The significant shortfall of staff in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce identifies an imperative not only to recruit educators but to support ongoing qualifications and career advancement of those within. Indeed, "Shaping Our Future," Australia's workforce strategy for 2022-2031 identifies qualifications and career…

Skilling Australia's current and future workforce is the theme for the 32nd National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research Conference 'No Frills.' In keeping with the conference's theme, this discussion paper explores the resilience of the Australian VET sector and how it can continue to foster adaptability in the face of ongoing change.

Purpose: To gather insight into how graduating business students are preparing for the workplace and their future careers and how this has been impacted by COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 144 business students at an Australian university who had recently completed an internship and were nearing graduation took part in the study.…

Higher education is increasingly concerned with providing students with experiences that enhance employability. Sitting outside the curriculum, extra- or co-curricular activities that focus on career development, leadership, service or recognition can lead to positive employability and employment outcomes. The extent to which different student…

Vocational education has a crucial role in regional labour markets, providing skills to meet local employment demand. In many regional areas of Australia, there has been a transition in employment from manufacturing and agriculture to service industries. The increase in employment has been most evident in the health and community services sector…

Neighbourhood Houses in Australia are community place-based organisations that provide education, support services, and develop responses to local issues with local communities. The practices within Neighbourhood Houses are informed by community development. Yet knowledge, understanding and practices of community development vary across the…

Purpose: To identify a skilled micro-credentialled training pathway for agricultural careers. Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey consisting of open ended and Likert-type ratings questions regarding workforce skills requirements, training priorities and training delivery preferences was administered with 17 agricultural business managers and…

Students with disabilities continue to experience barriers to accessing tertiary (i.e., postsecondary) education in Australia. Using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may help educators proactively address barriers through the design of more accessible and inclusive educational experiences. However, at present, references to…

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the shortage of teachers worldwide. Shortages have been reported globally including in countries such as the UK, Netherlands, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. In Australia, persistent challenges in teacher recruitment, and retention, especially in disadvantaged schools have worsened, with rural…

"VET partnerships powering a dynamic workforce" is the theme for the 33rd National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research Conference 'No Frills.' In keeping with the conference's theme, this discussion paper focuses on Australia's workforce demands and the importance of equipping the workforce with necessary skills through…

Purpose: Since new digital micro-credential technologies emerged a decade ago, there has been a rapid rise in micro-credentials in the education landscape. Much has been promised about these educational technologies, yet there is much confusion by key stakeholders in the digital micro-credential ecosystem. This confusion has led to significant…

The current historic COVID-19 Pandemic moment has thrown into sharp relief the need for flexible and rigorous higher education that meets upskilling and reskilling needs of global workforces. Discussions of micro-credentialing predate the Pandemic but have received increased focus as potentially assisting in addressing perceived skills gaps.…

This paper explores how leadership is addressed within Australia's National Children's Education and Care Workforce Strategy (ACECQA, 2021). The Workforce Strategy has been widely welcomed, arriving at a time of unprecedented workforce pressures in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. Yet, on close examination there appears an…

Australia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic depends on the ability of employers to fill the skills shortages resulting from lower migration and upturns in economic prosperity associated with ongoing technological change. The national vocational education and training (VET) system is best placed to support employers to meet these skill…

This support document contains a literature review for the project entitled: "Engaging More Employers in Nationally Recognised Training to Develop Their Workforce. Research Report" (ED616445). The aim of the overall research project is to identify strategies to improve employer uptake of nationally recognised training in the current…