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Now in the developmental stage, this study aims to investigate the drivers influencing student behaviour, and their impact on choice of provider and course in competitive training markets. Based in Victoria, the research will work closely with three [registered training organisations] RTOs to understand (a) the extent to which young people's choices are restricted by local training supply and labour market needs; and (b) how the [vocational education and training] VET system and underpinning RTO practices are equipping young people with information needed to make an 'informed choice' in a marketised training environment.

There are five research questions: What are the main drivers influencing student behaviour and choice of provider and course? To what extent are young people (15-24 year olds) aware of the various entitlements and eligibility criteria concerning their participation in VET? What are their attitudes towards them, and what impact do they have? What role does 'choice' have when explaining the patterns in training participation and outcomes among groups of young people? What are the perspectives of the target group (and the practitioners who train them) on the opportunities and 'freedom to choose' their provider, course, and occupation in their particular region? How can current approaches to measurement and reporting in VET be broadened to reflect more comprehensive outcomes for young people?

Using a mixed methods approach, the focus will be on identifying three distinctive markets of Victoria in which young people participate in VET at a higher rate than in other parts of Victoria (and Australia) and where there are high rates of youth unemployment. The initial stage of the research will involve mapping what VET options are available in these three regions for young people through a detailed document analysis, followed by a comprehensive analysis of archival quantitative data. The findings from these strands will then be explored in more detail by working closely with three RTOs, each catering to different segments of the 'youth' or 'school leaver' market. At each RTO, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with practitioners and managers, and a selection of focus groups will be conducted with VET learners. The multi-level approach to data collection will capture new information and different perspectives on these issues while retaining a focus on the learner perceptive. This project is one of seven grants awarded in 2015 through [National Centre for Vocational Education Research's] NCVER's National Vocational Education and Training Research (NVETR) program. The principal researcher is Justin Brown, Senior Research Fellow (VET) at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in Melbourne.

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This paper is a research 'backgrounder' to support the 2018-19 review of the New South Wales (NSW) curriculum. It focuses on the topic of 'integrating' vocational education and training (VET) programs for secondary school students, which has been identified as an area of interest in the review. The paper begins by detailing the context, in Australia and internationally, for the introduction and expansion of vocational offerings within secondary schooling (section one). It then reviews the available research literature and policy documents on VET programs for secondary school students in Australia, including a review of the benefits and challenges (section two). The paper draws on a range of international models that have - with varying success - integrated 'general' and 'vocational' education within their secondary education systems and structures (section three). It concludes with a set of conclusions and proposals for consideration (section four).

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The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the LH Martin Institute has conducted research to investigate the factors and challenges impacting on [vocational education and training] VET leaders, the influences and support mechanisms shaping their roles, and how they judge effective performance in their role. This paper, composed for the AVETRA 2011 conference, shines light on the personal and interpersonal capabilities required to perform particular roles effectively in an increasingly complex and diverse operating environment. The target group for the study were VET workers who are directly and indirectly concerned with effective quality and change management in registered training organisations. A diverse range of providers participated in the research through interviews, surveys and workshops. The findings highlight the changing, at times conflicting, expectations on those working in the VET sector. Most importantly, the research shines light on practicable solutions and provides a framework for future discussion and research. Supplementary online resources are being developed to provide a basis for reviewing the many 360 degree performance tools in use, but which are not typically underpinned by VET research. These resources will enable validation of existing leadership tools and practices being used for leadership performance management and development. To assist those who find themselves leading large and complex training organisations, this study paints a picture of what VET leaders do, and of how they can do it best.

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This research offers insights into the options available to individuals as they navigate the vocational education and training (VET) market. Importantly, this study directly represents the voice of students, asking how their choices were made and whether their choice was sufficiently 'informed'. The student voice is contrasted with recent literature and data on measures of choice. Implications for policy and practice are explored, as are strategies for improving and broadening choice. The focus here is on examples from Victoria, the first state to initiate market reforms, by means of the Victorian Training Guarantee.

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This paper draws on an evaluation of the [vocational education and training] VET Access and Equity Grants Program for the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), in association with Monash University, conducted the evaluation of seven demonstration sites each targeting different cohorts between August 2011 and November 2012. The key research question for the project was: how do these innovative models work to increase engagement in, and completion of, training by disadvantaged and hard-to-reach learners? The project objectives were to identify the key features of service delivery models that act as barriers and enablers, both for the program and the learners. The research methodology used a community-based action learning model with particular focus on a collaborative approach to inquiry. The project was characterised by a continuous loop of systematic data collection, reflection, analysis and data-driven action to ensure that participants, the practitioners and participants, were engaged throughout the evaluation. This paper presents some of the project findings and the evaluation conceptual model for characterising partnership models. It contributes new perspectives on the nexus between the welfare and education and training sectors, particularly in terms of the partnerships and principles underpinning effective approaches and strategies.

