, such young people; most published literature has related to organisational issues. This paper reports on a research project funded by the National Research and Evaluation Committee [NREC] into learning and training in school-based new apprenticeships (SBNAs). A questionnaire was sent to a large sample of all SBNAs in three States: Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, using a survey instrument adapted from a previous NREC study, 'School students' learning from their paid and unpaid work' (report indexed at TD/TNC 68.01). The results present an overview of SBNA employment, training and learning practices which will provide an important basis for development of policy and practice in this area.

Published abstract.

The collection of papers is indexed at TD/TNC 73.601. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 73.602 to TD/TNC 73.621. Show less

TRAC (Training for Retail and Commerce) was established by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum. It is an employer-school program which requires employers to pay for their placement students and to assess students for Higher School Certificate (HSC) marks.

Erica Smith explores the reasons behind the dramatic success of the program including its professional approach, the focus on improving skills, not job-seeking, the liaison between schools and industry and the criteria used for selecting students. Show less

This article reports on a survey of NSW TAFE teachers who have taught the national module 'Workplace communication'. It was found that teachers have two main areas of difficulty with the module: the use of CBT methods and lack of guidance about content. The author looks at the implications of the findings for this module in particular and national modules in general. Show less

This chapter examines the important topic of the 'dual professionalism' of [vocational education and training] VET teachers in Australia. How, exactly, do they develop further and keep up to date in their industries and in pedagogy? Drawing sub-sets of material from a major national research project, the chapter provides survey evidence from over 900 VET teachers as well as detailed interview data from three case study training providers. The results show a high level of commitment to professional development, both formal and informal, particularly in teachers' industry areas, sometimes relating to licensing or regulatory requirements within those industries. Some teachers undertook multiple professional development activities each year and were willing to pay for their own development. There was, however, some resistance to development activities that were perceived to relate primarily to compliance with regulatory regimes. The chapter proposes a matrix to represent engagement in types of professional development and then problematise this model through discussion of the resistance and relating it to earlier debates around competency-based training.

Published abstract. Show less

This publication reports on research that was carried out within Australian enterprises in the second half of 2003 in order to gain a greater understanding of how and why enterprises use nationally recognised training (training based on national training packages or courses/programs that have been formally accredited through state or territory accreditation bodies) for their existing workers. Data were collected by means of focus groups, case studies and a survey of enterprises. The project findings indicate that nationally recognised training has much to offer enterprises, and that many enterprises take full advantage of the availability of both training packages and government funding to support and extend their training activities. However, there appears to be a need for increased national promotion of nationally recognised training, as not only were some non-users completely unaware of suitable training packages and qualifications, but even those who used nationally recognised training were sometimes unaware of many of the subtleties involved in using packages. It is clear that the use of nationally recognised training by enterprises is strongly influenced by availability of funding. However, this study showed that funding could be more closely targeted to the start-up phase, and consideration could be given to tapering off funding once nationally recognised training becomes embedded. More research is required to examine whether the customisation of qualifications by, or for, enterprises compromises the integrity of the qualifications. If the training becomes too firm-specific, issues arise, not only about portability of qualifications, but also about the use of government funding. Show less

