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In this paper, the author analyses the occupational structure of the recent intake of New Apprenticeships in Australia. The results reveal that traineeships are highly biased towards lower skilled occupations such as labouring and elementary clerical occupations. Drawing on these results, the author suggests that a more consistent basis for the selection of occupations to be included in ‘apprentice’ type training and for the receipt of public training funds, is needed. Recent research from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) which suggests that the labour market outcomes for the recent flows of trainees onto the labour market will replicate those for the existing stock of holders of skilled vocational qualifications, is also critically analysed in the paper. Show less

In March 1996, a group of interested stakeholders in the New South Wales (NSW) construction industry known as the Construction Industry Forum was convened to discuss problems facing the industry. Skill formation was identified by the group as a key problem for the industry. This problem was a result of factors such as an impending shortage of quality skilled labour and outdated and inefficient training arrangements. However, the group also identified a number of innovative approaches to skill formation to have emerged in the industry over recent years. This paper has been prepared to assist in identifying the nature and extent of these initiatives and to find ways to promote their adoption throughout the industry. The paper is intended to stimulate discussion and outlines the context of training reform, recent initiatives, lessons to be learned from the initiatives, and policy options. Show less

This paper is part of an employment strategy being undertaken by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training (ACIRRT) for the Victorian Dairy Industry and presents a draft set of strategic goals and possible projects and actions to be undertaken. Dairy farmers face many difficulties in both recruiting and retaining labour, and it is realised that more than just a marketing strategy is needed, as the industry faces several internal problems which would also need addressing. Therefore, it was decided that any successful strategy would need to deal with the twin issues of: (1) workforce development and retention; and (2) employment conditions and practices, and the issue of labour supply. Consequently, an integrated and phased set of industry-led, pro-active strategies has been recommended. Five main goals are proposed and outlined in this paper, and these will form the framework for the strategy. The goals are: an industry with a sound future and matching image; an industry that provides attractive and competitive jobs, while maximising returns from farm labour; an industry that develops the skills of its workforce and provides attractive careers; an industry that meets annual recruitment needs through strategic and cost effective enlistment; and institutional capacity to manage, fund and support all facets of the employment strategy. Key strategic objectives and projects are identified under the title of each goal. In the future, a final report and strategy document will be prepared. Show less

Over the past few decades, both the nature of work and employment relations have undergone significant change in Australia. Employees are expected to work harder and for longer hours, employment is less secure for many workers, and part-time and casual work have increased significantly. In addition, the ways in which wages and working conditions are determined have also changed. Industrial relations have become decentralised and union coverage of the workforce has declined. Collective approaches to employment relations have increasingly been replaced with more individualised arrangements. This collection of writings is based on a workshop sponsored by the Australian Academy of Social Sciences at the end of the year 2000 and involving participants from academic fields along with practitioners and policy makers. The collection attempts to examine the likely future directions for both work and employment relations in Australia as the new millennium begins. The chapters are: Introduction to working futures / Ron Callus and Russell D. Lansbury; Work in an ungolden age / Keith Hancock; Changes in the nature of work and employment relations: an historical perspective / Greg Patmore (with commentaries by Melanie Oppenheimer and Raelene Francis); The changing labour market and its impact on work and employment relations / Mark Wooden (with commentaries by John Burgess and Joe Isaac); Legal aspects of the changing social contract at work / Ron McCallum (with commentaries by F. L. Wright and Suzanne Jamieson); Down with the dictator: the role of trade unions in the future / Michael Crosby (with commentaries by Rae Cooper and Stephen Long); Employment time and family time: the intersection of labour market transformation and family responsibilities in Australia / Bettina Cass (with commentaries by Ed Davis and Alison Morehead); The disadvantaged in the new economy / Gianni Zappala, Vanessa Green and Ben Parker (with commentaries by Gillian Considine and Caroline Alcorso); Changing forms of organisation and management / Dexter Dunphy and Doug Stace (with commentaries by Beryl Hesketh and David Grant); Working futures: Australia in a global context / Ron Callus and Russell D. Lansbury. The editors conclude that the traditional employer-employee model is increasingly irrelevant in the current context and that more inclusive economic and social policies are needed to ensure quality of jobs and employment relations in the future. Two issues require particular attention: the portability of entitlements between employers and the sharing of risks associated with less secure forms of employment. Show less

