Student movement: Pathways, fields and links to work Nick Fredman LH Martin Institute University of Melbourne

Student movement: Pathways, fields and links to work A study of flows in tertiary education linking findings from the ABS Survey of Education and Training to occupational structures. Part of the NCVER-supported project ‘Vocations: post-compulsory education and the labour market’. 1.Contexts: participation, pathways and transfers; 2.A lack of coherence between education and work in Australia; 3.Change in patterns of student transfers over time by different initial fields; 4.Field-changing between successive qualifications; 5.Conclusions; 2

1. Contexts: Participation, pathways and transfers 3 Policy context: targets to boost participation in tertiary education for both productivity and social inclusion; One means: improving interconnections in a “less fragmented” and “easier to navigate” education system; A focus in this on internal mechanics of education such as credit transfer and articulation (rather than links with work); An assumption in this focus that transfers are upward and in the same field.

2. A lack of coherence between education and work Multiple study in the same field good from a narrow, utilitarian framework; Also good from a broader framework of building capabilities to participate in creative labour and social life (Sen and Nussbaum); Coherence in relation to education and work here seen as the extent to which education and work are mutually reinforcing in building capabilities; Lack of coherence: –Most VET graduates don’t work in areas of their study; –There’s considerable mismatches between education, skills and work; –Mismatches lead to work dis-satisfaction; How do student flows relate to coherence? 4

3. Change in student transfers over time Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, 2001, 2005 and Figure1Those in workforce with one, two or three or more qualifications in 2001, 2005 and 2009, per cent

3.Change in student transfers over time — agriculture and environment as first qualification Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, st qual. sector When 1 st qual. completed No. Subsequent qualification, % NoneVETHENot det.Total VETPre – HEPre – VET: little further education but increasing and more than e.g. engineering; Reflects agricultural work: there are major barriers to advancement but a stratum of workers gain mid-range jobs with education;

3.Change in student transfers over time — commerce and management as first qualification Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, st qual. sector When 1 st qual. completed No. Subsequent qualification, % NoneVETHENot det.Total VETPre – HEPre – C.f. agriculture and environment more growth, more multiple qualifications; Reflects developments in financial services work towards tighter licensing and greater use of credentials as initial screening.

3.Change in student transfers over time — health as first qualification Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, st qual. sector When 1st qual. completed No. Subsequent qualification, % NoneVETHENot det.Total VETPre – HEPre – Higher proportion of the earlier group transferred from VET to higher education, with the pattern markedly opposite in sequential higher education study; Reflects change in registration and increased credentialism in nursing work.

3.Change in student transfers over time — engineering as first qualification Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, st qual. sector When 1st qual. completed No. Subsequent qualification, % NoneVETHENot det.Total VETPre – HEPre – Relatively low and static rates of multiple qualifications; Reflects strong differentiation in knowledge and skills in engineering occupations, in contrast to finance (and natural sciences).

4.Field-changing between successive qualifications 10 Figure 2Numbers completing a second qualification by period and proportions changing fields from their first qualification Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, 2009

4.Field-changing between successive qualifications 11 Figure 3Percentage of students changing fields between a first and second qualification for each pathway, with 95% confidence intervals Source: ABS Survey of Education and Training, 2009

4.Field-changing between successive qualifications 12 Figure 4Percentage of students changing fields between a first and second qualification for each initial field of education, with 95% confidence intervals Source:ABS Survey of Education and Training, 2009

5.Conclusions and questions 13 Patterns of student flows explainable by labour market and regulatory structures; Addressing incoherences means addressing links between education and work, not just adjusting internal mechanisms of education; Can a broad focus on capabilities and vocational streams improve coherence?