The fractured social settlement in VET in Australia
25 September 2012, by Assoc Prof Leesa Wheelahan
Australia needs to increase productivity and workforce participation to maintain competitiveness and increase social inclusion.
VET has too many qualifications and is too complex
13 June 2012, by Assoc Prof Leesa Wheelahan
In 2010, there were at least 1416 training package qualifications offered by VET providers. The median number of equivalent full-time students in these qualifications was 34. That is, half of these qualifications had fewer than 34 equivalent full-time students, and half had more than 34. This is not the median number of equivalent full-time students in each qualification in each VET provider; it is the median number in each qualification in Australia. In universities, each qualification needs to have at least 25 equivalent full-time students, or management will come hunting.
Do VET teachers need to be qualified as teachers?
28 February 2011, by Assoc Prof Leesa Wheelahan
There is unprecedented attention being paid to vocational education and training teachers at present. The LH Martin Institute has recently completed a project on the quality of teaching in VET, funded by the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations and managed by the Australian College of Educators; the Productivity Commission is conducting an inquiry on the future of the VET workforce; and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research has just completed some major projects on VET teachers. These are only a few of a range of recent projects on VET teaching.