Vocational Voices

By NCVER

What's Vocational Voices about?

Tune in to ‘Vocational Voices’, the official podcast of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, to hear leading experts discuss current trends in vocational education and training.

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Vocational Voices episodes:

05.13.2024
Facing Australia's transition to electric vehicles
Australia is on the journey to reducing carbon emissions, so what does this mean for the automotive industry? Various sources indicate that electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle uptake is increasing in Australia, so this episode explores how the VET sector is...
11.29.2023
Best of 2023: highlights from Season 8
Steve Davis, Simon Walker, Joanne Payne, Tabatha Griffin, Tom Karmel, Jenny Dodd, Hinemoa Priest, Melanie Kyle, Erica Smith, Olivija Komadina, David Longley, Christina Scott-Young, Michael Bassham, Joy de Leo, Michael Healy, Michelle Circelli, Angela Damm, Charmaine Marshall, Jeff Lynch, Tina...
09.22.2023
Building effective RTO-employer partnerships
In this episode, we discuss the vital role of partnerships in the VET sector. These partnerships help connect training with the skills that industries need. Simultaneously, they build the capacity and resilience of both providers and employers. Our focus centres on...
08.22.2023
VET pathways to meaningful careers
The concept of “meaningful work” is something that’s been regularly discussed by vocational education and training (VET) researchers for many years. But what does it mean and what are the pathways for achieving that end? Join NCVER's Dr Joy de Leo...
08.22.2023
Skilling Australia’s current and future workforce
In the past few years, the VET sector has faced rapid socioeconomic, demographic and technological change. When unforeseen events such as COVID-19 emerged, the sector quickly adapted by upskilling workplaces, training organisations and VET trainers in digital and remote work...
07.28.2023
Reimagining the tertiary education system
Is the time right for change and "to be bold and think big, and challenge the way we think about tertiary education" in Australia? In this episode, we explore potential reforms to universities, their missions, and structures, while considering the role...
05.10.2023
Overcoming VET delivery challenges in regional Australia
Making sure the VET sector serves regional, rural and remote Australia remains an ongoing policy priority. In this episode, we talk about the challenges that RTOs face when delivering training in regional Australia. What are the barriers and how are they...
01.20.2023
Best of 2022: highlights from Season 7
In 2022, we invited expert vocational voices from the VET sector to share their views, stories, experiences and insights on a range of hot topics. ‘Best of 2022’ is a roundup of the most interesting snippets and research findings from across...
12.12.2022
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on VET
Aside from the health and economic impacts, the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected Australia’s VET sector. The full scale of these effects, however, has just started to emerge. In what ways did the first waves of the...
08.09.2022
VET’s role in transforming the future
Join host Steve Davis for some handpicked highlights from three panel discussions at the 31st National VET Research Conference ‘No Frills’ held in July 2022.The conference theme was VET's role in transforming the future. Topics covered in the lively discussion...
06.06.2022
VET and higher education: should we push for integration?
Both vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) offer the skills, knowledge and qualifications needed to equip students to progress their career and lifelong learning. But given the difficulty and huge costs associated in integrating VET and HE, how...
04.28.2022
VET In Schools and the shadow of ATAR
Participation in higher education by school leavers has increased significantly in the last decade. VET participation has lagged by comparison. Are students headed for university accorded higher status at school than those who prefer to pursue a trade apprenticeship or...
12.08.2021
Best of 2021: highlights from Season 6
Steve Davis, Simon Walker, Linda Simon, Martin Powell, Kira Clarke, Joanne Waugh, Bryan Palmer, Professor John Buchanan, Megan Lilly, Dr Kaye Bowman, Michael Hartman, Dr Martha Kinsman, Professor Stephen Billett 9 December 2021 (45 mins) In 2021, we invited expert vocational...
08.12.2021
Past informing the future
Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from three panel discussions at the 30th National VET Research Conference 'No Frills', held on 7-9 July 2021. Topics covered in the lively discussion include future-focused education and training delivered with, and in, industry;...
06.01.2021
The role of micro-credentials in VET
Short-course training, often referred to as 'micro-credentials', is seen as an increasingly important form of training, particularly as governments respond to the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Davis talks to Bryan Palmer, Private Consultant and author of An...
05.13.2021
VET's role in youth unemployment recovery
Youth unemployment post-COVID is an all-hands-on-deck challenge. For young people who have lost work or have been looking for work, post-COVID recovery is going to be a fraught time if Australia doesn't take a well-structured pathway to recovery. Join Steve Davis...
03.16.2021
Quality of VET teaching: perceptions and realities
Should we be concerned about the quality of VET teaching? Recent research suggests there are key issues affecting the quality of VET teaching that need to be addressed. These include entry level requirements, limited career pathways, workforce casualisation, and lack...
12.15.2020
Best of 2020: highlights from Seasons 4 & 5
In 2020, we invited expert vocational voices from the VET sector to share their views, stories, experiences and insights on a range of hot topics. ‘Best of 2020’ is a roundup of interesting snippets and research findings from across the eight...
11.30.2020
Rationalising VET qualifications: support for a clustered model
Are there too many underutilised qualifications in the Australian VET system? Are some qualifications past their expiration date? One method of reducing qualifications involves grouping them into vocational clusters so individuals can train for several jobs at once. This approach also...
11.17.2020
Investing in our workforce: cadetships vs apprenticeships
Young people are finding it harder and harder to get a foothold into those highly-skilled, better paying jobs that will set them up for the future. How can we increase the number of jobs available, and provide better pathways into jobs...
11.05.2020
Traditional trade apprenticeships: still a trusted brand?
Do we value tertiary and vocational education equally? Have apprenticeships lost their sense of purpose? With recent budget announcements and the need to build a skilled workforce to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy, apprenticeships are in the spotlight....
08.12.2020
Workforce ready: challenges and opportunities for VET
Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from two panel discussions at the 29th National VET Research Conference 'No Frills', held on 7-10 July 2020. Topics covered in the lively discussion include new directions in skills planning, digital technology and the...
05.28.2020
VET’s response to Industry 4.0 and the digital economy: what works
