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The National Survey of Employers (NSE) is an annual survey of New Zealand employers. The NSE monitors labour market, immigration, and employment matters to improve the evidence base for evaluating policy and answering contemporary policy questions. The survey includes questions on topics such as: job vacancies and skills needs; use of trial periods; employment relations and workplace practices; minimum wages; health and safety - system, practices and perspectives; and employing migrant staff. The NSE 2012/13 interviewed 1,529 New Zealand employers between October 2012 and March 2013. The report of the survey is contained in the following documents: a summary findings report; an appendix describing the survey methodology; and an appendix presenting the survey results in tables.

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This paper examines the determinants of job-related training and workplace voice. Using data from a unique 2016 cross-national survey of Australian, British, Canadian and American employees, the paper contrasts two classic formulations in the literature; (1) the neoclassical/human capital approach which predicts that individual characteristics (such as age and education) which increase the efficiency of learning, will have the largest impact on the allocation of training (i.e. younger and more educated employees will be afforded training) and (2) the traditional institutional approach which favors the structural characteristics present at the industry and firm level, the nature of the job itself and the strategic choices of firms as the major predictors of job-related training.

We find that age - a key factor in the human capital model - plays a significant role in the allocation of training but that education (in keeping with recent evidence) does not. In sum the human capital model provides, at best, only a partial explanation for the differences in training observed across individuals. In contrast, variables invoked by the institutional literature (i.e. occupation level; industry; ownership type; and market structure) are highly significant and account for a much greater proportion of the variance in training observed across workers. Other institutional factors such as the presence of a union and a human resource department were strong positive predictors of job-related training. But most important were product-market strategy and employee voice. Respondents working in firms utilizing a 'high road/high quality' product/service strategy and with a workplace consultative committee were significantly more likely to receive training than similar workers employed in observably similar firms. This last finding supports the industrial relations view of voice as an important channel by which training is optimally delivered inside the firm.

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This paper represents a progress report on a continuing research project investigating the working life and learning of roadside work-seekers around Cape Town, South Africa. As many of the roadside work-seekers display boards and tools representing the construction trades, the intended destination for work or employment appears to be the construction sector. Many of the roadside work-seekers are inter-provincial migrants and immigrants, who have moved to find work and may have more limited social capital. Characterisations of the work-seekers as 'unskilled labourers' are questioned as many of the work-seekers display the tools of their trade to attract work. The terminology of 'roadside work seekers' describes the physical locations of work-seeking but also some of the work-seekers claim artisan trade skills. A mixed method approach is adopted to explore the questions: How do these vulnerable workers develop a vocational identity? What brings the men to the roadside and critically how do they progress?

The findings highlight the lack of participation of contractors in the present skills development system, and the concomitant implication of unattainability of occupational qualifications not only for the roadside work-seekers but many other permanent employees within the construction sector. The small to medium construction contractors require a tailored sector-specific skills development system that allows for the recognition of small segments of skill acquired to be recorded and recognised - an electronic 'badging' or passport system is proposed. The research demonstrates the value of analysing labour law influences on human resource management practices, allied with sociological constructs to provide a holistic and humanising insight into the reality of roadside work-seekers.

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In July 2010 an Expert Panel was appointed to provide recommendations to the government on possible ways to reform the apprenticeship and traineeship system to ensure that it can meet Australia's skills needs into the 21st century [report available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 103.740]. The work of the panel was underpinned by a study on related economic costs and benefits, including research undertaken by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). This paper contributes to one of the four reports prepared by NCVER as part of this study, 'The apprenticeship and traineeship system's relationships with the regulatory environment' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 103.685].

A variety of aspects relating to pay and conditions is important to the attractiveness of undertaking (and completing) an apprenticeship or traineeship. Awards are the basis of pay and conditions - hence this paper considers aspects of award structures and implications for apprentice and trainee rates of pay. The apprenticeship model combines a contract of training with a contract of employment and as such involves two regulatory systems: the training system and the industrial relations system. The new Fair Work industrial relations system has consolidated coverage into 122 modern awards, 95 of which contain the Training Wage Schedule and 45 of which provide for the employment of apprentices. Considerable diversity in apprentice pay and conditions remains and it is as yet unclear whether the new framework can be more adaptive in response to issues such as the expansion of apprenticeships and traineeships into new areas, competency-based wage progression, and the recognition of previous training and qualifications.

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Why aren't workplaces better designed for women? We show that changing the priorities of those who set workplace policies can create female-friendly jobs. Starting in 2015, Brazil's largest trade union federation made women central to its bargaining agenda. Neither establishments nor workers choose their union, permitting a difference-in-differences design to study causal effects.

