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This article presents an analysis and account of a case study to find ways to better build agency and explore pathways for young English as Second Language (ESL) learners. The author conducted eight case studies of students of Non English Speaking Background (NESB) who had experienced a number of ESL courses in vocational education and training (VET) settings. The participants' lack of knowledge of competency based training and competency based assessment inspired the author to investigate agency, or the power to decide what, how and when to learn, of ESL students. The article discusses the role of curriculum in creating agency for NESB students in VET institutes in Victoria.

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There has been a recognised problem accessing labour in agriculture which can have dire consequences for the productivity and profitability of Victorian agriculture and can lead to poorer wellbeing in rural communities. Understanding the nature of and influences on agriculture workforce issues may help understand the role, if any, for agriculture in addressing state unemployment issues. Relatedly, such understanding may illuminate opportunities for government, especially the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR), to support agricultural employment. Toward such an aim, this paper explores the existing literature to consider the nature of workforce issues in Australian and Victorian agriculture. It does so by (1) 'setting the scene' about broad workforce issues in agriculture, (2) describing the causes of the workforce problems, (3) considering the role of retention in workforce issues, (4) identifying how the problems are managed, and (5) offering some insights, based on the changes occurring in agriculture, regarding opportunities for supporting employment in agriculture.

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The review of quality assurance confirmed there is enough data to confirm that training quality in Victoria is variable and the problem is not small, and there is a widespread acknowledgement that quality must be lifted. The Victorian Government released the Review report on 29 June 2015, alongside a Government response, and has accepted all 19 of its recommendations. The Government will focus effort across five key areas: (1) an immediate targeted blitz on low quality providers; (2) prioritising quality in determining eligibility to deliver government funded training; (3) improving key factors in a student's training experience, such as the duration of training and the skills and abilities of trainers; (4) actively monitoring and managing the performance of contracted training providers; and (5) empowering students and employers to drive quality through informed choices and consumer protection. This document provides an overview of how the Government plans to implement the Review's recommendations. For reference, the recommendations are provided alongside the Government's planned actions.

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This article focuses on education for women in prison, primarily focusing on the role of Vocational Education and Training (VET), and the way education changes lives for both the students in prison and beyond, as well as for their teachers at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC) and Tarrengower.

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It is important for students to develop informed and realistic career aspirations to gain the most value from their university studies towards achieving their initial career goals. However developing students' career aspirations, goals, and expectations is a complex and discipline-specific process. In information technology (IT) no clear career development framework is evident in the literature. Recent research in Australia argues that electronic portfolios are a useful way for students to develop, articulate and document career objectives to enhance their employability. IT students at Deakin engage in formal training and assessment with respect to developing their professional skills and career understandings. Currently electronic portfolios feature as a useful method for evidencing professional competencies for employability.

Through a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of 306 students' articulated current career aspirations, qualitative analysis of seven staff opinions of desired student career competencies, and a quantitative analysis of 28 students' current work personality traits assessments (Work Personality Index), this work presents an analysis of the current state of IT students' career development. The results indicate that while students reported short-term career aspirations, navigating to their long-term career goals is going to require addressing difficult barriers such as confidence (self-perception) and motivation. This research will influence a larger program-wide endeavour to build student career competencies for employability in IT at Deakin University.

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The review was established on 19 February 2015 to inquire into and report on how to improve the quality, stability and sustainability of the Victorian training market, by recommending alternative vocational education and training (VET) funding models and settings that: (a) match training delivery to the growing job opportunities in Victorian industries; (b) ensure all government subsidised training is high quality; (c) allow rural and regional communities to access training that meets their local needs; (d) meet community service obligations to support vulnerable and higher needs learners to complete training and transition to employment; (e) build a strong and responsive public Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector; (f) manage training expenditure within the existing vocational training budget while preserving a framework of student driven choices; (g) recognise the public and private benefits of training and ensure fees and student costs are not a barrier to participation; and (h) ensure eligibility to access subsidised training is fair and well-targeted.

The review was also asked to comment as necessary on: (i) how other government policy levers may be used to support the quality, stability and sustainability of the Victorian training market - this could include the regulation of training providers; requirements for government contracted training provision; information and decision support tools for students; and implications for national training policy; and (j) the implications of recommended reforms for other directly-related areas of education in Victoria (including secondary schooling and the roll out of new Tech Schools, and the higher education sector).

