Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this briefing paper explores the impact of literacy and numeracy levels on the educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. The paper focuses on the early post-school outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people between 1999 and 2007. Raising the levels of literacy and numeracy...

This briefing paper assesses the effect VET in Schools programs have on school retention, post-school vocational education and training (VET) and employment, and on young people's school and post-school aspirations. VET in Schools programs are seen as a way to increase Year 12 retention through broadening subject choices in the school curriculum. Research based on...

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 report study explains what factors encourage young people to pursue an apprenticeship. Information from students and courses indicates that the key drivers of apprenticeship uptake are intrinsic interest and academic ability. School students with higher academic ability are less interested in apprenticeships. In contrast, those who are part way through their apprenticeship are very...

Using wage data from the Student Outcomes Survey, this study examines whether there is a pay off to actually completing a vocational education and training (VET) qualification, noting that many VET students do not complete full qualifications. It is important to acknowledge that students' motiviation for undertaking VET is very varied, as is their educational...