Digital skills are now essential for almost all occupations and workers in Australia. So how do we best incorporate them into VET courses? And how do we make sure our VET educators have the digital skills they need? Join Steve Davis...
04.28.2020
The future role of public providers
Thirty years ago, the Australian VET system was on tenterhooks as two major reports were released into the management and costs of training for enterprises against a backdrop of award restructuring that was being championed at the time by the...
04.15.2020
Skills sets: their role now and into the future
Are skill sets likely to take on extra significance as Australia responds to the shifting workforce demands and challenges, particularly in the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic? ? Looking ahead, can skill sets or micro-credentials play a role in getting...
02.25.2020
Online VET: a good course of action?
Online learning can be just as effective as face-to-face instruction if it’s done well. But what makes for good quality and good practice? While subject withdrawal rates are higher and course completion rates lower for VET courses delivered entirely online, new...
11.13.2019
Qualification design for the future of VET
Qualifications are an essential part of the VET system, and therefore a key consideration in the broader approach to VET sector reform. Join special guest Peter Noonan, Professor of Tertiary Education at Victoria University and Expert Panel Chair of the recent...
10.22.2019
Youth pathways: from school to work and everything between
New research has revealed how young people’s post-school pathways are diverse, individualised and complex. Steve Davis, Simon Walker Managing Director NCVER, and William Stubley CEO & Co-founder Year13, discuss if the reliance on ATAR, the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, as...
10.08.2019
Training packages: meeting student needs?
Competency based training (CBT) is the model of curriculum at the heart of the VET system and for some it’s a shorthand way of referring to the system of VET training packages, but critics are arguing that the VET sector’s...
08.27.2019
Unaccredited training and why employers use it
Why do around half of Australian employers look outside the nationally accredited VET system to provide their employees with training? To find out, Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker and NCVER researcher Ian White, who discuss the...
08.13.2019
The student journey: skilling for life
Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from the 28th National VET Research Conference ‘No Frills’, held on 10-12 July 2019 in Adelaide (80 mins) While every student's journey is different, more and more research and discussion underlines the importance of...
07.30.2019
Apprenticeship rates - should you believe the hype?
It is hard to dispute that the apprenticeships model, which combines employment with formal training in a trade, is an effective way of developing skills while still earning a wage. So why do apprenticeship numbers appear to be so dire? To find...
07.16.2019
Industry 4.0 - what does it mean for jobs and skills?
How will Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it’s also known, affect the jobs we do and how we train for them? To find out, Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director, Simon Walker and AiGroup Head of Workforce...
07.16.2019
What next for tertiary education? Some preliminary sketches
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with author Francesca Beddie about her paper, What next for tertiary education? Some preliminary sketches, which presents the culmination of the ideas discussed between prominent tertiary education thinkers who came together to reflect on the...
07.16.2019
Industry currency and professional obsolescence: what can industry tell us?
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher, Berwyn Clayton, about the report Industry currency and professional obsolescence: what can industry tell us?. The purpose of the study is to take an industry focused approach to investigating the issues of professional...
07.16.2019
The impact of schools on young people's transition to university
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with former NCVER Managing Director, Tom Karmel, about his report which uses data from the 2006 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) to investigate how schools influence tertiary entrance rank and...
07.16.2019
Educating oneself out of social exclusion
In this phone interview, Hielke Buddelmeyer, talks about his report which explores the impact of education and training on social exclusion using a multidimensional measure that focuses on seven domains. Education, he says, is a 'sleeper factor' in that it...
07.16.2019
Shaken not stirred? The development of one tertiary education sector in Australia
In this 13 minute interview, Steve Davis talks with Leesa Wheelahan about the report Shaken not stirred? The development of one tertiary education sector in Australia. This report examines universities that offer a small amount of VET and private providers...
07.16.2019
Attrition in the trades
In this 9 minute interview, Steve Davis talks with former NCVER Managing Director, Tom Karmel, about the report Attrition in the trades. This report investigates attrition in the trades by comparing the rate at which tradespeople leave their occupation with...
07.16.2019
Outcomes from combining work and tertiary study
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher Cain Polidano about the report Outcomes from combining work and tertiary study. This study investigates the motivations for and the education and employment outcomes from working while studying for both VET and...
07.16.2019
Developing the child care workforce: understanding 'fight' or 'flight' amongst workers
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher Tanya Bretherton about her report Developing the child care workforce: understanding 'fight' or 'flight' amongst workers. The early childhood education and care sector in Australia has long been characterised by low-skill/low-pay jobs....
07.16.2019
The role of vocational education and training in the labour market outcomes of people with disabilities
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher Cain Polidano about his report on the role of vocational education and training in the labour market outcomes of people with disabilities. Low levels of education generally among people with a disability...
07.16.2019
Apprenticeships and traineeships in the downturn
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with former NCVER Managing Director, Tom Karmel, about his report Apprenticeships and traineeships in the downturn. The essence of the apprenticeship is the contract of training - a legal contract between an individual, an...
07.16.2019
Cultural dimensions of Indigenous participation in education and training
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with researcher Michael Dockery about his report, Cultural dimensions of Indigenous participation in education and training. This study provides an important innovation to the existing literature by explicitly attempting to measure 'cultural attachment' and...
06.20.2019
Is VET vocational?
In this interview Steve Davis talks with former NCVER Managing Director, Tom Karmel, about his report Is VET vocational?, which explores the issue of how vocational education and training (VET) is actually used in the labour market and in particular...

