The contribution of VET to innovation in regional industry

There has been considerable policy interest, discussion and a range of VET related research projects into the actual and potential contribution of VET to the Australian National Innovation System. The paper draws on the authors' current field research in regional Australia that is investigating the relationships between skill formation, knowledge transfer and the innovation process. The organizations under study in this research were deliberately selected for their known innovative features. They include a range of small to medium enterprises that supply the domestic market, those which export directly into international commodity markets as well as not-for-profit groups that supply services to the domestic and international tourist markets. They draw on local labour markets for the majority of their workforce and therefore rely to a large extent on the existing education and training infrastructure for skilled workers. Preliminary findings suggest that to conflate 'innovation' with 'technological innovation' is problematic. The organisations under study, in general, have not relied on capital intensive large scale technological innovation. The role of the VET contribution can be best understood as part of a broader development of social and technical infrastructure.