Search Results | VOCEDplus, the international tertiary education and research database

Learning and training in school-based apprenticeships and traineeships

The number of young people commencing apprenticeships and traineeships whilst at school, and monitored by their sch ... Show more
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

Authors: Smith, Erica; Wilson, Lou

Conference name: Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association Conference

Date: 2003

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Conference paper

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Apprenticeship; Traineeship ... [+] Show more
Workforce ready: challenges and opportunities for VET

Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from two panel discussions at the 29th National Vocational Educat ... Show more
Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from two panel discussions at the 29th National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills', held on 7-10 July 2020. Topics covered in the lively discussion include new directions in skills planning, digital technology and the role it plays in aged and community care, insights from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), and the role of parental influence in taking on apprenticeships. Speakers are Professor John Buchanan, The University of Sydney; Ms Anne Livingstone and Dr George Margelis, Australian Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council; Mr David Redway, Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment; and Professor Erica Smith, Federation University.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Davis, Steve; Buchanan, John; Livingstone, Anne; Margelis, George ... [+] Show more

Conference name: National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference

Date: 2020

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Webinar or podcast

Series name: Vocational voices

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Skills and knowledge; Industry ... [+] Show more
Best of 2020: highlights from Seasons 4 and 5

In 2020, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) invited expert vocational voices from the vo ... Show more
In 2020, 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 interesting snippets and research findings from across the eight podcast episodes 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 Seasons 4 and 5.
Edited abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Davis, Steve; Walker, Simon; Griffin, Tabatha; Shreeve, Robin ... [+] Show more

Date: 2020

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Webinar or podcast

Series name: Vocational voices

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Providers of education and training; Skills and knowledge ... [+] Show more
Employability skills

This article examines the nature of employability skills in the context of broader notions of generic skills, and t ... Show more
This article examines the nature of employability skills in the context of broader notions of generic skills, and the ways in which employability skills can be developed, assessed, and reported. The issues, which are similar in all developed countries, are illustrated primarily with examples from Australia. The article concludes with some issues for future consideration.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Smith, Erica

Date: 2010

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Book chapter

Subjects: Employment; Skills and knowledge; Assessment ... [+] Show more
Australian TVET teacher training: once flourishing but now neglected

This chapter describes the system of [technical and vocational education and training] TVET teacher qualifications ... Show more
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

Authors: Smith, Erica

Date: 2022

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Book chapter

Series name: Technical and vocational education and training: issues, concerns and prospects

Subjects: Providers of education and training; Qualifications; Participation ... [+] Show more
Does competency-based training mean the end of teaching as we know it?

Funding was made available through the Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Committee (ANTARAC) ... Show more
Funding was made available through the Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Committee (ANTARAC) for a study into the effects of competency based training (CBT) and the associated practice of recognition of prior learning (RPL) on teaching and learning and on teachers’ roles. This paper describes some of the findings of the research project, carried out by Charles Sturt University’s Group for Research in Employment and Training (GREAT) in 1996. It concentrates on the effects of CBT on teachers and teaching and does not focus on the role of students and trainees. Show less

Authors: Smith, Erica

Conference name: International Conference on Post-Compulsory Education and Training

Date: 1997

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Conference paper

Subjects: Teaching and learning; Pathways; Vocational education and training ... [+] Show more
How do vocational teachers keep up to date with trends in pedagogy and in industry?

This chapter examines the important topic of the 'dual professionalism' of [vocational education and training] VET ... Show more
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

Authors: Smith, Erica

Date: 2019

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Book chapter

Series name: RAVE: Researching Adult and Vocational Education

Subjects: Providers of education and training; Skills and knowledge; Workforce development
How competency-based training has changed teaching and learning

In 1996, Charles Sturt University's Group for Research in Employment and Training (GREAT) was commissioned by the R ... Show more
In 1996, Charles Sturt University's Group for Research in Employment and Training (GREAT) was commissioned by the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTARAC) to undertake research into the effects competency-based training (CBT) and recognition of prior learning (RPL) had on teaching and learning in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. This article summarises the findings. Show less

Authors: Smith, Erica

Date: 1997

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Article

Journal title: Training agenda: a journal of vocational education and training

Subjects: Pathways; Vocational education and training
How vocational education and training researchers use theory in their research

This paper is a preliminary investigation of the place that theory plays in vocational education and training (VET) ... Show more
This paper is a preliminary investigation of the place that theory plays in vocational education and training (VET) research. Vocational education and training is an academic discipline, whose theory base has not previously been analysed in detail. The VET research community considers itself to be somewhat undervalued both by the broader education discipline in Australia and by some stakeholder bodies. Yet the community and its experienced researchers have a high reputation overseas. It could be that a better articulation of the theoretical framework within which we work, and the bodies of knowledge upon which we draw, may lead to a greater utilisation of our work by the broader scholarly community and, importantly, by relevant policy-makers.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Smith, Erica; Clayton, Berwyn

Date: 2012

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Article

Journal title: International journal of training research

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Research; Policy
The inescapability of significant contextual learning in work performance

In common with a number of other countries, Australia’s vocational education and training sector has implemented a ... Show more
In common with a number of other countries, Australia’s vocational education and training sector has implemented a system of competency-based training (hereafter CBT) in which competency standards serve to provide learning and skill development outcomes for training. It seems that a main attraction that helped motivate the introduction of the CBT system was the assumption by some that such a system was ‘failsafe’ in that achievement of the learning and skill development outcomes would guarantee that the learner was workplace competent. However there were always convincing conceptual reasons for denying that the achievement of standards-based learning and skill development outcomes would be equivalent to being workplace competent. This paper aims to explain these reasons and to address the implications of this gap for the improvement of vocational training. It has two parts: firstly, the conceptual basis for anticipating that there would be such a gap between standards-based learning and skill development outcomes on the one hand and workplace competence on the other, is outlined; secondly, a range of empirical evidence is presented that illustrates the diversity of factors that together constitute this gap.
Excerpt from paper. Show less

Authors: Hager, Paul; Smith, Erica

Conference name: Journal of Vocational Education and Training (JVET) International Conference

Date: 2001

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Conference paper

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Skills and knowledge; Outcomes ... [+] Show more