VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Our research has included:

undertaking, in partnership with Victoria University and the University of Melbourne, a study of private Registered Training Organisation training for early school leavers, funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research
contributing to a major Australian Research Council study on flexible learning options in partnership with James Cook University, Victoria University and the Edmund Rice Institute

Viewed from the margins: navigating disadvantage and VET

Australia’s VET sector is one part of a safety net catering for a large number of disadvantaged Australians. Although disadvantaged students depend on it to provide the skills, qualifications, networks and psycho-social resources they need, the sector struggles to respond effectively.

George Myconos, Eric Dommers and Kira Clarke explore the experiences of young early school leavers undertaking vocational education to illuminate broader issues of equity and access. They argue that policymakers and provider communities must first affirm equity and access as central to the sector’s core business. They point to changes that might enable the VET sector to better meet the needs of early school leavers, and indeed all disadvantaged learners.

Read their paper Viewed from the margins: navigating disadvantage and VET (PDF, 212 KB)

Read other papers in Vocational education for the 21st century: a series of policy discussion papers produced by the LH Martin Institute at the University of Melbourne

Report

Engaging young early school leavers in vocational training

As participation rates of young people in vocational education and training decline, opportunities exist to engage and retain early school leavers in VET. However this study for NCVER showed that the VET sector must work to demystify VET pathways and better inform and support young early school leavers if it wants to engage them and improve youth unemployment opportunities.