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This brief article examines the changing nature of working arrangements in Australia and the impact on employees' working conditions and contracts of employment. Statistics reveal that the number of Australians employed full-time in 'permanent' jobs has fallen to 56 per cent with a growth in part-time and casual employment, and fixed-term employment where there is no ongoing work at the end of the term. The authors analyse the impact of these trends in terms of contractual arrangements, working time, outsourcing of employment by companies, employment status and job characteristics. The article concludes with brief comments about the effect of changing employment arrangements on unemployment.

See TD/TNC 58.23 for the authors' publication entitled 'Casualisation and outsourcing: trends and implications for work-related training'. Show less

This report was commissioned by the Analysis and Equity Branch of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA). Its objectives were to report on barriers facing older Australian workers (aged 45 years and over) in gaining access to, and benefit from, training, and innovative and achievable policies for addressing these barriers. Specifically, the study sought to: quantify the current level of participation in work-related training of older workers and compare it with that of younger workers; determine how participation in work-related training by older workers has changed over time; identify factors that may restrict participation in work-related training by older workers; and, propose policy options that may help in removing barriers to the successful participation of older workers in work-related training. The report comprises: a comprehensive summary of relevant literature focusing on differences in the incidence of work-related training across age groups, types of barriers faced by older workers, and the types of initiatives introduced both by governments and employers to enhance training opportunities and outcomes for older workers; the results from analyses of three major secondary data sets (labour force data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), ABS surveys of education and training experience, and the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS)); findings from a series of focus groups designed to gather in-depth information from older workers and human resource managers about their reactions to the main findings of the analysis and the proposed policy options; three enterprise case studies providing examples of organisations in which policies for addressing the barriers to training for older employees are already in place; a synthesis of results from the project as a whole; and an examination of possible policy options. Show less

The main objective of this publication is to investigate why immigrant women from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) participate less in part-time employment than other women. Past research into this area has suggested that the lower incidence of part-time employment among NESB immigrant women is the result of their concentration in occupations and industries where part-time employment is not readily available. Conclusions from this investigation do not support this theory, however, and instead the authors suggest a number of other arguments: that NESB women have greater access to informal child care provided by family members, allowing full-time employment; that the lower incidence of part-time work amongst NESB women is a result of greater financial need; and that women hailing from countries which have few part-time employment opportunities are less likely to seek such work in Australia. The report also examines the nature of employment conditions under which NESB immigrant women work, as compared with other women, taking into account the greater concentration of NESB women in full-time jobs. Show less

The question posed by the title of this article is examined by comparing the position of mature age Australians with their younger counterparts in six areas: labour market participation, unemployment rates, hidden unemployment, unemployment duration, part-time employment and under-employment. Each area is examined separately and supported by tables. The author concludes that there is a large group of mature age people that has been significantly disadvantaged. The study shows that the average unemployment duration for mature age workers is long, the likelihood of unemployment is very high and the position for the 55 years and over Australians is more severe than with any other age group. Significantly, women within that age group are having an even worse time and, in addition, their unemployment duration has increased dramatically over the past decade. Clearly, she contends, mature age workers as a group deserve far more attention from press, politicians and researchers alike.

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

It is widely recognised that older workers are less likely to gain access to job-related training than younger workers. This article reviews evidence on the extent of age-based training differentials in Australia and the main barriers that inhibit older workers from accessing training. It is concluded that governments in Australia need to do far more to ensure that older workers are not denied access to training opportunities.

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

This report examines the early work experiences of young people employed in the supermarket and fast food industries and the consequences of those experiences for their future career development. The research was undertaken in the context of major structural changes in the youth labour market, particularly the shift towards greater levels of part-time employment. The research findings are especially relevant to young women as they outnumber young men in both the supermarket and the fast food industries. The report draws on three key data sources: data from the 1996 Census; a survey of young people who had been employed at either McDonalds or Woolworths two years prior to the survey; and a survey of store managers in the two industries. To examine the extent of the effects on young people’s future career development, the authors examined several different indicators, including the skill levels of occupations held by young people, their views of perceived benefits of work in the two sectors, and how the young people fared in terms of seven measures of employment success over the two-year period covered by the survey. Overall, a number of findings suggest that the employment of young people in these two sectors is beneficial to future employment and acts as a ‘stepping stone’ to future careers. However, other findings suggest little or minimal effect on future career development. For example, compared with young people in other sectors, Census data revealed that a much higher proportion of young employees in these sectors hold low-skilled jobs, and respondents to the employee survey were more likely to be underemployed than Australian young people overall. The study also aimed to identify those workers who were most likely to succeed in using employment in these two sectors for long-term benefit. To achieve this, the authors focused on women versus men, non-students versus students, and early school leavers versus others. Show less

Research generally suggests that women are disadvantaged when seeking job-related training. This paper reassesses the evidence using data collected from the Survey of Training and Education conducted in 1993. This would suggest that while men could expect to receive more training because of demographic and job-related differences, this is compensated for by a gender effect in favour of women. The paper concludes that such findings reflect positive discrimination to the advantage of women, particularly in relation to on-the-job training, and that women in Australia are treated very favourably in the training process. Show less