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This snapshot is the first of its kind undertaken by the Victorian Skills Commission (VSC) and is based on elements of the VSC's successful Regional Skills Taskforces conducted in the Mallee [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.933] and the Great South Coast regions [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.227]. The South East Melbourne Region of metropolitan Melbourne, encompassing the City of Dandenong, City of Frankston, City of Monash, Cardinia Shire, Mornington Peninsula Shire, City of Kingston and City of Casey is growing rapidly. A supply of highly skilled local workers is critical to underpin this growth and the vocational education and training (VET) system has a key role to play. However, the VET system and training delivery is not always aligned with the current and future skills needs of local employers. An employer-informed response can improve this alignment and help address current and emerging skills shortages, thereby ensuring that workers in the South East Melbourne Region are skilled, productive and employable.

The South East Melbourne Region has approximately 83,500 businesses and approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time jobs, which accounts for 18 per cent of all jobs in Victoria. The economic profile of the region reflects strengths in four key sectors: Manufacturing, Construction, Retail Trade, and Community Services and Health (CS&H). The logistics and tourism sectors are also expected to support future growth, particularly due to the geography of the region (proximity to well-connected transport routes, port access and cheap land) and its rich natural environment. The region is also seeing growing demand for locally produced high-value agricultural goods (including high-quality wines and other foods), giving local Food and Fibre businesses the opportunity to expand operations. While the outlook of local industries across the South East Melbourne Region is positive, its economic potential is dependent on the region's capacity to address existing workforce challenges and shortages.

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Apprenticeships are well suited to provide young people with an entry point into the labor market and to supply manufacturing enterprises with skilled workers. This report further investigates apprenticeship systems at a company level, focusing on the extent to which these practices deviate from the national apprenticeship frameworks and how companies are adapting to future skill needs. It builds on the analysis of national apprenticeship systems in the 2018 Eurofound report 'Adaptation of national apprenticeship systems to advanced manufacturing' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 134.160] and summarises the results of 14 case studies of good practice in the manufacturing sector in five EU Member States (Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy) and two countries outside Europe (Australia and the United States). Situated in different national and sector-specific environments, all case studies are characterised by the aim to adjust apprenticeship programmes and/or practices in response to challenges emerging from advanced manufacturing technologies and processes. The case studies examine a series of different issues, notably context, drivers for implementing change, impact and crucial factors for success.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website.

The case studies are as follows: Modernisation of dual apprenticeship training at ABB: Germany / Eckhard Voss; Innovative practices at Airbus Operations in Hamburg: Germany / Eckhard Voss; Talent Tracks for gifted industrial apprentices: Denmark / Soren Kristensen; Knowledge centres for robot technology and automation: Denmark / Soren Kristensen; Jules Verne Manufacturing Academy: France / Djamel Messaoudi and Nicolas Farvaque; Job and Qualification Campus in transport: France / Djamel Messaoudi and Nicolas Farvaque; 'New' apprenticeships in the light of technological change: Ireland / Jeff Bridgford; Modernisation of a designated craft apprenticeship: Ireland / Jeff Bridgford; Bosch Industry 4.0 Talent Program: Italy / Anna Teselli and Pier Paolo Angelini; Higher apprenticeship in advanced manufacturing: Italy / Anna Teselli and Pier Paolo Angelini; Siemens higher apprenticeship pilot programme: Australia / Phil Toner and Damian Oliver; Varley Group: modernising apprenticeships: Australia / Keiko Yasukawa, Phil Toner and Damian Oliver; Adjusting apprenticeship at Oberg Industries: United States / Robert I. Lerman; Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program of Festo Didactic: United States / Bryan D. Kamm and Robert I. Lerman. Show less

This chapter contributes research on recent progress in selected countries across the globe in educational programs designed to better prepare students for the workforce through the use of work-related learning.