What's Vocational Voices about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Vocational Voices episodes:

Facing Australia's transition to electric vehicles

Best of 2023: highlights from Season 8

Building effective RTO-employer partnerships

VET pathways to meaningful careers

Skilling Australia’s current and future workforce

Reimagining the tertiary education system

Overcoming VET delivery challenges in regional Australia

Best of 2022: highlights from Season 7

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on VET

VET’s role in transforming the future

VET and higher education: should we push for integration?

VET In Schools and the shadow of ATAR

Best of 2021: highlights from Season 6

Past informing the future

The role of micro-credentials in VET

VET's role in youth unemployment recovery

Quality of VET teaching: perceptions and realities

Best of 2020: highlights from Seasons 4 & 5

Rationalising VET qualifications: support for a clustered model

Investing in our workforce: cadetships vs apprenticeships

Traditional trade apprenticeships: still a trusted brand?

Workforce ready: challenges and opportunities for VET

VET’s response to Industry 4.0 and the digital economy: what works

The future role of public providers

Skills sets: their role now and into the future

Online VET: a good course of action?

Qualification design for the future of VET

Youth pathways: from school to work and everything between

Training packages: meeting student needs?

Unaccredited training and why employers use it

The student journey: skilling for life

Apprenticeship rates - should you believe the hype?

Industry 4.0 - what does it mean for jobs and skills?

What next for tertiary education? Some preliminary sketches

Industry currency and professional obsolescence: what can industry tell us?

The impact of schools on young people's transition to university

Educating oneself out of social exclusion

Shaken not stirred? The development of one tertiary education sector in Australia

Attrition in the trades

Outcomes from combining work and tertiary study

Developing the child care workforce: understanding 'fight' or 'flight' amongst workers

The role of vocational education and training in the labour market outcomes of people with disabilities

Apprenticeships and traineeships in the downturn

Cultural dimensions of Indigenous participation in education and training

Is VET vocational?