Enhancing Training Advantage for Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learners

Participation in vocational training is strong among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities. However, completion rates for courses are low—on average, about 80% of participants drop out. What would it take to turn a training system in remote Australia around so completion rates improve? What would it take to make remote training programs more effective or transformative for trainees and communities?
These are questions posed by a research project funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, conducted by researchers from five jurisdictions. The researchers examined data from five different training programs considered successful in terms of retention and employability outcomes. One finding was that success is not dependent on employment outcomes. Another finding was that course completion is only one factor of benefit to learners. A third finding is that for some courses, employment leads to training, not the other way around.
This paper highlights the need for different measures of success beyond retention to completion and employability. While employment outcomes are important for many remote learners, the more important measures of success we found related to processes of local ownership, cultural embeddedness and advantage found in the development of foundation skills and socially transformative benefits.