Damian Oliver – The Conversation

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds may find it harder to get unpaid work experience. Masa Israel Journey/Flickr

January 17, 2017

Unpaid work experience is widespread but some are missing out: new study

Damian Oliver, University of Technology Sydney; Andrew Stewart, University of Adelaide; Anne Hewitt, University of Adelaide, and Paula McDonald, Queensland University of Technology

A new study quantifies unpaid work experience in Australia and shows how some young people miss out.

Interns may have to give up time at paid work to do an unpaid internship. Tony Phillips/AAP

June 19, 2016

The growing cost of internships could add to inequality

Paula McDonald, Queensland University of Technology; Damian Oliver, University of Technology Sydney, and Deanna Grant-Smith, Queensland University of Technology

Internships can have direct and indirect costs that may exclude some who can’t afford them.

Jacqui Lambie said on Q&A that apprenticeship numbers were going ‘wayside’. Q&A

June 3, 2016

Election FactCheck Q&A: was Jacqui Lambie right about apprenticeships and 457 visas?

Damian Oliver, University of Technology Sydney

Was Jacqui Lambie correct to say apprenticeships are going “wayside” and that there are more than one million 457 work visa holders in Australia?

Maintaining community confidence in the value of VET qualifications is essential for a functioning labour market. shutterstock

September 21, 2015

Australia’s VET system needs fundamental change – here’s how it can be fixed

Damian Oliver, University of Technology Sydney and Serena Yu, University of Technology Sydney

Lured by government subsidies, registered training organisations are enrolling people into VET courses that do not match their needs and for which there is a dubious case at best for taxpayer support.

Private training organisations have been mired in controversy over sub-standard courses and unscrupulous methods to attract students. Here’s how they’re failing the system. Shutterstock

February 23, 2015

Privatisation of vocational education isn’t working

Serena Yu, University of Sydney and Damian Oliver, University of Sydney

Recent weeks have seen various horror stories of the workings of dodgy private providers of vocational education and training, including the latest: a recall of certificates due to concerns of sub-par standards in these institutions.

Australia should be proud of its high minimum wage. atomicjeep/Flickr

June 10, 2014

Australian business gets a good deal from the minimum wage

Damian Oliver, University of Sydney and John Buchanan, University of Sydney

Last week Australia’s Fair Work Commission increased the national minimum wage to A$16.87 an hour from 1 July, 2014. The usual suspects rolled out the usual arguments denouncing this initiative, and Treasurer…

In some industries, youth wages are still linked to a worker’s age, rather than one’s skill. AAP

July 15, 2013

Adults in all but pay: the case for increasing youth wages

Damian Oliver, University of Sydney

The Fair Work Commission is currently considering an application for 20-year-olds working in retail to receive 100% of the adult wage, instead of the 90% they currently receive. The direct impact of the…