Enhancing training advantage for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners

Across Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have embraced vocational education and training (VET), with participation in VET increasing, particularly at higher qualification levels. This report shines the spotlight on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner engagement in, and completion of, vocational education.

The proportion of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners holding VET qualifications is growing and the evidence shows they are engaging in VET in increasing numbers; however, qualification completion rates remain low and employment outcomes are not noticeably improving. Of real concern is that vocational training is not demonstrably translating into employment for many remote community learners.

Key to increasing the translation of training into employment is determining how retention and completion in VET can be improved, in conjunction with identifying how VET can enhance the employability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living in remote communities. Also of importance is understanding the indicators of success — other than completion — and how these can be used to evaluate the outcomes of training in remote communities.

This project focused on providing insight by investigating five unique training programs. Specific sites were selected across remote Australia, each of which was considered to be successful in training and training completions in their respective communities. In each site students, trainers/training providers, employers, job service providers, community organisations and cultural advisors were interviewed to gain a wide range of perspectives on the factors that contribute to retention in training programs, as well as the indicators of successful training.