This paper investigates teaching practices at the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC), which comprise a unique official development assistance (ODA) program funded by the Government of Australia (GoA) and managed through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) with the aim of training and equipping workers from the…

Australia appears to be in the grip of a "literacy crisis" in workplaces. Media reports and industry/skills organisations are decrying the low literacy and numeracy levels of workers and the negative effects these have on productivity. As a consequence, the Australian government has increased funding for workplace literacy and numeracy programs…

In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), one of the German states, catchment areas for part-time vocational schools were abolished in 2008. With the intention to foster competition between schools in order to improve school quality, training companies now may freely choose the school of their choice. NRW is the first German state to take this step. In the…

In 1983, a competency-based vocational education (CBVE) program began in Croydon Park College of TAFE, South Australia. This was six years before the Australian State Ministers of Vocational Education and Training decreed competency-based training (CBT) to be the national training imperative. Two reports were produced in 1985 and 1987, based on…

This paper was prompted by the call for submissions to the Rudd government's 2020 Summit in April 2008. It analyses the impacts of VET reform on the VET workforce in order to identify strategies that might inform an agenda to build the workforce capacity to support economic and innovation. The paper argues that VET reforms since the 1990s created…

This paper reports on the findings of a research project that elicits the main factors impacting on the performance of workplace assessors in the oil and gas industry. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the significance of the role of workplace assessors and the subsequent impact upon workforce engagement. One model of employee competency…

In June 2005, the Victorian State Government introduced the Regional Jobs Package (RJP)--a twelve-month pilot program that attempted to kill two social policy problems with one stone. The problems were youth unemployment and skills shortages in regional areas of Victoria, Australia. The intention of the RJP was to create a "win-win" outcome. If…

This paper reports on research into a national education program within one of Australia's largest trade unions. The program was designed to assist the union's staff and elected officials respond to the rapidly changing industrial and political conditions in the manufacturing sector. It is ambitious in scope comprising sixteen modules that range…

Workplace assessment (WPA) of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) competencies has become a significant alternative pathway for vocational adult education. This article reports on a research project which compares stated intentions for workplace assessment with evidence of its practical realization. The perceptions of the…

In 1990, Australia implemented an employer training levy, the Training Guarantee Scheme. The Training Guarantee was abolished by the incoming Coalition federal government in 1996 after much negative publicity about its impact, particularly on small business. Recently, there have been calls to revive the notion of an employer training levy as a…

In line with other Western nations, the 1980s and 1990s saw a significant increase in the number of TAFE graduates wanting to transfer to university. As a consequence, recent times have evidenced increased co-operation between universities and TAFE institutes and the emergence of alternative university-entry programs (e.g. degree-articulation…

This paper provides an account of findings, pertinent to vocational education and training, of the Victorian evaluation of the Commonwealth-funded Full Service Schools Program. This program was designed for students "at risk" of leaving school early and not making a successful transition into further education and training or employment. It…

This account reports on a commissioned strategic evaluation undertaken for the Australian National Training Authority on the qualitative impact of the introduction of Training Packages on vocational education and training clients. The research involved collecting the views of over 200 VET practitioners, bureaucrats and administrators, industry…

The primary purpose of this study was to find out the attitudes of trainers and trainees towards the 8-4-4 power mechanics course offered in secondary schools in Kenya. The attitudes and other related aspects obtained from the trainers and trainees were used as evaluative devices for the course and hence the graduates of the course. A comparison…