This chapter describes how the development of work-integrated learning (WIL) has become an increasingly important component of both curriculum and pedagogy across a wide range of disciplines in Australia's universities. This has been driven by institutions reacting to government and industry demands for work-relevant degrees and work-ready graduates. The chapter analyzes five of the eight action areas in the National WIL Strategy [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 119.961]. A number of barriers to further implementation are identified and discussed, including funding, institutional constraints, assessment challenges, and employer capacity, particularly in smaller companies. Ways forward include developing quality information and the resources to support implementation, growing champions of the process in institutions and employers, and developing alternative approaches to delivery given the pressure placed on industry for work placements by all sectors of Australian education.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 134.479. Show less

The purpose of education has been debated in recent years, especially surrounding its curriculum and structure. In order to fully understand this discussion, the relationship between education and the labor market must be explored. This publication provides research on recent progress in selected countries across the globe in educational programs designed to better prepare students for the workforce through the use of work-related learning. While highlighting topics such as degree apprenticeships, integrated learning strategy, and economic development, this book presents current research on the relationship between the education and labor market.

Edited abstract from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Work-based learning in the United States: preparing secondary-level students for post-secondary success / Soung Bae, Svetlana Darche; Politics or pedagogy?: the emergence of workplace-based learning in South Africa / Ronel Blom; The creative disruption of degree apprenticeships in the UK / Darryll Bravenboer; Connecting theory and practice in higher education in Germany / Eva Cendon; Australia's national work-integrated learning strategy in university education: challenges and opportunities / Berwyn Clayton, Hugh B. Guthrie; Work-integrated and workplace learning in New Zealand / Katharine Hoskyn; Integration of work-based learning into higher education for economic development in Nigeria / Ifeoma C. Iyioke, Ike V. Iyioke, Joseph C. Ezemma; Work-based learning (WBL) in higher education and lifelong learning in the Netherlands / Jeroen Onstenk; Work-based learning in Ireland / Irene Sheridan; Some aspects of the growth of university student internship in Japan / Yasumasa Shinohara; Work-based learning in the United Kingdom: what we know of practice and an example: the WBL module and WBIS program at the University of Chester / Jon Talbot.

Individual chapters are available in VOCEDplus from TD/TNC 134.480 to TD/TNC 134.490. Show less

The 'Review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training' will provide the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Education Council with advice and recommendations on how senior secondary students can better understand and be enabled to choose the most appropriate pathway to support their transition into work, further education and/or training. In undertaking the Review, the expert panel will give consideration to the different contexts faced by students, including students with disability, those in regional, rural and remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The panel is focused on five key questions: (1) What are the essential skills and knowledge with which young people should leave secondary school in order to enhance their lifetime career prospects whilst meeting Australia’s future workforce needs? Whose job is it to make sure they acquire them? (2) Are current arrangements both in schools, at work, and in tertiary education supporting students to access the most appropriate pathways? Are routes sufficiently flexible to allow young people easily to change direction? (3) What are the barriers to allowing all students to have equal access to the pathways that are available? (4) What is being done well to help students make effective and well-informed choices? The panel wishes to examine career education; different schooling models; vocational and work-related learning in schools; and industry-education partnerships; and (5) How can we collect and disseminate the data we need to understand young peoples' choices and help governments to make informed public policy decisions?

This discussion paper is designed to stimulate debate. It does not claim to cover the full range of issues impacting on senior secondary pathways. It seeks to explore the key issues and problems facing senior secondary students as they seek to find a route through increasingly complex learning pathways. A complementary background paper has also been prepared [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.1083]. It provides a deeper dive into many of the issues, based on supporting evidence and research. Feedback will be accepted until 7 December 2019 and will inform the Review's findings. The Review will be led by Peter Shergold and the expert panel will comprise six members with expertise covering school operations, industry, vocational education and training (VET), university entry requirements, student engagement and wellbeing, and the delivery of secondary education to disadvantaged students. The Review will report to the Education Council in June 2020.

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Industry engagement, commonly implemented as a 12 week industry placement during a vacation towards the end of the degree, has traditionally been a provider-mandated component of externally accredited professional engineering degrees in Australia. Such placements are intended to bridge knowledge and capability gaps between academic study and engineering employment and contextualise the final phase of academic study. Changes in the composition of Australia's engineering industries have made it progressively harder to source such placements. In-curriculum exposure to engineering practice has also been expected, but has been delivered with considerable variability. In 2014 the authors completed a national project, led by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED), with peak industry bodies and several partner universities, funded from the Commonwealth Department of Industry Workplace Innovation Program, to explore how improving industry engagement could contribute further to engineering graduates' learning outcomes and employability. The data collected from the engineering students and employers, reported in this paper, can now be regarded as baseline data on industry engagement, against which subsequent developments can be referenced. For the first time, students' ratings of the value of different methods for industry engagement are shown to be related to their 'authenticity'. Several industry-inspired in-curriculum interventions were also trialled at partner universities. Guidelines for good practice were developed from melding the experiential findings with theoretical perspectives. In the years since completing the project, the accreditation body, Engineers Australia, has updated and intensified its focus on engagement with practice (including changing its language from 'exposure' to 'engagement'), and many engineering faculties have significantly enhanced their models and requirements for work integrated learning and industry engagement. This paper outlines these changes and examples of new implementations, including virtual and electronically-mediated methods that also reflect ongoing changes in engineering industry practice.