We find that 'bargaining for women' increases female-centric amenities in collective bargaining agreements, which are then reflected in practice (e.g., more female managers, longer maternity leaves, longer job protection). These changes cause women to queue for jobs at treated establishments and separate from them less - both revealed preference measures of firm value. We find no evidence that these gains come at the expense of employment, workers' wages, or firm profits. Hence, prioritizing women's preferences in decision-making can lower within-firm gender inequality through more efficient bargaining.

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The education-based [non-governmental organization] NGO sector in India is a large sector and it depends on activities of learning, training and motivation to sustain its underpaid and overworked workers. I articulate a theoretical perspective on the 'learning activity' in these workplaces using ideas of Engestrom and Freire, I focus and problematise the discourse of empowerment and analyse its impact on the learning activity in these organisations focusing on its implications for the worker. I argue that the notion of 'Permanent pedagogy' is an essential strategy of NGOs to position the worker in a deficit perspective and trade their services for low employment, low wages, precarious work and often intensive emotional labour. Permanent pedagogy manifests itself at the levels of cultural norms and ethos of a workplace, socio-historical perception and realities of the workplace and individual consciousness.

Using the lens of [Cultural Historical Activity Theory] CHAT and Freire's pedagogic model, I identify specific features of the learning activity that operates within the logic of the neoliberal order. I propose an alternative framework of workplace learning that focuses on resistance. The paper intends to stimulate critical reflection amongst NGO practitioners and scholars to question the broader notion of empowerment and, instead advance empirical focus on emancipatory learning structures.

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As a nation Australia needs to do three things to cope with the worsening economic climate: look to alternatives to firing and invest in skills; repair the safety net to avoid poverty and dislocation; and ensure retrenched workers get the most effective assistance to get back to work quickly. Measures to increase access to redundancy entitlements, early intervention and case management should be more widely available, rather than based on a lottery approach dependent on whether a person works in a specific industry subject to special government supports, the number of employees at the firm, or whether the employment is casual or permanent. It recommends establishing a Skills Development Fund that would enable employers to retain their employees during the economic slowdown while they undertake training.

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This independent Inquiry was set up to investigate the practices of labour hire companies, insecure work, sham contracting and the abuse of visas to avoid workplace laws and undermine minimum employment standards. The terms of reference also included examining the social impact of insecure work and assessing if the current legal framework meets the needs of Victorian employers and labour hire workers. The labour hire industry has developed over the last 20 to 30 years to become a significant employer of Victorian workers and a major contributor to the Victorian economy. Labour hire is present in almost all Victorian industries; Australia-wide data indicates that it is used most extensively in administrative and support services, mining and manufacturing. Labour hire employment arrangements typically involve a 'triangular relationship' in which a labour hire agency supplies the labour of a labour hire worker to a third party (host) in exchange for a fee (labour hire employment arrangement). In a labour hire employment arrangement, there is no direct employment or contractual relationship between the host and the labour hire worker. Instead, the worker is engaged by the labour hire agency, either as an employee or as an independent contractor.

The report presents the Inquiry's terms of reference, findings and recommendation. It also notes two aspects that in particular stood out from the investigation: (1) there are various ways in which labour hire workers in Victoria are treated almost like a 'second class' of worker - ranging from exploitation in some sectors through to differential treatment in respect of issues like health and safety, dismissal and rostering; and (2) while the concept of insecure work was strongly contexted by some employer groups, the Inquiry heard many accounts of the extent and impact of non-permanent working arrangements, especially casual and fixed term engagement, experienced by Victorian workers.

The Inquiry makes 35 recommendations for addressing the issues raised, with the main ones being: a sector-specific licensing scheme for labour hire agencies; a voluntary code of practice for the Victorian labour hire industry; and the adoption of procurement policies by the Victorian Government through which preference would be given in government contracting to businesses that adopt more secure forms of work. The Inquiry has also called on the Victorian Government to advocate for a national licensing scheme for labour hire operators, through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

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Increasing the skills and productivity of Australia's workforce is a priority for the [New South Wales] NSW and Federal Governments. While funds to the vocational education and training (VET) system have been substantially increased, attention should also be given to improving the workplace conditions of those undertaking training as a way to improve VET outcomes. This report focuses on how the completion rate of apprentices and trainees can be improved, as well as considering other factors that may be associated with improved VET outcomes.

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The paper examines the link between workplace disability (WD) and job satisfaction (JS) in Britain using linked data from [Workplace Employment Relations Study] WESR2011. The results obtained indicate workplaces with respondents with disabilities report lower JS vis-a-vis workplaces without such respondents in the private sector. Within private sector workplaces with mixed respondents, the JS of respondents without disabilities declines with the percentage of respondents with disabilities. Also, workplace disability policies and practices are positively (negatively) associated with the JS of respondents with (without) disabilities in the sector. The sector may have to re-examine its dealings with issues of workplace disability.

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