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This report describes and analyses how the work activities undertaken by students while at school affect their post-school pathways into and between work and study. Increasingly, students are involved with workplaces while still at school. The three major ways in which this is happening (in order of extent of engagement) are through work experience, paid part-time work, and VET in Schools programs, which generally include structured work placements. A special form of part-time work, which also involves gaining vocational education and training (VET) qualifications, is a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship (collectively known as school-based New Apprenticeships). The research questions for the project were as follows: To what extent does involvement with workplaces (including multiple involvements) while at school affect school leavers' subsequent pathways, and in what ways? How can multiple pathways be described and conceptualised? What are the students' views about the worth to them of their different involvements with workplaces? The main findings of the survey include: work experience performed a useful function in opening respondents' eyes to career possibilities; those who had undertaken school-based New Apprenticeships had a smoother transition into secure and substantial post-school activity than those who had not, but this path was not likely to lead to a full-time university course; even after leaving school, the jobs of both groups were concentrated in the industries of retail and fast food/hospitality, the areas in which school students typically worked; part-time jobs acquired by students while at school remained important after leaving school, occasionally as the only activity, but more commonly as a supplement to full-time study or another full-time job; a school-based New Apprenticeship could confirm their decision for those who had decided upon their careers however, it could also deter some from that career; school-based New Apprenticeships were likely to provide a pathway into apprenticeships or traineeships in a similar industry area, but the long-term career plans of those who had undertaken them were less likely to be within that industry area; work experience and school-based New Apprenticeships both had some influence on respondents' study intentions; a high proportion of the respondents held VET qualifications: two-fifths had completed a Certificate II and one-quarter a Certificate III; about one-eighth were currently enrolled in either Certificate III or Certificate IV qualifications.

The study builds on the work of two previous studies (School students' learning from their paid and unpaid work / Erica Smith, Annette Green, indexed at TD/TNC 68.01, and School students' views on their working and learning in the workplace / Erica Smith, Lou Wilson, indexed at TD/TNC 70.13). Show less

When enterprises decide to employ apprentices and trainees they do so as alternatives to other forms of labour, such as already-skilled workers or unskilled workers who will not be offered contracts of training. In their decisions, particularly in the increasingly tight Australian labour market, they will consider specific labour shortages which may be at the entry level or may be at more senior levels, and they think about whether apprenticeships and traineeships may help to meet those shortages either immediately or in the future. This paper uses a number of case studies carried out as part of an international research project to examine this decision-making process and the reasons that employers give for placing their trust in the New Apprentice system to attract and develop the right sort of worker to meet their current or projected shortages.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 9th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 86.226 to TD/TNC 86.262. 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 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 paper provides an overview of the Australian apprenticeship and traineeship system followed by a case study of a large construction company that re-conceptualised its apprenticeship system in the State of Victoria to produce future senior managers for the company. A number of features of the apprentice systems in the company combined to produce good outcomes, but the paper also identifies some areas that needed improvement.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 110.560. Show less

This paper reports on longitudinal research carried out with eleven young people (aged 16 to 19) during their first year of full-time work. The purpose of the research was to find out what they learned about work, and how and where they learned it. Interviews with their supervisors, parents and TAFE teachers (where they were in apprenticeships or traineeships) added to the researcher's understanding of the young people's learning. As these young people were placed at the intersection of several different VET and employment policy agendas, the findings shed some light on the application of policy in practice, and on areas that urgently need further, large-scale, research with a view to refinement of current policies.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The title of the conference was 'Changing practice through research: changing research through practice'. This volume of the collected papers is indexed at TD/ANTA 82.129; selected papers are indexed from TD/TNC 60.137 to TD/TNC 60.149. 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

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

Until a decade ago there was not much in common between the training which took place in enterprises, sometimes known as Human Resource Development (HRD) and the training that took place with TAFE and other providers of vocational education and training (VET). Over the last decade various measures introduced as part of training reform have changed this relationship and this paper, tracing the changes that have taken place, argues that there is now an area of overlap between VET and HRD, where accredited VET programs are delivered in the workplace, and that this area of convergence appears to be growing. Three enterprise case studies are used in the paper to illustrate the nature of the area of overlap, and to suggest some features which contribute to enterprises' likelihood to engage in accredited training. Show less

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 report describes the findings.

They are presented as follows: Chapter 1 briefly outlines the implementation of CBT and RPL in Australia, discusses relevant literature, and describes the research method used in the study; Chapter 2 discusses the manner in which CBT features were being used differently by different providers, in different industry areas, in courses at different qualification levels, and with different types of students and trainees; Chapter 3 describes in detail the teaching and learning effects of competency-based training and recognition of prior learning. The findings are organised under four headings: organisation, management and delivery; curriculum; teaching and learning interactions; and assessment, reporting and RPL; Chapter 4 is about what CBT means for different groups in the VET system. The implications of CBT and RPL for providers, curriculum developers, teachers/trainers, and students are outlined. Finally, some implications of the research study for the national VET system are suggested, and some fruitful areas for future research identified.

Appendix 1 is the 'Stages of Concern' questionnaire which was administered to a number of the teachers and trainers interviewed, to establish which aspects of CBT were concerning them at the time of the study; Appendix 2 lists the VET courses involved in the research, and also the submission received from VET practitioners; Appendix 3 lists the CBT features displayed by each researched course. Fourteen CBT features were identified in total; Appendix 4 contains the twelve case study reports in full; Appendix 5 presents, as a reference tool for teachers and trainers, some ways in which VET practitioners have responded to some of the challenges posed by CBT and RPL.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less