4
For mature age apprentices, the living wage is a key issue, with social ramifications of no adjustments to
salaries for people with families. Apprenticeship salaries
and contracts
suppose youth;
apprenticeships for older workers require a different compact between employer, individual and
institution.
5. Overseas Approaches
Australia’s apprenticeship model was originally modelled on the established British system, and
Australian governments and industry continue to reflect on developments in the VET system in Great
Britain and other countries. Fuller Unwin 2007, in What counts as good practice in
contemporary apprenticeships? Evidence from two contrasting sectors in England identify a range of
features, that when combined, appear to create the conditions for well-managed and effective
apprenticeships. According to Fuller Unwin, good practice features tend to appeal to two
stakeholder groups in particular: Government as Customer of VET
Investment over and above government funding is critical for the provision of an
apprenticeship program that builds capacity for the future
Individual as Customer of VET Investment in publicity about the program to
sustain a reputable image of VET in the community at large.
Young people are regarded as important for the future success of the organisations and are
made to feel valued Well-designed recruitment policies and
practices help to select young people who can benefit from an apprenticeship and contribute
to the organisation’s ever developing skill base
Dedicated personnel monitor the progress and welfare of apprentices and liaise with line
managers, supervisors and trainers to ensure both personal and organisational needs are
being met
Training on and off-the-job is seen as relevant to the apprentices’ work tasks and as
providing a platform for further progression. In Rudd, Henderson, Usher Hawtin’s 2008 Rapid
review of Research on Apprenticeships in the United Kingdom noted the similarity of UK issues
about apprenticeships as in Australia: problems with quality, employer commitment, retention and
progression of apprentices including to Higher Education, concerns about the capacity of on-job
apprenticeships achieving standards required and
cultural issues associated with the status of apprenticeships.
In contrast to the UK, Australia has entered a new era of a demand-driven tertiary education market
characterised by increased competition between training organisations with uncapped government
funding. In 2009, the Victorian Government announced the opening of access to VET funding in
the policy Securing Jobs for your Future: Skills for Victoria
. In particular, “the most significant impact of these changes was the shift from a planning
and purchasing model with limited contestability, to a demand based funding model with significantly
increased contestability and client choice”. http:www.skills.vic.gov.au__dataassetspdf_file
0007188449ssa-review-of-skills-vic.pdf This decentralisation reduces government direction
of the focus or supply of training, reliant on the market to regulate provision in accordance with
consumer demand. In this case, Employer and Individual as Customer of VET has elevated the
customer to a position of control in VET provision.
The benefits of competition in the Australian training market have yet to be fully realised, and
neither have the risks. Numerous stakeholders have raised serious concerns about the risk to training
quality, of reduced central governance of VET.
6. A National Skills Strategy
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Glenn Stevens advises caution in Australia’s reliance on
the Chinese economic boom and its appetite for resources. Some 13 of Australia’s annual income
is generated by China importing Australian commodities5. Government initiatives to boost
apprenticeship numbers must see beyond the current skills shortages and prepare Australians and
the workforce for a post-China economy. 5 Sydney Morning Herald, 230211
To equip a nation’s workforce beyond current market priorities requires long-term, strategic
thinking. In 2012, the Council of Australian Governments
COAG asserted its commitment to TAFE at the
centre of its skills development strategy. However, changes to the provision of government investment
to training indicate a similar trend away from central government investment towards employer
client responsibility for training. Initiatives such as Workforce Development Funding specify that:
“Under the Fund, organisations can identify their current and future business and workforce
development needs and apply for funding to support the training of existing workers and new workers in
areas of need. “The Fund is part of the Australian Government’s Building Australia’s Future
Workforce package, an initiative designed to
5
consolidate Government skills programs and better target training to meet industry and employer
needs.” Long-term skills strategies must be centrally driven,
clearly articulated and capture the ‘buy-in’ of industry. Within the above statement, government’s
responsibility is to create the industry and employer need. To leave VET provision to the whim of
markets controlled by individuals and employers risks short-term thinking, and a potential crisis in
the national skills profile.
Support strategies to encourage individual participation in VET should rely on strategic rather
than reactive measures. Training is a longer term commitment by all stakeholders: individuals,
governments, employers and industry, to create a skilled future workforce. Longer term commitment
must be secured within a longer term, strategic framework.
