The Australian Education Union (AEU) commissioned the Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) to review funding and staffing for VET (vocational education and training), and especially for TAFE (technical and further education), in the context of the recently set COAG (Council of Australian Governments)…

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has endorsed a "Closing the Gap" agenda designed to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. The agenda is distilled in a series of targets, one of which is the goal of halving the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 attainment or equivalent (Certificate II or above) attainment rates by 2020. One…

In the year to February 2002, one in every five of the 9.8 million people who worked in Australia experienced at least one job separation. This paper looks at the determinants of job separation within a stayer/mover framework using individual-level data for Australia. Conditional on job separation the paper also investigates the determinants of…

The Parents Returning to Work Program (PRTW) is a Victorian government initiative which commenced in 2003. It provides grants to assist eligible parents who wish to return to paid employment after a period of caring for children to participate in training that will increase their work skills and job prospects. This evaluation aimed to review the…

A skilled and flexible workforce is increasingly identified by governments as key to economic development. With the emergence of a global market in both educational services and labour, agreements on mutual recognition and transparency of skills and qualifications have become important elements of international co-operation. They are often…

The VET sector provides several major pathways for young people from education to work and one of them is the apprenticeship. Apprenticeships combine participation in work and formal learning in an extended education and training structure that contributes to skill formation for individuals and the wider skills base. This paper uses Longitudinal…

This report has been prepared for the National Training Reform Taskforce to report on the future supply of, and requirements for, vocational education and training (VET) qualifications in Australia. It is intended to inform the next stages of reform of the sector to be considered by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The report…

This study extends previous research on university attrition and course completion by its focus on the reasons for attrition and tracking the subsequent enrolment and other outcomes of students who discontinue their university studies. It also looks at older students as well as students from younger groups. It finds that attrition from first year…

This report investigates the future supply of and demand for certain types of skilled labour at the trades and sub-trades levels that will be required for these projects up to 2010. In particular, it focuses on skilled labour in the mechanical, fabrication and electrical trades and mobile plant operators and construction workers in the sub-trades.…

Australia has made significant changes in the ways it regulates and funds vocational education and training (VET), with increased emphasis on competition to promote efficient delivery of the type of programs that students and employers want. National, state and territory governments have increased the role of employers by basing nationally…

Debates on skill shortages and the aging of the population have markedly increased the attention given to Vocational Education and Training (VET) and to Technical and Further Education (TAFE). New roles for VET include new products, pedagogy and partnerships with industry, all with implications for staff development. TAFE has particular…

This paper reports on a Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) project that explored policies, programs and other initiatives by Australia's states and territories to support innovation, and to build vocational education and training (VET) capability to respond to its effects on skill needs. The project was undertaken in late…

Migration patterns to and from Australia are becoming complex with migration programmes increasingly targeted towards meeting the needs of the labour market and regional development. This paper provides an analysis of the permanent and temporary movements of people to and from Australia in the last three years and their impact on the skilled…

As part of a charge to assist the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) to co-ordinate the development of relevant User Choice resourcing arrangements, CEET documented existing User Choice resourcing arrangements in each jurisdiction as of March 31, 2004. Emails were sent to each jurisdiction asking them to provide information on the User…

This Working Paper contains three sections: the background to existing User Choice resourcing principles and their interrelationships as of March 2004; analysis of the existing arrangements, including their consistency with each other and with the User Choice principles agreed by Ministers; and concluding comments. The author found a considerable…