This report has been prepared by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director. This work was conducted as part of the OECD’s Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme in co-operation with the Australian Department of Education and Training.
This project on engaging local employers in skills development in Australia was co-ordinated by Jonathan Barr, Head of the Employment and Skills Unit within the Local Employment, Skills and Social Innovation (LESI) Division of CFE, under the supervision of Karen Maguire, Acting Head of LESI Division.
The principal authors of this report are Anna Choi (Policy Analyst) and Jonathan Barr (Head of Unit) from OECD/CFE. Sections of the report were drafted by a team of researchers at Miles Morgan Australia (Barbara Macnish, Naysa Brasil Teodoro and Catherine Manley). Beatriz Jambrina (Statistician) and Alessandro Kandiah (Policy Analyst) from the OECD/CFE also contributed to the development of this publication through statistical analysis and drafting support. Janine Treves (Digital Managing Editor, Public Affairs and Communications Directorate) provided editorial assistance and Pilar Philip (Publications and Event Co-ordinator, CFE) co-ordinated the publication process.
A number of OECD colleagues provided valuable input and feedback on the development of this report, including Anthony Mann (Head of Unit) from the Directorate of Education and Skills, and Katherine Mullock (Policy Analyst) from the Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.
The OECD would like to thank colleagues within the Australia Department of Education and Training, including Fran Wylie, Anthony Krieg, and Andrej Pavkovic, who were instrumental in co-ordinating this project and providing valuable comments on the report.
Special thanks should also be given to local stakeholders in each of the case study areas that participated in meetings and provided documentation and comments that were critical to the production of the report. In particular, the OECD is grateful to Sydney Metro in New South Wales; STEMship in New South Wales; Dream, Believe, Achieve in Queensland; and Collective Ed in Tasmania.