This final report provides the review's recommendations to improve the quality, stability and sustainability of the Victorian training market, in accordance with the terms of reference. The report has six interconnected chapters, the content of which reflects the complexity of the system: (1) government's role in VET; (2) a sustainable funding system, which outlines how the funding system should be reformed; (3) supporting jobs and industry, which discusses the important role VET plays in meeting industry needs; (4) institutes of technical and further education, which discusses the important role of the public provider; (5) quality assured VET, which makes a series of recommendations to improve quality in the system and better protect and support students; and (6) continuous improvement, which provides additional recommendations to drive improvements in the sector.

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The government, the [Adult, Community and Further Education] ACFE Board and stakeholders have worked together to understand and support the next steps to enable the continued development of the Learn Local sector. This has led to identifying three key strategic directions for the future: (1) refocusing and refining the role of Learn Local - ensuring that the government better signals and supports its objectives for the Learn Local sector by setting clear priorities and improving governance arrangements; (2) promoting durable networks and co-location of services to improve pathways and sustainability - placing clients at the centre of service design and improving the sustainability of Learn Local organisations by reforming pre-accredited funding settings and the more effective and efficient use of Board-managed assets, programs and expertise; and (3) building the Learn Local sector's capability to deliver high-quality education services - enabling the sector to deliver better outcomes for learners by cutting red tape and harnessing broader vocational and educational system supports. This strategy will support the Learn Local sector to secure its critical role in education and training in Victoria. Most importantly, it will increase the sector's capacity to support those Victorians who face significant barriers to increasing their skills and entering and staying in the workforce.

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The Inner Eastern Local Learning and Employment Network (IELLEN) established the e2e (Education to Employment) Working Group comprised of stakeholder members to respond to worrying levels of youth disengagement and unemployment, and to consider actions to improve youth transitions and pathways. As a first step, this group agreed to develop a discussion paper. This paper provides key reflections from the group and might be best summarised as a response to two related questions: how to ensure all young people see a future for themselves and how to ensure all young people have a future.

The group has aimed for a wide ranging overview of issues in relation to the disengagement of young people from education, and youth unemployment. Accordingly, the paper's recommendations are based on five principles to guide future investment in the education, and transitions of young people. These principles are: (1) every young person, including those in the middle years, should have an opportunity to access education, and other related services they may need, to ensure that they can learn, develop and flourish; (2) additional resources should be directed towards particular cohorts where outcomes are poor or where the risk factors for poor outcomes are high; (3) investment should also focus on achieving improved outcomes including successful post-education transitions; (4) young people themselves should be given a say in what they need; and (5) recognising the social and economic benefits of investing in young people, the responsibility for improved transitions and pathways can be shared by all. Eleven themes, or areas, are then identified, and these serve as headings for each section, which includes recommendations: policy; consultation; funding youth specific programs; workforce strategy for professionals involved in the education and support for young people, including professional learning; partnerships including with industry; education disengagement; education through [Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning] VCAL and [vocational education and training] VET; disabilities; middle years; abuse and trauma; and diversion from the justice system into support services.

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The Learning Academic Skills Support program was designed to improve progression and retention rates for students articulating from vocational education into the Bachelor of Hospitality Management at Holmesglen Institute. The program is scheduled around the student experience during their first semester in higher education and incorporates academic, information literacy and student welfare support. An analysis of the effectiveness of the program in terms of the student perspective as well as progression and retention rates forms the basis of the research project that underpins this paper. Findings indicate that the program has been successful during its initial implementation. Students demonstrated improved results, retention rates increased and students cited improvement in their own capabilities around academic writing, research and referencing.

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Outside of apprenticeships, allocations of public funds across vocational education and training (VET) courses are often made on the basis of government forecasts, with limited competition between (mostly public) colleges. This centralised model is often blamed for stifling responsiveness to skill demands and training quality. However, little is known about whether moving to alternative funding models improves outcomes. In this study, [the authors] exploit a natural experiment and population data to estimate the effects from the introduction of a broad-based voucher in VET in Australia. [The authors] show the voucher is associated with large increases in private college enrolments, improved match between course choice and employer demand, and higher student achievement, including in incumbent public colleges. Unlike studies in the school voucher literature, [the authors] find widespread benefits with no adverse impact on equity.

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