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This workforce plan aims to address immediate issues facing the rural medical workforce as well as deliver longer-term workforce sustainability through expanded regional and rural training opportunities and improved recruitment and retention. Key strategies in the plan include: Investigate the factors underlying career choices for medical students and junior doctors, focusing on improving rural General Practitioner (GP) applicant numbers; Expand intern and Postgraduate year 2 plus (PGY2+) training capacity in rural hospitals; Introduce a coordinated medical rural generalist training pathway in South Australia; Consider new medical models, including but not limited to the introduction of salaried medical positions in regional local health networks (LHNs); and Provide digital and telehealth supports to rural GPs.

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This discussion paper is the first of three in a thought leadership series on the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and the STEM talent pipeline for Australia's future. The focus of this first discussion paper is on Australia's current STEM education challenges. It analyses Australia's current STEM education performance relating to quality, uptake, and the diversity of its cohort. It reviews the current approach of Australian governments to improve STEM education outcomes, and the range of related industry and education sector initiatives in place, and analyses trends for consideration in the second and third discussion papers. The primary aim of this paper is to start a conversation on how governments, industry and the education sector can work together to build a robust STEM talent pipeline. Consult Australia will discuss findings with stakeholders with the view to developing practical recommendations on improving STEM education outcomes, and to better understand how STEM education can align to skills demands of the future workforce - the focus areas of the second and third discussion paper.

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For many PhD graduates entering the employment market with recent research training under their belt, a career in research and higher education would seem to be the obvious choice. After all, that is the kind of work they have been trained to do. However, with the steep rise in PhD graduations in recent years, and growing demand within the private and public sectors for innovative capability, universities are no longer the only career option. Some evidence seems to point to a problematic job market for PhD graduates and difficulties in securing employment after graduation. However, there is significant demand in the private and public sector for people with deep knowledge and sound research and analytical skills. If there is a gap that needs bridging, it could be a lack of understanding on the part of employers outside academia of the value of engaging a PhD scholar or graduate to meet these needs.

In this collaborative project between the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and CSIRO Data61's student-employer matching platform, Ribit.net, we illuminate current engagement between industry and research graduates. We have investigated which sectors within the Australian workforce employ PhD holders, and what the career ambitions of current PhD students are. Our focus is on PhD graduates already working, or having the ambition to work outside of academia: What sectors are the most research and innovation intensive and employ the most PhDs? Who are the top PhD recruiters among Australian businesses? What, if any, are the differences between PhD graduates from various fields of study?

This analysis is a first step in a broader campaign to: encourage Australian businesses (big and small) to expand their capability, innovative capability and global competitiveness through hiring PhD scholars and graduates; and promote further engagement between industry and the research sector in Australia in a bid to increase our productivity in a fast-changing world.

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As part of the 2019-20 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced the $525 million Skills Package - Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow. Through the Skills Package the Australian Government is putting in place the building blocks for reforms identified in the Joyce review [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 136.59]. The Skills Package is intended to strengthen Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system to ensure that it remains responsive, respected and flexible, providing Australians with the skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace and providing business with the workers they need to grow a strong economy. As part of the Skills Package, the Government committed $41.7 million to pilot two Skills Organisations. The Skills Organisation pilots will target two key priority industries: human services care (which may encompass one or more of aged care, early childhood education and care and disability services); and digital technologies (including a focus on cyber security). This document was provided at the industry roundtables for the Human Services Care Skills Organisation Pilot and the Digital Technology Skills Organisation Pilot. The objectives of the roundtables were to: enable the Commonwealth to provide information in relation to the Skills Organisations pilots; and consult with industry on a range of issues relating to the Skills Organisations pilots.

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