Search Results

Training packages have been fiercely resisted by many in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Now they are here to stay, with 70 packages already endorsed, the challenge is for players at all levels in the VET system to work with them. This paper sets out the views of those working with training packages, from the academics who view them as ticky-tacky boxes constraining workers within narrowly defined fields of activity, through the bureaucrats and teachers who must, through gritted teeth or alternatively with pleasurable anticipation, implement them, to the 'enthusiastic campaigners' who have tried to win hearts and minds to the concept of a workers' paradise where anyone can gain a qualification through learning in his or her daily work. The paper identifies some of the basic underlying difficulties with training packages which, it is argued, stem from their being written for the workplace while their primary field of application is in educational institutions

Excerpts from printed abstract used with the permission of the copyright holder.

Volume one of these proceedings is indexed at TD/TNC 68.31, volume two is indexed at TD/TNC 68.32 and individual papers may be found from TD/TNC 68.17 to TD/TNC 68.29 and TD/TNC 68.33 to TD/TNC 68.100. 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 publication reports on a project that set out to examine learning and training in school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, in particular school-based New Apprenticeships, where young people are employed and engaged in a contract of training while still involved in full time or part time school studies. Surveys were sent to a sample of these students in the three states with the highest numbers in such arrangements: Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. The research methodology is described and a profile of the respondents detailing their reasons for undertaking school-based New Apprenticeships is given. The working environment and the nature of school-based New Apprenticeships are discussed. The authors look at links with schools and how the respondents combined their school-based apprenticeships with their school work. The comments of the respondents relating to work based learning and on the job training are analysed and the conclusion of the publication draws together the research findings and, while concluding that the overall findings are very positive, identifies some problem areas for future action. Show less

In 2023, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) invited expert vocational voices from the vocational education and training (VET) sector to share their views, stories, experiences and insights on a range of hot topics. This podcast is a roundup of the most interesting snippets and research findings from across the five podcast episodes NCVER released during the year. Full of short and sharp insights from each of the guest speakers, it covers off some of the best bits of Season 8.

Edited abstract from publisher's website. Show less

This paper reports on perceptions of skill and the effects that they have on policy. Interviews were carried out with people holding senior positions in State and national government departments (some in vocational education and training, some in industrial relations), tertiary sector bodies, and major employer and employee organisations. The interviews formed the initial phase of a national [Australian Research Council] ARC-funded project on recognising the skill in jobs traditionally considered low-skilled. Interviewees were asked what they thought a skilled job was and how they arrived at that definition; about changes over time in ideas about skill; and about how perceptions of skill affected debates and policy in their own areas and more generally.

The interview transcripts were analysed to draw out key themes. On the whole, strong support was expressed for a view that all jobs contained skill, but it was noted by several people that their organisations used systems for allocating resources based on parameters that did not accord with this view. The interviewees discussed the effects of perceptions of skill on funding, on qualifications and on migration policies, as well as effects on self-esteem among workers. The findings provided a useful backdrop for subsequent phases of the project, which have been based around nine occupations across several industry areas.

Published abstract. Show less

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection on the growth in qualifications available through work, over the 50 years of Education + Training. Design/methodology/approach - The approach adopted is that of providing a viewpoint, reflecting back on the availability of qualifications today compared with the 1950s. Findings - The growth in the availability of qualifications has meant that a greater proportion of the workforce now hold qualifications, and particularly that people outside traditional trades can gain work-related qualifications. The changes have advantaged those in service industries and jobs previously not regarded as skilled. They have especially assisted women and have paralleled the increased participation of women in the workforce. However the current favourable situation has some fragility. Originality/value - This paper is one of a series commissioned by the journal on its 50th anniversary. Its originality stems from the discussion of the significance of the growth of qualifications, particularly for women.

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

This paper examines the Australian phenomenon of Enterprise Registered Training Organizations (RTOs). These are organizations that do not have training as their main business but that are accredited to deliver training and award qualifications, primarily to their own workers. Although Enterprise RTOs have been in existence in one form or another for around 15 years they have not been previously examined in the scholarly literature. The paper uses qualitative and quantitative data from two recent research projects to describe the nature and experiences of these RTOs and their workers. The findings are analysed using a framework recently used in an evaluation of the pilot of a similar English scheme: quality concerns, resource intensiveness, impact on the training market, and restriction to larger firms. The paper concludes that enterprise RTOs have been beneficial to workers and companies alike, although not without problems, and that the Australian system appears to present fewer risks than the proposed English system.

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

This paper uses evidence from an Australian research project into under-recognized skills in occupations, gathered through industry-level interviews and company case studies, to examine [vocational education and training] VET curricula. The project, funded by the Australian Research Council, focused on skill in jobs traditionally regarded in Australia as unskilled. As part of the project, the evidence about skill was compared with the relevant qualifications. The qualifications are contained in Training Packages, which form the basis of most formal VET training in Australia. The qualifications for the seven occupations were in three broad industry areas (manufacturing, services and property services) and had all been developed in recent decades, unlike apprenticed trades which have long-standing qualifications and curricula in Australia. The comparison exercise showed some mismatches between the skills that were found in the researched occupations and the content of the qualifications. Some of the issues are believed to have broader applicability beyond these specific occupations and qualifications and thus can provide evidence to improve the design of Training Packages themselves.

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

This chapter describes the system of [technical and vocational education and training] TVET teacher qualifications in Australia. A brief overview of the TVET system (known in Australia as VET, rather than TVET) is followed by a description of the VET teaching workforce, which is predominantly made up of mature people with significant prior industry experience. The chapter explains the current pedagogical qualifications available, which comprise two qualifications offered within the VET sector, at lower levels, and a small number of university-level qualifications. The content of qualifications at each of these levels is described.

The chapter explains that the qualification levels of VET teachers have dropped considerably since the year 2000, such that only 10 per cent of Australian VET teachers now have pedagogical qualifications at university level. The challenges created by such a situation are described, together with possible explanations of how this has come about. Implications for other countries are drawn out.

Published abstract. Show less

The quality of teaching in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia has been an area of concern for much of the twenty-first century (e.g. Department of Education and Training, 2016). While much debate has taken place about ways forward, there has been little substantive progress in reforming the education and professional development of VET teachers to address quality concerns. However, in the absence of a clear consensus and articulation of what constitutes 'good VET teaching' and what is required to produce it, it is doubtful that any endeavour to improve the quality of VET teaching would be successful. This paper contributes to the evidence base that could inform improvements in VET teaching by examining the views of two key interest groups - VET teachers and learners, on 'what makes a good VET teacher', and analyses the common themes as well as particularities in their views and their possible explanations. The findings are then examined as dimensions of interconnected practices that constitute VET teaching.

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