This study will examine options for implementing several recommendations (related to the funding of VET courses and targeted funding programs) made by the Joyce Review. The Productivity Commission will draw on the Joyce Review more generally in this study, as well as evidence from other relevant reviews.

While this study analysed full qualifications only, future demand for VET may also be driven by the emerging need for the workforce of the future to reskill and upskill, by undertaking training based on skill sets or micro-credentials, rather than completing full qualifications.

The analysis presented in this report demonstrates a new way to identify the kinds of tasks and occupations likely to be affected by AI’s machine learning capabilities, rather than automation’s robotics and software impacts on the economy.

This report sets out to describe major trends in the Australian labour market that are shaping the future prospects of young people, particularly young people from less advantaged backgrounds. It considers current labour market program settings as well as the findings from a review of a number of smaller scale workforce-readiness programs.

The nature of work in Australia is rapidly changing as technology drives innovation. This report provides a snapshot of today’s Australian labour market, the forces that are shaping it, and the blind-spots that need to be addressed if we are to succeed in a competitive and disruptive 21st Century global economy.