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The VET era: equipping Australia’s workforce for the future digital economy

Author

Listed:
  • Reeson, Andrew
  • Mason, Claire
  • Sanderson, Todd
  • Bratanova, Alexandra
  • Hajkowicz, Stefan

Abstract

The VET sector provides Australians with the skills they need to participate in the labour market and Australia’s industries with the workers they need to drive the national economy. However, as digital technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, business models and employment models are being disrupted and the capability of machines is increasing, enabling them to perform ever more complex tasks. These changes are already visible and will become more pervasive as digital technology continues to advance. The VET Era shows that the VET sector is already playing a critical role in delivering skills to the Australian economy, with current graduations correlating strongly with job vacancies. The research has also shown us that the sector is increasingly providing the ‘finish’ to post-secondary education as shown by increased enrolments by Bachelor Degree holders in VET, particularly with TAFEs. These are undoubtedly positive findings for the sector, however there is also a need for evolution and refocussing within the sector to ensure it keeps pace with current and future economic transitions and maintains Australia’s competitiveness globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Reeson, Andrew & Mason, Claire & Sanderson, Todd & Bratanova, Alexandra & Hajkowicz, Stefan, 2016. "The VET era: equipping Australia’s workforce for the future digital economy," MPRA Paper 114022, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:114022
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/114022/1/MPRA_paper_114022.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hajkowicz, Stefan & Reeson, Andrew & Evans, David B & Bratanova, Alexandra & Cameron, Lucy, 2021. "Industry Growth Opportunities: A technical report to support the Western Parkland City Economic Development Strategy," MPRA Paper 121104, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. David Evans & Claire Mason & Haohui Chen & Andrew Reeson, 2024. "Accelerated demand for interpersonal skills in the Australian post-pandemic labour market," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 32-42, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vocational education; skills; digital technology; strategic foresight;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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