The author highlights the common belief that casual employment is a more ‘efficient’ or ‘productive’ way of engaging labour but that, in reality, significant ambiguities and paradoxes are associated with casual employment in Australia. These concern issues of definition, demographic characteristics of ‘casual’ workers and their wages, hours, training and entitlements to superannuation and long service leave. This paper analyses these paradoxes to reveal that casual employment can deliver short term gains for employers. This is because employers are able to use labour in ways that reduce the employers’ obligations to their employees. It is suggested that the key issue is hours of work and associated rights more so than reduced hourly wage rates. More comprehensive utilisation of labour associated with casualisation results in reduced unit labour costs (i.e. the labour cost per unit of output). This can be achieved without necessarily reducing nominal labour costs, such as hourly wage rates. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that these short term benefits undermine training and safety standards. That is, the better deployment of labour compromises its longer term development. The author provides suggestions on how deployment and development can be improved at the same time by reference to the practices of the better quality group training companies and multi-employer long service leave schemes. Show less

The Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training (ACIRRT) was commissioned to undertake this project late 2001. It is one in a number being undertaken for the Victorian Government to assist in developing a new approach to industry development. The key objective of the project was to determine the extent and nature of the skill requirements in key sectors of the manufacturing industry and the causes of any skill gaps, and to propose possible strategies to ensure that skill and knowledge requirements are met. The project was especially concerned with providing a profile of skill and knowledge requirements, identifying the causes of skill shortages now or likely in the future and proposing strategies to address any current and future needs. The major finding arising from the project is that Victorian manufacturing has insufficient capacity to meet new and established skill requirements. The research also confirmed earlier reports which have identified the growing need for more highly developed cognitive and behavioural skills amongst all levels of the manufacturing workforce. There also appears to be shortages in some key occupations such as production/industrial engineers, toolmakers, electricians with electronics experience and team leaders amongst production workers. The authors also point out four dimensions to the problem of the inadequate and declining capacity of the manufacturing sector to do anything about the problems mentioned previously. Namely they are: (1) the growing preoccupation with ensuring labour is always fully deployed on the job has displaced the capacity of workplaces to develop skills amongst both new and existing workers; (2) the breakdown in systematic approaches to on- and off-the-job training; (3) the problem of the declining skill formation capacity is associated with new forms of business organisation and the allied growth in non-standard forms of employment; and (4) the diminishing role of large firms in nurturing appropriate levels of skilled labour.

Seven projects were undertaken in the process of developing the Ministerial Statement 'Knowledge and skills for the innovation economy' (indexed at TD/LMR 86.31). This report is part of project seven: Skill requirements in selected manufacturing sectors. Reports from the other projects are indexed from TD/VIC 70.03 to TD/VIC 70.06, at TD/VIC 70.14 and from TD/TNC 70.285 to TD/TNC 70.287. Show less

This report is part of research on changing work patterns in Australia over the next three decades commissioned by the Economic Planning Advisory Commission (EPAC). The authors examined the future of employment and its distribution, work organisation, and industrial relations (IR) institutions. The research indicated that trends already apparent, such as the increase in the average age of the workforce, the rise of female labour force participation, the expansion of the service industries and the decline in labour intensive manufacturing, would continue. However, opposite views emerged on certain key industrial relations and employment variables, including those that a continuation of the current trend to ‘individualism’ in IR and work would soon see greater polarisation in income, living standards and working time of Australians. Show less

This paper focuses on the definition of skills through an examination of how French literature on work and on education defines, either explicitly or implicitly, a concept of skill and addresses the question of skills. The aim is to provide a more reliable basis for labour and educational policy formation. The question of skills has become topical due to the result of policies based on mutually reinforcing theoretical positions that assume that individuals in pursuit of higher incomes will invest in their own education, provide more skilled labour for companies thus improving the performance of companies and boosting overall economic growth. An understanding of the nature of skills and their acquisition is crucial to the formation of vocational and training policies to improve skills. The analysis of the French literature provides some insight into the close relationship between skills and work and their recent transformations, and although specific to the French situation, may have relevance for other contexts.

An edition of this paper, published by the New South Wales (NSW) Board of Vocational Education and Training (BVET) may be found at TD/TNC 70.55. Show less

Skill development offers the opportunity to build a ‘genuinely skilled and productive society’. This paper provides a brief overview of recent training developments in Australia. It argues that there is a productivity/efficiency dilemma and that there is a tension between formal and substantive equity. Conclusions reached include that the restructuring of training needs to retain a national focus and be inclusive of all. Show less

This paper was prepared by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training (ACIRRT) for the NSW Department of Education and Training in November 1998. It outlines the key findings arising from research undertaken to assist with the development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for national quality arrangements in Group Training Companies (GTCs). The paper covers such areas as: key issues identified during consultations with State/Territory Training Agencies and in field work with Group Training Companies; the purpose of KPIs; settings for their use; priority KPIs; implementation issues and recommendations. Show less