Darryn Snell

Reasons for Non-Completion and Dissatisfaction among Apprentices and Trainees: A Regional Case Study.

Abstract Skills shortages have reinvigorated ongoing debate and concern about high attrition rates among Australian apprentices and trainees. Low apprentice and trainee wages have often been cited to explain this ongoing problem. This paper discusses the factors contributing to non-completion among apprentices and trainees in regional Victoria, and how the experiences of those apprentices and trainees who did not complete their training compare to those currently in-training. It asserts that unpleasant working conditions, poor quality training, a lack of support and low wages are contributing to both non-completion and a high degree of dissatisfaction among apprentices and trainees. Consequently, it argues an increase in the apprentice and trainee wage can only go part-way to improving training outcomes and experiences and attracting young people into the system.

Vocational training in Australia: Is there a link between attrition and quality?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the debate surrounding quality of training as it has unfolded in Australia and how concerns about high non‐completion rates have entered the debate.Design/methodology/approach – This paper bases its discussion of quality in VET training on analysis of qualitative data collected from focus groups and one‐on‐one interviews conducted with employers, Institutes of Tertiary and Further Education, registered training organisations, trade unions and local, State and Commonwealth government representatives located in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia.Findings – The paper shows that throughout many parts of the world a growing concern has emerged about the quality of training for apprentices and trainees in what has become an increasingly deregulated environment dominated by private interests. In Australia, where non‐completion rates can be as high as 50 percent of those who commence training, government leaders at both State and Federal levels are takin...

‘Benchmarking’ and Participatory Development: The Case of Fiji’s Sugar Industry Reforms

Since the mid-1970s, opposition has grown within developing countries to the use of ‘top-down’ development approaches by foreign consultants. Disenchantment with these development strategies, it is often claimed, has led to the current incorporation of participation in consultants’ development practices. This study is concerned with the practice and methods of participatory development planning. It evaluates the Strategic Plan adopted by the Fiji sugar industry in 1997 in response to challenges that are attributed to the pressures of globalization and international competitiveness. The authors assess the external consultant’s self-proclaimed ‘participatory methods’ in the articulation of these challenges, in the design of restructuring programmes, and in shaping the discourses of reform more generally. The consultant’s use of the fashionable ‘benchmarking’ methodology is seen to be one of the most problematic features of the ‘participatory’ process.

Women's participation in a 'Boy's Club'. A case study of a regional trades and labour council

ABSTRACT Womens increasing participation in the workforce is not reflected in increasing participation in trade union organisations. For those few women who participate in trade union organisations, little attention has been paid to how they participate. This article addresses this gap by exploring how women participate in a Trades and Labour Council. Furthermore, it assesses whether womens participation in any way changes the structure of the organisation to be more representative of the gendered workforce.