This paper examines the use of informal training for workers, by Australian companies and other organisations. Using survey data, it reports the prevalence of informal training and also the utilisation of different types of informal training. Differences are found by employer size, particularly for the different types. By examining qualitative responses, it is found that employers' perceptions of informal training are often not those reflected in existing literature. The paper therefore argues for a new definition of informal training which is comprehensible to employers and workers alike, so that more, and more reliable, research can be undertaken.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This is an overview of a national research project which set out to evaluate the benefits, challenges and outcomes for all stakeholders of the delivery of vocational education and training (VET) qualifications delivered through work. It was undertaken through a study of Enterprise Registered Training Organisations (Enterprise RTOs), since they are the 'heaviest users' of nationally recognised training. Enterprise RTOs are companies and other organisations (such as government departments) which are registered as training providers to deliver qualifications to their own workers. The project had four research questions: What are the benefits and challenges for companies associated with training through their own Enterprise RTO? What are the benefits and challenges for workers associated with Enterprise RTOs? What is the equivalence of workplace-delivered qualifications among companies and with qualifications delivered in educational institutions? How do Enterprise RTOs help us to understand the extent and nature of an emerging, alternative employer-based VET system? The report explains, by phase, how the project was carried out and what was found in each phase. The appendices provide illustrative data from each phase. The final section of the main report presents some theoretical models developed and proposed from the research.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This report presents the main findings of the ILO survey on national initiatives to promote quality apprenticeships in the G20 member states. It was conducted between September and December 2017 as an ILO initiative to take stock of and widely share good practices in this area. The study focuses on the G20 economies, collectively representing a large part of the world, accounting for around 85 per cent of global economic output, two-thirds of the world's population, and 75 per cent of international trade, thus providing a good starting point for a global overview of apprenticeship. Another reason for the focus on the G20 is its strong policy commitments to apprenticeships and related initiatives in recent years. The survey was designed to document initiatives and promote knowledge-sharing with a view to facilitating social dialogue on skills development, particularly on quality apprenticeships. The socio-economic contexts in which apprenticeship training takes place vary from country to country. Hence the national initiatives presented in the report may not be directly comparable.

It is important to note that the aim of the survey was not to describe the differences among apprenticeships systems nor to make an international comparison of apprenticeship promotion efforts. It is thus beyond the scope of this survey to compare and gauge the effectiveness of policy interventions and actions taken by the ILO's tripartite constituents. The report has four main sections and eight appendices. The main sections are: (i) introduction; (ii) findings and good practices A: government actions (referring to appendices 3 and 4); (iii) findings and good practices B: social partners' actions (referring to appendices 5, 6 and 7); and (iv) summary and conclusions. The appendices are as follows: (1) the three survey instruments; (2) list of organizations responding for each category in each country; (3) tables of the governments' quantitative responses; (4) tables of government quantitative responses by country; (5) tables of employers' organizations' quantitative responses; (6) tables of workers' organizations' quantitative responses; and (7) tables of employers' and workers' quantitative responses, by country.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website. Show less

This publication reports on an investigation, commissioned by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) through the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and carried out by Charles Sturt University’s Group for Research in Employment and Training (GREAT), which examined the impact that competency based training (CBT) has had on the role and responsibilities of instructors across the vocational education and training (VET) sector. The following five questions were investigated in the study. What is the quality and nature of CBT instruction in a range of providers across Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels, industry areas and geographical locations? To what extent are levels of understanding of CBT by instructors in the VET sector common across a range of locations? How have instructors adapted their practice to accommodate CBT, and how have new practices evolved? What are some of the staff development issues present in CBT? What type of staff development model can be applied to instructors in the VET sector when introducing an innovation like CBT? The range of techniques used in the investigation process included a literature review, a nation-wide survey of instructors, detailed case studies of six VET providers who use CBT, and two focus groups with staff development personnel and new instructors. Show less

An important development in the post-compulsory education system has been an increased involvement of secondary school students in learning in workplaces, both in work experience and structured work placements in vocational education and training (VET) in schools programs. In addition, an increasing number of school students are now in formal paid employment, including around 4,000 in employment as part-time apprentices and trainees (MCEETYA, 2000). These changes encourage debates including: the suitability of school students having paid work; the desirability of recognition for the skills gained in paid work; inequities of access to all types of workplace experiences, and whether work placements encourage an uncritical acceptance of workplace values which need to be challenged. However, there has been little explicit examination of what students learn in workplaces and how they learn it. This paper reports on an National Research and Evaluation Committee-funded project which examines the extent and nature of learning which students in years 10, 11 and 12 gain from their experiences in workplaces. The paper gives the results of the first two phases of the project, which involved consultation with key stakeholders and a survey of students in years 10, 11 and 12 in a number of schools in New South Wales (NSW) and South Australia (SA). The third phase of the project - case studies in six schools - is currently being carried out.

Published abstract.

The two volumes of collected papers are indexed at TD/TNC 64.287 and TD/TNC 64.355. Selected papers from volume one are indexed from TD/TNC 64.288 to TD/TNC 64.320; selected papers from volume two are indexed from TD/TNC 64.321 to TD/TNC 64.354. Show less