Student movement: Pathways, fields and links to workNick FredmanLH 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 2009

5

Figure1

Those 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, 2009

6

1st qual. sector

When 1st qual. completed

No.

Subsequent qualification, %

None VET HE Not det. Total

VET Pre-1990 76 000 66.6 28.4 4.4 0.5 100.0

1990–2009 109 000 58.5 30.8 7.5 3.2 100.0

HE Pre-1990 25 000 48.0 6.4 39.1 6.4 100.0

1990–2009 40 000 42.2 12.4 42.1 3.4 100.0

• 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, 2009

7

1st qual. sector

When 1st qual. completed

No.

Subsequent qualification, %

None VET HE Not det. Total

VET Pre-1990 554 000 70.6 23.5 4.2 1.7 100.0

1990–2009 933 000 53.1 31.2 12.7 3.0 100.0

HE Pre-1990 223 000 71.7 6.3 21.3 0.8 100.0

1990–2009 361 000 44.3 10.5 42.6 2.5 100.0

• 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, 2009

8

1st qual. sector

When 1st qual. completed

No.

Subsequent qualification, %

None VET HE Not det. Total

VET Pre-1990 213 000 51.5 17.7 27.8 3.0 100.0

1990–2009 148 000 42.8 26.3 21.3 9.6 100.0

HE Pre-1990 190 000 65.7 7.4 23.9 2.9 100.0

1990–2009 219 000 45.1 7.5 43.0 4.4 100.0

• 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, 2009

9

1st qual. sector

When 1st qual. completed

No.

Subsequent qualification, %

None VET HE Not det. Total

VET Pre-1990 853 000 67.1 25.5 4.3 3.1 100.0

1990–2009 527 000 66.0 26.1 4.7 3.1 100.0

HE Pre-1990 135 000 61.2 11.0 27.4 0.3 100.0

1990–2009 112 000 60.0 8.9 28.1 3.0 100.0

• 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 2 Numbers 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 3 Percentage 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 4 Percentage 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?