NCVER commissioned six leading thinkers to offer insights into what is meant by a training market, constraints upon that market and the areas for improvement in the system which would allow consumers greater choice. These papers, along with responses and an introduction by NCVER's Managing Director, Dr Tom Karmel, contribute to the public debate about...

Around a quarter of all Australian wage and salary earners are casual workers. Casual workers, in general, receive less training than those in ongoing employment. This paper considers whether the prevalence of casual employment is sustainable. It looks at the home and community care sector in which vocational education and training has a prominent role...

This book of research readings provides clear evidence that adult prisoners and offenders who participate in vocational education and training (VET) during their sentence are less likely to re-offend. A reduction in recidivism represents significant cost savings to the community. This books highlights recent improvements in the delivery of VET for adult prisoners and offenders...

In this updated report Susan Dawe and Richard Elvins incorporate the findings of two additional studies. In both cases they support the key messages of the earlier report, with an additional influence on the likelihood of skills development for the mature-aged leading to employment emerging from one of these studies.

Many older Australians are up-skilling or retraining to maintain gainful employment or pursue other interests. In this systematic review of existing research, Peter Thomson, Susan Dawe, Alison Anlezark, Kaye Bowman set out to find evidence that skill development activities for the mature-aged lead to improved employment opportunities and productivity. They also look at what factors...