The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations

Abstract

This working paper raises issues relevant to Strand 2: the role of educational institutions in fostering vocations. It starts by outlining briefly what is known about pathways in tertiary education. It then describes the issue that stimulated this strand: the rather loose association between vocational qualifications completed by graduates and the jobs they do. The loose fit between qualifications and jobs isn’t necessarily a problem, but it seems inconsistent with the very vocational nature of Australian vocational education, which is based on work competencies. Most studies of education, qualifications and skills matches are static: they compare a person’s current education, qualification and/or skills with their current job. This is because there are only a few limited longitudinal studies that may support a dynamic analysis of the matching of a person’s education, qualification and skills to their career. Yet this seems to be important for people, employers, governments and society as a whole. A person’s current job may not be well matched with their education, qualification and/or skills but the match may improve with more experience or time in the labour market. Alternatively, a person’s education, qualification and skills may have been well matched with their employment for a long time but may be less well matched with their current job for a short period or as a staged wind-down to semi-retirement. This is discussed in the second part of the paper, which posits a framework for relating educational and occupational progression. The working paper concludes by anticipating the future direction of the strand’s research.