White Paper

The report highlights the benefits of WIL for students and employers and the positive long term impact and contribution of work-ready graduates to the Australian economy. Employers’ satisfaction with the preparedness of graduates to transition from student to employee is a credit to our universities and their industry and community partners. The UA Report showcases the diversity, reach and innovation of WIL models in Australia and the resultant, strong partnerships forged between universities and industry. Expanding WIL and industry engagement opportunities more broadly across disciplines including STEM areas is also evident from the report. This first national WIL data provides an opportunity for the country, as well as each university, to establish targets and identify areas for further development. A sustainable strategy to enable ongoing data collection for monitoring progress is required. While the report highlights the great innovation occurring across the sector, ACEN believes strategies for increasing the access by international, Indigenous, regional and remote and low socio economic background students to WIL experiences requires immediate attention. The volume of WIL initiatives is commendable but the attention needs to now focus on the quality of the student and industry WIL experiences. The Australian Higher Education Sector is in need of indicators for the quality assurance of WIL opportunities.

Working with The Research Base, we found that important lessons from the implementation of skills policy over several decades have not been learned, meaning badly-needed training and education programmes are not fit for purpose or delivering the right results for people, businesses and the economy. Our research also found that the wrong measurement combined with almost no evaluation of the efficacy of the Government’s training and education policy is resulting in poor investment decisions. Unlike the Department for Transport and Department for International Development, the Department for Education does not have a value for money framework in place. Unless this situation is improved, the consequences could be devastating not only to the UK’s economic success and productivity, but also the Government's attempts to foster better social mobility. To help tackle this issue, we are repeating our call for the creation of a new independent body to oversee the development and implementation of skills and education policy in the UK.

The current report focuses mainly on the impact and cost analyses for the PACE evaluation. (Implementation research findings, released in an earlier report, found that PACE consistently implemented its program model and incorporated gender-responsive programming across its centers.) The impact analysis employed a random assignment design: Girls who applied to and were deemed eligible for PACE (using the program’s existing screening processes) enrolled in the study and were assigned at random either to a program group, whose members were offered PACE services, or to a control group, whose members received appropriate referrals to other services in the community. From August 2013 to November 2015, 1,125 girls enrolled in the study across 14 PACE centers. Using survey and administrative data, the research team measured differences between the program and control groups on short-term outcomes. Differences that emerge between the two groups on these outcomes can be attributed to the PACE program. Key Findings The program group received more academic and social services — and received them more often from a professional source — than the control group. Over a one-year period, PACE increased school enrollment and attendance for the girls it served, compared with the control group. Girls in the program group were also more likely to be “on track” academically than those in the control group. Girls in both the program and control groups appeared goal-oriented and hopeful about their futures and reported relatively low levels of risky behavior one year after study enrollment. Rates of formal involvement in the juvenile justice system during the 18 months after study enrollment were similar for the program and control groups. The cost of PACE’s holistic package of services is, on average, $10,400 more than the cost of the services received by control group members through academic and social services provided in the community. The additional cost is largely driven by PACE’s extensive social services; the cost of academic services is similar to those of Florida public schools. The findings on academic outcomes are promising. Further follow-up research would be necessary to see whether PACE affects longer-term academic and delinquency outcomes and to complete a full benefit-cost analysis.

As the economy rapidly shifts toward automation, there is growing consensus that while new jobs will be created, change is the new normal. Youth need training in soft skills alongside preparation for lifetime learning. Systemic change, not minor improvements, will be necessary. States, districts, and schools are adjusting to the aspirations of “new CTE”—as many are calling this rethinking of career and technical education—and searching for examples of what this can look like. CRPE has identified 32 programs around the country that represent the variety of efforts being used to reinvent CTE. We profile district schools, charter schools, after-school programs, and a tuition-free independent school. Some started in the early 1900s, others opened their doors just a few years ago. The range of models provides a glimpse into the diverse ways educators across the country are attempting to reinvent career pathways.In our sample we found encouraging examples of educators breaking down institutional barriers to expand CTE. Schools are breaking down the boundaries between school and community by partnering closely with industry, trade unions, and four-year institutions. And schools have formed partnerships with one another to open institutions that focus on career training, which are then paid for through a share of student enrollment. Programs are dismantling tracking by making sure students are in control; students select a pathway only after taking exploratory coursework and working with a counselor, with the option to change programs. But we also identified trends that must be addressed for CTE to fulfill its promise. Educators and policy leaders must push harder to: Develop systematic training for in-demand careers. Provide accessible information about employment prospects to guide student choice. Create consistent work-based learning opportunities. Improve the quality of basic education. Improve access to high-quality schools and programs. Identify outcomes and student demographics, especially for part-time programs. Leverage opportunities from post-secondary and business partnerships.

