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This paper questions the nature of reform advocated by the present changes to the workplace and its culture, and argues that competency-based training (CBT) is out of alignment with the construction of an agenda for workplace reform that should be a collaborative action. CBT may be viewed as aligning with the interests of the status quo and inappropriate to the interests of working people. Show less

This paper argues that competency based training (CBT) as the dominant approach to reform in curriculum and pedagogy is contrary to the interests of working people and labour. The paper provides five examples representing a selection of different industries, different subject areas and different levels of studies across occupations.

The paper argues that workers and educators are not resources to be manipulated in accordance with employer and market interests. Rather, they are active agents who must determine the collective purposes of their society. As a result, curriculums and training methods must be designed to reflect these intentions. Rather than focus on the reform of workers, this paper argues that reforms for workers must set the agenda. Show less

In this paper, the author first signals the intention of his institution, Victoria University of Technology, to develop further its research profile in the vocational education and training (VET) field. Secondly, he outlines some concerns regarding research in VET, under the following headings: (1) lack of autonomy; (2) lack of critique; (3) dominant masculine presence; (4) misuse of ‘interpretive flexibility’. Thirdly, the paper gives information about the formation of a new nationally based professional association for those interested in the more socially critical aspects of adult and work-related education, to be known as the National Adult Education Coalition. Finally, he provides an overview of three publications currently at varying stages of production. The focus of all three is the development of curriculum for work-related learning, and two are specifically about competency-based training. Show less

These 12 papers are part of the study materials for the one-semester distance education unit, Project Development Plan 2, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University (Australia). They examine the breadth and depth of the actions and debates around the social construction of skill and the critical role played by the concept of skill in the gendering of the workplace. An introduction from Elaine Butler and Mike Brown provides an overview of the papers. The first two papers illustrate the broad picture: 'Con-testing skill: women, skill and training in Australia' by Elaine Butler and Helen Connole, locates contemporary studies of women and skill within the discourses of education and training and the Australian microeconomic reform agenda; 'The gendering of skill and vocationalism in twentieth-century Australian education' by Jill Blackmore, provides an historical base for the contemporary discourse as well as a framework for future critique.

Other papers are as follows: 'What's in a word: recognition of women's skills in workplace change' by Cate Poynton and Kim Lazenby, offers a precis of a research project that renames the skills of women workers in clerical occupations; 'From industry to enterprise: issues for women workers around award and industry restructuring' by Kim Windsor, investigates the potential for 'women's' industries to influence award and industry restructuring processes; 'Women and skill formation' by Ann Byrne, draws on Labour Research Center research, with a focus on skill identification issues, classifications, and methodologies; 'Women and award restructuring in local government' by Mira Robertson, considers implications for women workers within the industry; 'The transport industry: another challenge for women' by Robyn Francis, juxtaposes the male-dominated transport industry and its inherent challenges against 'feminized' industries; 'Women's skills in community services' by Susan Kenna, contends that a fundamental shift is required in the way caring occupations are valued; 'Community Service Workers and pay equity' by Sara Charlesworth, pursues issues of valuing service work and the skills inherent in such work; 'Skill and skill formation for women workers: a case study of the hospitality industry' by Sue Harper, reports on a project that investigated women working in the hospitality industry in jobs usually viewed as unskilled or semiskilled; 'Training for the computerized office: crisis or opportunity?' by Rosemary J. Harris, is a personal perspective of one female worker's experiences; 'The ideology of skill and gender: a selective review of the literature' by Cathy Emery, is a review of the literature around the ideology and construct of skill. Show less