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Youth unemployment in Australia has been described as a source of 'capability deprivation' (Henry, 2014). Since the late 1980s, a recurring set of policies and programs have been implemented in Australia to tackle youth unemployment by lifting rates of participation in school-based and post-school vocational education and training (VET). More recently, the introduction of policy reforms to marketise the Victorian training system has transformed the composition of VET providers in the training system and, by extension, the types and quality of courses being offered. The impact of these reforms has been documented in the media and through government reviews (e.g. Mackenzie and Coulson, 2015; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2015; Mitchell, 2012). However, very little is understood about the impact of these reforms on VET 'opportunities' for small populations of young learners at the local level. Even less is understood from the perspective of the learners themselves.

To address this gap, [this] research contributes a critical examination of post-school training opportunities available to young adults in the small local area of the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region in Victoria, Australia. This particular region has a youth unemployment rate that is five percentage points higher than the greater Melbourne and Victorian state averages (ABS, 2015a). Drawing on the conceptual framework of the capabilities approach (CA) pioneered by economist Amartya Sen (1980/1984/1985/1987/1992/1993) and extended by philosopher Martha Nussbaum (1992/1995/2000/2002/2003), [this] study conducts a sequential explanatory mixed-method design (Creswell et al., 2003) set within critical realist (CR) ontology (Bhaskar, 1979/1975). [The author brings] together the philosophical approach of CR and the conceptual framework of the CA to better understand how the problem is constructed. By applying these alternative lenses, [he proposes] approaches to understanding the problem in a more meaningful way. The capabilities approach is structured around three core concepts: capabilities (what people are able to be or to do); functionings (what people, having capabilities, are doing); and agency (the ability to choose the functionings).

[The] research builds on this framework to identify the extent of alignment between available opportunities (as espoused in policy) and accessible opportunities (as stated by young people). Through an assessment of administrative, survey and primary qualitative data, [the] research produces new insights into the misalignment between (1) loosely-defined policy rhetoric advocating 'choice' and 'opportunity' in training 'markets' and (2) the real training opportunities accessible to young adults in a disadvantaged location. It is envisaged that the findings will have application for policy makers and practitioners in similarly disadvantaged contexts, particularly where there are limited post-school opportunities available to young people. For researchers, there are lessons arising for applying the capabilities approach to the context of young people and VET in disadvantaged locations.

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This paper investigates support models for supporting disadvantaged learners and job seekers in the education, training and employment sectors. This research was commissioned by NVEAC [National VET Equity Advisory Council] to assist with its identification of preferred models of support for disadvantaged learners in the VET [vocational education and training] sector.

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The report examines the statutory requirements of VET [vocational education and training] providers as they relate to equity groups. NVEAC commissioned this research to inform its work on investment models which support equity in VET.

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On Track is a Victorian Government initiative which surveys school leavers who have left school in the last six months to find out if they are on track to a bright future. On Track ensures school leavers are contacted within six months of leaving school to see if they are on a path to further education, training or employment. This report presents results from the 2010 interviews with 4299 young Victorians, as part of the longitudinal component of the On Track program. These young people either completed a Year 12 or equivalent certificate in 2007 or left school before receiving a Year 12 certificate during 2007. All of those interviewed in 2010 had been interviewed in 2008 as part of the regular On Track program and in 2009 as part of the longitudinal program. This cohort of young people will be interviewed again in 2011, and a final report on their post-school pathways will be released in late 2011.

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This study provides a detailed analysis of the financing of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Tonga. The study, which was conducted in late 2013, forms part of a region-wide program, 'Research into the financing of TVET in the Pacific', initiated under Australia's international development assistance program in 2011. The aims of the program are to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the existing systems for financing TVET in seven Pacific countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu), identify key financing issues within the region, and the policy implications they have for the future financing for TVET, to enable it to be more efficient and effective at both national and regional levels.

The report is structured in five main parts. Chapter two completes part one, 'Introduction', by providing a detailed description of the research approach used in Tonga, including the data collection instruments that were developed. Part two, 'Country background', contains chapters three to seven that outline the broad national context of Tonga. In part three, 'TVET in context', chapters eight to 11 provide a detailed description of TVET institutions and activities in Tonga, and discuss access to educational opportunities, the contribution of TVET to economic developments, and developments and issues concerning TVET quality. Part four, 'The financing of TVET', presents the main findings and analyses from the study. TVET funding and expenditure patterns and trends are presented and analysed in chapters 12 and 14. The financial mechanisms that channel resources into and throughout the TVET sector are identified and analysed in chapter 13. Chapter 15 details the study team's pilot survey on enterprise training and its funding, and in chapter 16 unit costs of TVET delivery are estimated, and their use in evaluating the efficiency of TVET delivery is assessed. In part five, 'Issues and options', the overall conclusions of the study are summarised, key issues identified, and directions developed for consideration by the Government of Tonga, other TVET stakeholders, and development partners.

Further details on the study are provided in the annexes. Annex one provides the scope and objectives set out in the research brief. Annex two provides the classification and coding systems used in the data collection and recording. The people and organisations involved in consultations during the fieldwork are listed in annex three, and the members of the National Reference Group for the study are provided in annex four. Annex five includes the data collection templates developed for different aspects of the study.

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