Overall, the report suggests that while many people already benefit from flexible working, a significant proportion of the workforce are not being given the option to work flexibly. Ultimately, informing managers of the many benefits of flexible working, and training them on how to manage flexible workers, is the most effective way of significantly increasing the quantity and quality of flexible working. To this end, the CIPD is working with government and a range of stakeholders, including business lobby organisations, professional bodies, unions and key charities, as part of a Flexible Working Taskforce, with a remit to boost flexible working across the economy. The taskforce, which was established in early 2018 and is due to run until autumn 2019, will use its ability to collectively reach and influence hundreds of thousands of employers. It will highlight the wide-ranging business case for flexible working, while also promoting guidance on how to create more flexible jobs and how to manage flexible workers.

Vocational education and training (VET) is the largest education sector in Australia, with 4.2 million enrolments in 2017 (compared to 2.2 million enrolments in primary education, the next largest sector).1 This scale of learners in the VET sector shows how much of the Australian workforce (over 20 per cent of people in Australia of working age are enrolled in VET) 2 use this training to prepare for, or progress in, their employment. The Training and Education (TAE) and Foundation Skills (FSK) Training Packages are critical elements of this training system. The TAE Training Package contains the qualifications and units that prepare trainers and assessors to deliver VET. It is therefore fundamental to providing the workforce for the sector and plays a role in the experience provided to all VET learners. The FSK Training Package specialises in supporting and preparing learners to access education and work opportunities, allowing for pathways into vocational training that would not otherwise be available. The FSK also allows foundation skills support whilst undertaking vocational or on-the-job training. Given that the VET sector provides training to potential and current workers in almost every industry in the Australian economy, the outlook for the VET sector depends on the employment and skills needs of all other industries. This can lead to a complex and uncertain outlook for the VET sector, with employment levels for vocational education teachers growing in the last year, but the Department of Jobs and Small Business forecasting a contraction in these jobs over the next five years. 3 The structural issues with the ‘one size fits all’ nature of the TAE Training Package raised by stakeholders and detailed in this report may also be contributing to this uncertainty. For example, the Education Industry Reference Committee (IRC) believes the problems in the current Certificate IV in Training and Assessment require attention to better align the content of the qualification with the job role of trainers and assessors. The Education IRC is in ongoing dialogue with the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) and with the Department of Education and Training regarding the appropriate timing and scope of a review of the TAE Training Package. Given this, and ongoing work in progress on the FSK Training Package, this Industry Skills Forec

Technological developments are likely to bring many new opportunities, which may be even larger in emerging economies and may allow them to “leapfrog” certain stages of development. Notwithstanding these opportunities, emerging economies face significant challenges associated with rapid technological progress. Many of these challenges are the same as in advanced economies, but differences in starting conditions may result in a greater threat for the emerging world. This study explores the benefits and risks brought by this new technological wave from the perspective of thirteen key emerging economies: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. In particular, it examines: the risk of automation; whether labour markets are polarising; and the potential benefits (but also challenges) of the platform economy.

In September 2018 we conducted the largest Youth Census in Australia with over 30,000 youth, aged 15-24 completing our survey. The research was commissioned by Apprenticeship Support Australia in response to concerns regarding rising youth unemployment and a range of evident changes in today’s workforce. Additionally, the findings are intended to inform parents, teachers and current or future employers about challenges and concerns youth across Australia are facing and resulting wellbeing levels, as well as what this means for our workforce at a bigger scale.

The report draws on research with policy makers, staff in training providers and Jobcentre Plus, as well as learners. It also describes lessons learned for future pilots in this area.