1. Enhancing Training Advantage for Remote Learners Presented on behalf of the project team by John Guenther

2. The problem
While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are well represented in VET, across Australia attrition rates for AQF Level courses are 77%
And for the regions covered by case study sites for this research attrition rates are on average 81%
Attrition rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undertaking VET courses, very remote Australia, by labour force status, 2014 (Source: VOCSTATS Total VET Activity data)

3. Remote contexts for this study

4. Research questions
RQ1: How can retention and completion in post-school training be improved (to improve employability) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living in remote communities?
RQ2: What indicators of success other than completion, would be important for training in remote communities (to improve employability)?
While sometimes described as miles and miles of nothing, very remote Australia is often imagined as an unused mass of land ripe for development. Yet our research work has again highlighted that it is not nothing, but rather an environment interwoven with historical and contemporary human history, soaked with relationships and meaning.
It is rich in natural resources that can be extracted for economic returns, but it is also full of places that people belong to. It is rich in knowledge and experience, full of human life, love, humour and grief. It is not a landscape of nothing–rather it is one that is fundamentally known. As the Developing the North white paper states northern Australia is one of “untapped promise, abundant resources and talented people” (Australian Government, 2015a, p. 1).
The largest proportion of Northern Australia’s land mass is classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as ‘very remote’. Having a resident population of approximately 94 000 people (ABS, 2012b) the very remote north also provides significant income to those living in other areas, such as consultants, contractors, and fly-in fly-out workforces. Similarly, many Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people living in more populated regions have strong connections to people and places within very remote Australia. Of the 94 000 people permanently residing in very remote Australia, 68 per cent identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander with a significant proportion (64 per cent) of these individuals speaking distinct and diverse Indigenous languages.

5. Anne Stephens, James Cook University Janet Skewes, TAFE SA
Project team
Anne Stephens, James Cook University
Janet Skewes, TAFE SA
Sandra Wooltorton, University of Notre Dame Australia
Bob Boughton, University of New England
John Guenther, Batchelor Institute
Melodie Bat, Batchelor Institute

6. Definitional considerations
Employability
The skills which enable people to gain, keep and progress in employment, including skills in the clusters of work readiness and work habits, interpersonal skills and learning, thinking and adaptability skills’ (Naidu, 2013).
Retention and completion and attrition
‘Completion’ is then simply satisfactory achievement of the full program of intended study.
But attrition is the real problem: those who drop out
VET, adult learning and literacy
Overlapping boundaries
AQF Continuum, but Foundation Skills as an added component

7. Human Capital Theory assumptions
Education and training as an investment with economic returns (Becker 1993)
those with higher skill levels tend to be more employable (Fredman, 2014; Independent Economics, 2013)
earn more money (Blöndal & Field, 2002; Fredman, 2014),
though there are some exceptions to this general rule (Karmel & Fieger, 2012).
economies with higher levels of human capital, tend to be more productive and wealthier (Hanushek et al., 2013; OECD, 2001).
They have lower rates of crime and perform better on a range of health and wellbeing indicators (Feinstein, 2002; Feinstein et al., 2008)
But why do these assumptions not hold true for remote communities? (Guenther & McRae-Williams, 2014; McRae-Williams & Guenther, 2014).

8. VET as a tool for transition to employment?
Figure 1. Average unemployment rates for people with qualifications, very remote Australia 2011 (Source: ABS 2011 Census)

9. Employment as a vehicle for qualifications?
It is tempting to view these ‘gaps’ in employment outcomes as simply reflecting disadvantage, particularly educational disadvantage. Yet there has been a steady increase in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander formal education and training achievement, with more and more individuals achieving year 10, 11 and 12 as well as increases in all levels of certificate qualification (Guenther & Boyle, 2013).
It turns out that non-Indigenous people do not hold most of the jobs because they are better educated or trained. In fact 46% of the whole workforce and 36% of the non-Indigenous workforce had not completed a certificate or higher qualification, with many having left formal schooling at year 10 levels. In 2011 there were 46,505 jobs in very remote Australia that required no certificate qualification.
What this tells us is that many Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in very remote Australia are not transitioning from education to employment, nor are they transitioning into employment that does not require formal qualifications. This is significant if we think about the substantial amount of funds and effort directed at disadvantaged job seeker, job activation or ‘job ready’ initiatives.

10. Findings: case study completion rates
Case study site
Focus areas
Estimated completion rate for selected program(s)
NSW Yes I Can
Adult literacy campaign (non-accredited)
78%
QLD Cairns Aboriginal Training College
Cert III Addictions Management and Community Development (AMCD); Cert IV Indigenous Mental Health (Suicide Prevention)
53%
SA TAFE APY Lands
Cert II/III Community Services, Aged Care, Home and Community Care
17%
WA Ranger training program
Cert II Conservation and Land Management
Data not available yet
NT Batchelor Health Worker training program
Cert IV Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care
15%

11. What did our respondents say affects retention
Family, personal and cultural matters
Employment outcomes
Trainer factors
Training coordination and support
Community and family support

12. Alternative indicators of success?
Confidence and identity
Foundation skills
Funding security
Culture and local knowledge
Local community ownership

13. Implications and conclusions
In this study, success is defined by the successful
The power of perceptions: providers believe in what they are doing
Funding models may inadvertently contribute to high attrition rates
If success is not just about retention and employability (or employment outcomes) how do we take account of these measures?

14. Contact details
John Guenther