TAFE is a greatly respected institution in Australia and is integral to the nation’s vocational education and training system. This report argues that free TAFE courses in identified areas of skill shortages is an economic reform that would help Australia build back stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian government has released this strategy document and has also announced key initiatives supporting its implementation. As Australia's border reopens to international students, this strategy aims to rebuild the sector more sustainably, and create new opportunities for growth.

There is renewed interest in better aligning vocational education and training and higher education to enable students to move between, and draw from, both sectors. This is not a new concept, with a long history of policies, research projects and reports examining and promoting pathways between the two sectors.

The aim of this synthesis piece is to provide an overview of some aspects of apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia. In particular, the synthesis brings together research and data on what could be considered five enduring issues.

Social sciences are the fields of research on, and knowledge about, society. They are deeply connected and embedded in our social systems and structures. This publication provides a compact guide to the trends, challenges and opportunities impacting Australian social science, to facilitate system-wide planning for a stronger social science ecosystem.