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This project surveyed purchasers of the 'Competency standards for assessment', which was endorsed by the Standards and Curriculum Council (9/95). Those standards document the competencies required of persons responsible for establishing, implementing, and/or managing assessment systems.

The survey determined that, overall, there is limited take-up of the standards. Those organisations which have or which intend to use the standards are those with a strategic approach to human resource management (HRM). Qualitative evidence suggests, however, a potential demand from organisations which have not yet implemented formal assessment practices. It is likely that the process of implementation may be accelerated by the development of an increased capacity to provide practical assistance and to ensure that current information is available to the training and HRM networks. Show less

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion of the dimensions of innovation in Australia, particularly the role of technical and vocational education in Australian innovation. It considers the development of the unique Australian system of innovation, and its relation to the current vocational education and training (VET) system. The perspective adopted is more long-term and historical than has usually been the case in contemporary Australian debates. The basic argument of this paper is that Australian economic and industrial development occurred as an integral part of the general western expansion of science and technology. Australia's colonial heritage, its reliance on resource development, its dependence on, and integration with, the world economy from the earliest days of settlement, and its social and industrial adaptation to unique local conditions makes it an especially interesting historical example of the need to locate policy development within a realistic assessment of the actual context, rather than the desirable or idealised context. The particular challenges of the 21st are not likely to be met by reproducing training and industry models drawn from an idealised past (or for that matter an idealised future). However, the lesson that history can provide is that technical and other forms of education in Australia developed in response to real, not idealised conditions. Show less

Recent innovation policy in Australia has been based on assumptions of increasing [research and development] R&D effort. In this, there has been an emphasis on encouraging large-scale industry and university investment in technology development. However the current and potential role of the [vocational education and training] VET sector has been largely ignored. The paper argues that the concept of innovation underpinning current policy in Australia is flawed. In practice most ‘innovation’ is incremental and mundane and may occur at any point on the value chain. The VET system has the potential to contribute to the processes and practices that underpin most ‘real world’ innovation in Australia.

Published abstract reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder. Show less

The project reported here examined the mechanisms used by vocational education and training (VET) providers in the Riverina Region of southern New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to assess the demand for training in their area. The research focuses on the informal mechanisms, such as friendships and networks, that help training providers understand local training demand. The research used an in-depth case study approach, undertaking a range of focus groups and semi-structured individual and group interviews with VET providers, employers, community groups and VET clients, supplemented by descriptive demographic, industry and training participation statistics. The research, limited in its capacity to make generalisations about VET supply and demand because it is focused on one very defined region, is offered as a model for future larger studies. Show less

This book of research readings was commissioned to enable a better understanding of the past, present and future role of the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector in business innovation.

The significance of the state’s role in developing colonial and post-Federation Australia is undisputed. As a ‘settler society’, its development into an industrial society followed some unique paths. The relatively small average size of (most) private firms combined with large public enterprises encouraged the development of skilled occupational labour markets where workers move between firms, rather than the internal labour markets whereby recruitment and career progression are conducted inside an organisation or enterprise. Internal labour markets are more characteristic of North American and Japanese firms. A reliance on foreign investment to expand production (accelerated after the Second World War) has been a primary means of technology transfer. Although there are important areas of basic science where Australia has made significant contributions, historical circumstances have emphasised process innovation, rather than radical innovation in Australian industry. Although ‘VET’ is a recent acronym, ‘technical education’ has had an important role in Australia from the colonial period to the present. Free and secular primary education was established from the 1870s, but public high schools were a 20th-century development. However, an extensive network of publicly funded schools of mines and industry, colleges of agriculture and technical institutes established prior to Federation continued to expand. Technical education in different states, notably New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, developed different institutional characteristics. However, all systems emphasised instruction in broad occupationally defined skills, rather than narrow job-specific skills. This reflected the specific nature of Australian industrial and agricultural development. Historically, Australian industry has emphasised incremental and process innovation, rather than radical technological breakthrough which depends on a skilled workforce educated through VET institutions.

The collected volume is indexed at TD/TNC 79.07; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 79.651 to TD/TNC 79.664. Show less

This paper is a work-in-progress report and includes draft materials from a Group for Research in Employment and Training (GREAT) research grant ‘Regional innovation and VET: a meta-evaluation’. It argues that innovation cannot be defined as ‘invention plus commercialisation’ as implied in the Federal Government’s innovation action plan, ‘Backing Australia’s ability’ and that knowledge is not in itself a sufficient condition for innovation to occur.

This paper summarises work previously presented at the 10th vocational education and training research conference (indexed at TD/TNC 66.437).

