This paper provides an overview of recent research on the factors that drive the performance of registered training organisations (RTOs), with a view to identifying areas for future research. Initially it explores the drivers of RTO performance; then discusses findings from available literature from Australia and from overseas, and discusses some…

Quality in vocational education and training (VET) is a perennial topic of interest, attracting much attention from participants, providers, funders, regulators and public commentators. Quality is as much subjectively in the "eye of the beholder" as it is objectively assessed through hard data, measures and surveys. This paper summarises…

The opening-up of the market for education and training, including vocational education and training (VET), has increased the importance of regulation and quality assurance mechanisms in ensuring the integrity of qualifications. This report investigates approaches to the regulation and quality assurance of vocational education and training in a…

This technical report describes the 24 derived variables developed for users of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data. The variables fall into the categories education, employment and social, and help to simplify the complexity of the LSAY data by providing useful indicators for analysis. To help LSAY data users understand and…

This publication presents estimates of apprentice and trainee activity in Australia for the June quarter 2012. The figures in this publication are derived from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection no.73 (September 2012 estimates). The most recent figures in this publication are estimated (those for training activity from the December…

This publication presents early estimates of apprentice and trainee commencements for the December quarter 2010. Indicative information about this quarter is presented here; the most recent figures are estimated, taking into account reporting lags that occur at the time of data collection. The early trend estimates are derived from the National…

This study provides new evidence on the inter-relationships between Indigenous Australians' association with their traditional culture and their engagement with vocational education and training. It builds on previous work to develop a "richer" measure of the concept of cultural attachment. This report discusses the links between…

This publication presents estimates of apprentice and trainee activity in Australia for the December quarter 2010. The figures in this publication are derived from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection no.67 (March 2011 estimates). The most recent figures in this publication are estimated (those for training activity from the June quarter…

Sourcing data from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection, this publication provides a summary of participation in tertiary education and training in Australia. It covers participation in Australian Qualifications Framework certificate I qualifications through to doctorates by research, as well as…

This publication presents information on vocational education and training (VET) undertaken by school students as part of their senior secondary certificate, known as VET in Schools. The VET in Schools arrangement offers two main options: students can undertake school-based apprenticeships and traineeships; or VET subjects and courses (the latter…

This paper presents a case study in which the authors attempted to understand the impact, on student choice, of reforms in tertiary education in Australia, namely, a shift towards a demand-driven system and the blurring of the distinction between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. The authors compared the advanced…

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and work. This technical paper contains the frequency tables for the LSAY 2006 cohort Wave 4 (2009) data set. [For the "Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY):…

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program studies the progress of several groups of young Australians as they move from school into post-secondary education and work. This technical paper contains the questionnaire for the LSAY 2006 cohort Wave 4 (2009) data set. [For the "Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY):…

This document covers the data terms used in the "VET in Schools 2009" report. The primary purpose of this document is to assist users of the report to understand the specific data terms used within it. Terms that appear in the report are listed in alphabetical order with the following information provided for each: (1) Definition: a…

This paper estimates vocational education and training (VET) course-completion rates, in order to fill a gap in performance measures for the VET sector. The technique the authors use is to track all VET course enrolments within a three-year window, centred on the year of interest. Then, using an absorbing Markov chain model for a VET course…