Occupational segregation and under-representation in training
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Objectives
The objectives of the study were to examine the following:
- The extent of occupational segregation and low industry training participation and completion by gender, ethnicity and age among Competenz-related occupations.
- The underlying causes of occupational segregation and low industry training participation and completion by gender, ethnicity and age.
- Proven strategies to address occupational segregation and to lift industry training participation and completion by gender, ethnicity and age.
- Implications for Competenz — which strategies (if any) are relevant to Competenz, what is their likely cost effectiveness, who else may play a role in tackling the issues, and what that role might be.
This report is structured around the above objectives.
Drivers for this study
Specific demographic groups are of interest to Competenz for several reasons.
Firstly, Government wishes to target priority groups in training, including under 25-year-olds, Māori and Pasifika people (Tertiary Education Commission 2009c). However, manufacturing (and other) industries and occupations tend to have pronounced demographic profiles (NZIER 2010) — “occupational segregation”. To understand how well Competenz is performing in relation to a particular demographic group, Competenz needs to compare the group‟ participation in industry training with its share of employment in the associated occupation.
Secondly, different demographic groups may have different completion rates. This is important as in future industry training funding will to some extent be linked to completion rates (Tertiary Education Commission 2009c). Completion rates among Competenz trainees are the focus of a companion study we are undertaking for Competenz concurrently with this one .
Competenz has limited control over some of these issues. So Competenz needs to ensure that any strategies it develops in relation to under-represented groups are effective (i.e. are proven to be successful), are good value for money (i.e. achieve the desired aim at minimum cost) and have no adverse unintended consequences. Competenz engaged NZIER to conduct this study to identify any such strategies.