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...

Australia, in common with many industrialised countries, must adjust to an ageing population, including introducing measures to encourage workers to stay in work, according to this report. Australia's labour force participation rate is projected to fall over the coming decades and there will be a record number of older people who have retired from work...

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.