Recent Trends in Australian Training and Development

Abstract

This article explores recent changes that have taken place in the training and development arena in Australia since the mid-1990s, focusing on employer-provided training at the enterprise level. Employers were criticised in the 1990s for their perceived failure to train their workers and to provide the skills base that the nation needs to compete in a globalised knowledge economy. However, the evidence for this so-called employer failure is mixed and much of the training provided by employers seems to go unnoticed by commentators and policy-makers. Moreover, recent research suggests that training has become an increasingly strategic issue for enterprises, in contrast to the largely operational role it has been traditionally assigned. The article also appraises developments in vocational education and training which have led to the emergence of a mixed private and public system of training provision more attuned to the needs of industry and employers. Recent research evidence strongly suggests that Australian workers are receiving more and better training from their employers now than in the past.