The number of students enrolled in government-funded nationally recognised qualifications in Australia between January and September 2024 increased by 4.3% to 995,090 compared with the same period in 2023, representing a 13.4% rise from the same period in 2019. This publication includes data on students who undertook other forms of nationally…

Vocational colleges' social role has been under-developed because they have been marketised and privatised, and because the idea of the vocational college has not been advanced and institutionalised. The paper describes this for public vocational colleges in Australia, which are at the vanguard of competency-based education and in being…

Purpose: Technical education in the twentieth century played an important role in the cultural life of Australia in ways are that routinely overlooked or forgotten. As all education is central to the cultural life of any nation this article traces the relationship between technical education and the national social imaginary. Specifically, the…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming multiple facets of the competitive business world and education. Despite this, the full potential of AI applications within education remains unclear because of the lack of a comprehensive framework on how to use AI in developing assessments across various academic disciplines. While incorporating AI…

Around the globe, beginner sign language programs have seen surging enrolments in recent years. Yet relatively few learners progress to higher-level sign language study. In this article, we explore factors shaping retention and attrition among a cohort of 70 beginner Australian Sign Language (Auslan) students studying in a vocational education…

Australia's demand for nurses is exponentially increasing as we are faced with a global pandemic, an ageing population, and an increase in chronic health conditions and mental health issues. This presents a significant challenge for the healthcare system by increasing the absolute number of people needing care. The Enrolled Nursing course can…

Purpose: Leaders in education face diverse challenges in an increasingly competitive and changing environment. Although women numerically dominate the workforce, senior managers are predominately men. The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership skills required for senior management roles in vocational education training (VET); determine if…

This product provides a summary of the outcomes of apprentices and trainees aged 15 years or over who undertook an apprenticeship or traineeship during 2023. It includes those who completed their training (completers) and those who cancelled or withdrew (non-completers). The figures are derived from the National Student Outcomes Survey. The 2024…

Education scholars have long debated the relative merits of vocational pathways in high school, weighing apparent employment benefits against the risk of foreclosing academic opportunities. Yet scholars are no closer to a consensus and the literature on vocational education has fragmented: economics, comparative political economy, sociology and…