7. Conclusion Australia’s vocational education and training
system has faced significant criticism and reform in recent years, as labour and skills shortages threaten
the potential and viability of Australian industry to compete in a global economy. Stakeholders
government, industry,
VET organisations,
employers and individuals have competing interests in the shape and outcomes of VET, yet the
shift to a market-led, demand-driven system risks short-term thinking to override the long-term
strategic thinking required to
equip a nation’s workforce for the future.
R
EFERENCES
Australian Industry Group, 2011, Productivity Commission Draft Research Report Vocational Education and Training
Workforce Response,
Australian Industry
Group http:www.aigroup.com.auportalbinarycom.epicentric.co
ntentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServletLIVE_C ONTENTPolicy2520and2520RepresentationSubmissi
onsEducation2520and2520Training2011R_Ai2520 Group_Productivity_Commission_Vocational_Education_
and_Training_Workforce_28Feb2011.pdf Department of Education Early Childhood Development,
2012, 2011 Victorian Training Market Quarterly Report –
Full Year, Victorian Government, Melbourne Department of Education Early Childhood Development,
2012, Refocussing Vocational Training in Victoria, Victorian
Government, Melbourne
http:www.eduweb.vic.gov.auedulibrarypubliccommrel refocusing-vet-statement.pdf
Department of Education, Employment Workplace Relations, 2011, Workforce Development Funding guidelines,
Commonwealth of
Australia, Canberra
http:www.deewr.gov.auSkillsProgramsSkillTrainingn wdfPagesdefault.aspx
Dickie, M, Eccles, C, FitzGerald, I McDonald, R, 2004, Enhancing the capability of VET professionals: Final
report, ANTA,
Brisbane. http:vital.new.voced.edu.auvitalaccessservicesDownlo
adngv:13412SOURCE2 Florida, R, 2005, The Flight of the Working Class, Harper
Business, USA Fuller, A Unwin, L, 2007, What counts as good practice in
contemporary apprenticeships? Evidence from two contrasting sectors in England, Education Training vol
49, UK Knight, B, 2012, Evolution of apprenticeships and traineeships
in Australia: an unfinished history, NCVER, Adelaide Labour Economics Office Victoria, 2011, Skills Shortages
Victoria, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations, Canberra
http:www.deewr.gov.auEmploymentLMISkillShortages DocumentsSkills_Shortages_Victoria_June_2011.pdf
Mitchell, J Ward, J, 2011, The JMA Analytics Model of VET Capability Development: A report on the National Survey
of Vocational Education and Training VET Practitioner Skills
http:www.vta.vic.edu.audocsPositionDiscussion20Pap ersJMA_Analytics_National_VET_Capability_Developm
ent_31_Jan_2010.pdf Perry, W, 2011, Workforce Plan Template, Workforce Blueprint,
Adelaide SA
http:workforceplanningtools.com.autoolsworkforce- planningworkforce-plan-template
Precision Consultancy, 2011, A Capability Framework for the VET Sector: a proposed approach, Innovation and
Business Services
Australia, Melbourne,
http:www.ibsa.org.auPortalsibsa.org.audocsProject RelatedEducation12-09
Edu PD
OptDiscussion PaperDraft Discussion Paper VET Capability Framework
v3.docx Productivity Commission, 2011, Vocational education and
training workforce: research report, Productivity Commission,
Melbourne. http:www.pc.gov.auprojectsstudyeducation-
workforcevocationalreport Ray, J, 2001, Apprenticeship in Australia: An historical
snapshot, NCVER, Adelaide Rudd, M, Henderson, R, Usher, D, Hawtin, M 2008 Rapid
review of Research on Apprenticeships, The Learning and Skills
Council, Coventry
http:www.apprenticeships.org.ukAbout- UsPublications~mediaDocumentsPublicationsApprenti
ceships_Literature_Review_final.ashx Skills Victoria, 2009, Securing Jobs for your Future: Skills for
Victoria, Victorian Government, Melbourne http:www.skills.vic.gov.au__dataassetspdf_file0007188449
ssa-review-of-skills-vic.pdf Victoria University, 2011, Excellent, Engaged and Accessible:
Victor ia University’s plan to be a great university of the
21st century, 2011-2016, Victoria University, Melbourne http:www.vu.edu.ausitesdefaultfileswfgpdfsvu-
strategic-plan-concise.pdf Victoria University, 2012, THE VU AGENDA: EXCELLENT,
ENGAGED AND ACCESSIBLE - Implementing the Strategic Plan for Victoria University to be a Great
University of the Twenty First Century, Victoria University, Melbourne
Wheelahan, L Moodie, G, 2011, The quality of teaching in VET: final report and recommendations, Australian
College of Educators, Mawson A