The volume of proceedings is indexed at TD/TNC 70.679; available papers are indexed from TD/TNC 70.680 to TD/TNC 70.714. Show less

This paper provides an overview of the Training Reform Agenda (TRA) and suggests that the longevity of structured training in Australia and the effectiveness of recent proposals for new forms of structured training are linked to a range of regulated institutional and labour market issues not usually considered by education and training policy makers. However, it is pointed out that current policies are predicated on the deregulation of labour, product and training markets and this will have significant negative impact on the levels and quality of vocational and industry training. Show less

There has been considerable policy interest, discussion and a range of [vocational education and training] VET related research projects into the actual and potential contribution of VET to the Australian National Innovation System. The paper draws on the authors’ current field research in regional Australia that is investigating the relationships between skill formation, knowledge transfer and the innovation process. The organisations under study in this research were deliberately selected for their known innovative features. They include a range of small to medium enterprises that supply the domestic market, those which export directly into international commodity markets as well as not-for-profit groups that supply services to the domestic and international tourist markets. They draw on local labour markets for the majority of their workforce and therefore rely to a large extent on the existing education and training infrastructure for skilled workers. Preliminary findings suggest that to conflate 'innovation' with 'technological innovation' is problematic. The organisations under study, in general, have not relied on capital intensive large scale technological innovation. The role of the VET contribution can be best understood as part of a broader development of social and technical infrastructure.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 8th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference, 'Emerging futures: recent, responsive and relevant research', are indexed from TD/TNC 81.564 to TD/TNC 81.610. Show less

The paper argues two related points. The first is that research aims to produce knowledge based on evidence. The second is that the methods used by historians have much to offer contemporary [vocational education and training] VET researchers in the evaluation of evidence, the application of analytical reasoning and the presentation of results. The claim that research can in fact produce knowledge is disputed by some sociologists of science, and by postmodernist theorists. Examples range across the humanities to the social and physical sciences. Education and VET research are not immune. In the US and elsewhere some self-titled 'progressive' educators have recently attacked 'evidence based research' and proposed the adoption of 'postmodernist' approaches. Social construction of knowledge theories depend largely on the philosophies of science developed by Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerbend. These accept David Hume’s sceptical argument about inductive knowledge. From this it is argued that inductive research and reasoning are fatally flawed and/or that knowledge is sociologically rather than empirically determined. Postmodernism is less coherent but more pervasive. It explicitly seeks to undermine enlightenment rationality, empirically derived knowledge, and western humanism. In part one of the paper we defend the assumptions of social science research. We argue that both inductive scepticism and post-modernist 'discourse' lead to forms of irrationalism and relativism. In part two we outline the methods used by historians to evaluate evidence and interpret social change. Against post-modernism and the sociologists of knowledge we argue that historical and other social science methods can produce valid knowledge. We defend the validity of inductive reasoning in knowledge production. We illustrate our discussion using two examples from current work.

Published abstract.

The collection of refereed papers is indexed at TD/TNC 78.501. Available refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 78.502 to TD/TNC 78.518. The collections of non-refereed papers are indexed at TD/TNC 78.519 and TD/TNC 78.520. Available non-refereed papers are indexed from TD/TNC 78.521 to TD/TNC 78.556. Show less

This paper focuses on the processes, and in particular non-market mechanisms, through which training needs are communicated or signalled to vocational education and training (VET) providers in rural settings. Qualitative data were gathered through interviewing a range of VET providers, employers, community groups and VET clients. A key outcome of the research suggests that 'trust', when contextualised within the interactions occurring in rural settings, often leads to the communication of client needs to VET providers. Unlike urban settings that through geographic size and greater demographic distribution tend to separate professional and social networks, 'the bush' conflates social and professional networking through regular formal and informal meetings in a variety of workplace, community and social settings, thus creating opportunities for the communication of a range of commercially utilisable knowledges, including VET issues of supply and demand. The glue binding these 'intellectual spillovers', 'nonmarket mechanisms' or 'non-price signals' is trust. Information gleaned from focus groups, key informants, sites visits and desktop research consistently demonstrated 'trust', defined as the micro-observable and mutually accountable reciprocity of needs, as the basis of informal and most formal communications of VET need and demand. The researchers conclude that the dilemma with informal, trust-based communication is its randomness, which mitigates its potential for enhancing VET provider-client relationships and partnerships. A proposed solution to capture the inherent value of informal communication, while recognising the realities of the rural and regional VET marketplace, is to bring together VET providers and clients in a 'neutral space' auspiced by a non-VET body such as a purpose constructed local government body; for example the range of bodies created through the Victorian 'learning towns' network.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 11th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 92.459 to TD/TNC 92.499 and from TD/TNC 92.701 to TD/TNC 92.716. Show less