Around 1.6 million people undertook training across Australia's public vocational education and training (VET) system in 2004. The data reveals a decline in the number of students undertaking training and hours of teaching delivery for the first time. Overall, participation decreased by 7.1 per cent between 2003 and 2004, and the total number of hours...

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...

Key messages A systematic review of research is a decision-making tool for policy and practice. It is a piece of research in its own right, using explicit and rigorous methods that follow a standard set of stages. These methods identify, critically appraise and synthesise relevant research (both published and unpublished) around a specific research question...

The number of people completing an apprenticeship or traineeship in the year ending 31 December 2004 was 11 per cent higher than the number completing in the same period in 2003, according to this new set of national statistics. In the twelve months to December 2004, 139,000 people completed an apprenticeship or traineeship compared with...

Lee Ridoutt, Chris Selby Smith, Kevin Hummel, Christina Cheang look at how employers value and use qualifications in their business decisions. Their research indicates clear differences in the value placed on and use made of qualifications by employers for different groups of workers and occupations. Qualifications are considered more important for higher-level occupations and employers...