This post is perhaps a little different from others at the Educator Hub.  There appears to be a major level of activity in research just lately, especially in the vocational education and training sector. Perhaps it just seems that way to me. My perception might be driven by the number of recent significant reports including Beddie’s and Simon’s significant report on the Australian innovation agenda and VET’s place in it, the AISC’s commissioned Future Skills and Training practical resource; or the Total VET Students and Courses 2016 report by NCVER. And of course, we are still awaiting the outcomes of Professor Valerie Braithwaite’s findings following her review of the NVTER Act 2011.

There is a sense for me that we in the post-secondary education world are about to see some very significant shifts in the sector. Conversely, there seems to be stagnation in some areas, for example the recent reports on the availability and certainty (or otherwise) of funding for VET under the Federal government’s Skilling Australia’s Fund.  Many of these highlight the slow progress following the expiration of the National Partnerships agreement on 30 June 2017.

So, whilst making a comment on some research which I think will have significant influence in the near and distant future, I also wanted to share an interesting resource I recently found. You may have heard of the Analysis and Policy Observatory. Please excuse my ignorance if that is the case! I found an incredible resource here, including freely shared publications, information on international short courses (in case you might be thinking of a combined holiday/professional development in New Zealand during Australia’s climatically-changed summer season) and best of all a full-time research opportunity for the 2018 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Fellowship Scheme. I will cross-post this to Opportunities here on the Hub also.

Oh, and of course, how could I overlook the upcoming AVETRA OctoberVET events being held in each jurisdiction.  I hope you are able to get along to at least one.  You can always join the NSW event on 26 October online at https://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/tma .

Would you like to make a comment about any significant research you have come across, or if you disagree or agree that there seems to be a renewed interest in post-secondary education research at the moment? I would love to hear others’ views.