Extensive evidence demonstrates a trend of positive outcomes related to learning in the workplace. Despite this, no examination of the outcomes has been undertaken using the available Australian vocational education and training (VET) data. This publication uses VET administrative data to examine trends in the delivery of workplace-based training,…

Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers often begin teaching with limited or no teaching qualifications, and necessarily much of their learning to be a teacher takes place in the teaching workplace. This paper considers what novice VET teachers learn in the workplace and what enables and constrains that learning. We argue that teachers…

To enhance employability and improve the career prospects of graduating students, this study explores the influence of practical experience on graduate employment outcomes in an Australian setting. To develop our understanding of the relative benefit of different forms of practical experience, the study evaluates the influence of both…

Knowing how adults learn through work is central to understanding their development across working lives. That development is important for their personal trajectories, and ability to contribute, sustain and advance the interests of their workplaces, and collectively to the social and economic viability of their communities and nations. This paper…

This report brings together research publicly released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) over the year. The 2017 compilation reflects an extensive collection of NCVER research activities undertaken during 2017, comprising reports, summaries, infographics, occasional papers, presentations and webinars. NCVER has…

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age…

The "Research messages" annual series presents a summary of the research-focused reports produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) each year. In addition to presenting the research reports published by NCVER during 2016, NCVER has expanded this edition to include other relevant and informative resources,…