Purpose: The aim of the paper is to examine whether there really is a shortage of VET teachers, and if so, whether there are links to the salary offered and to the qualifications required. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses three main approaches to examine the narrative of a shortage of VET teachers in Australia. Findings: There was no…

Due to their Indigeneity, Indigenous early career researchers are positioned differently and therefore experience the higher education sector differently to their non-Indigenous peers. Such positioning significantly impacts the development and progression of Indigenous academic research career trajectories. This article reports from the first…

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…

In the present descriptive qualitative study, we present the concept of vocational branding to provide a definition and explain how it may increase interest in a particular vocation or career. We define vocational branding as a set of stories, facts, and ideas communicating the personality, traits, and realistic benefits and challenges of a…

Concerns about the poor outcomes from school-based vocational education, which is heavily concentrated in schools serving disadvantaged communities, has led the State Government of Victoria, Australia, to implement major reforms, including abolishing the Victoria Certificate of Applied Learning. Instead, from 2023, learning in vocational education…

Creative careers are responding rapidly to new creative practices, new audiences, emerging digital platforms and technologies. These careers are well paid, resistant to automation and permeate all aspects of society. Yet students' and teachers' perceptions and attitudes are not in alignment with the reality of a job in Australia's Creative…

The complexity of interdisciplinary research, including the time needed to understand multiple approaches and develop skills, within a university structure organised in disciplines, means that interdisciplinary research can be difficult for a developing researcher. However, early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) are key to the future of…

In theory, misalignment of education and career aspirations in high school is a crucial determinant of post-school education and career mismatch. However, existing scholarship investigates the social influence and rational choice determinants of misalignment and mismatch separately. This study examines how misalignment at 15 years of age…

Young people's decision-making about postschool pathways are influenced and shaped by parents, teachers, and other familiars. Yet, these familiars are often uninformed about vocational education as it has not been part of their personal experience. Instead, they may reflect and further embed the relatively low standing of that option. The lack of…

The aim of this analysis of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey is to compare labour market outcomes between individuals who have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications only, VET and Higher Education (HE) qualifications and HE qualifications only, but who work in the same occupations. In…

Partnerships with local public sector agencies, enterprises and tertiary institutions offer a means to inform young people about post-school pathways into working life and occupations that schools alone cannot achieve. Informing about those pathways is an important, yet, complex educational goal for schooling. This is because much of schooling…

Remote Education Tutors (RETs) enact crucial roles in Australian distance schooling, by living with families who reside in geographically isolated locations and supporting their school age children's learning. As part of a larger research project, this paper presents a study of four RETs derived from semi-structured interviews conducted in their…

Higher education plays a key role in cultivating graduate employability, which is essential to meeting multiple individual, community, social and labour market needs. Universities prioritise employability through strategic goals and initiatives designed to foster work-ready graduates equipped with the skills, aptitudes, and knowledge needed to…

The expectation that tertiary education leads to employment is one that most commencing students hold. A problem arises when there is a gap between the knowledge and skills students expect to acquire and the knowledge and skills course designers and teachers expect students to develop. The present study interviewed 22 first year students and 12…

Research has shown that employers and industry are key partners in work-based learning and can hinder or enhance access to vocational education training (VET). Our capabilities approach focus concerns increasing employer understanding of what is involved in engaging in the work-based component of school-based VET for students with disability. It…