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Conference Overview

The Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) invites abstract submissions for its 2026 Annual Conference, to be held in Brisbane, Queensland on 23-24 April 2026. This international conference provides a premier forum for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry partners to engage with critical questions facing vocational education and training (VET) in an era of unprecedented transformation.

The conference theme, "Schisms and Continuums: Understanding Sustainability, Change and Identity in Vocational Education," invites examination of the tensions, contradictions, and connections that characterise contemporary VET systems globally. As vocational education navigates between tradition and innovation, local needs and global pressures, economic imperatives and social justice commitments, this conference seeks to illuminate both the fractures and mendings that define our field.

The conference is organised around three interconnected dimensions that collectively frame the contemporary VET landscape:

Sustainability examines how vocational education and training contributes to—and is shaped by—the imperative for sustainable futures. This encompasses not only environmental sustainability and green skills development, but also the sustainability of VET systems themselves, pedagogical practices, funding models, and career pathways. We seek contributions that interrogate how VET can foster resilient systems and communities while responding to climate change, resource constraints, and the transition to sustainable economies.

Change explores the multifaceted drivers and consequences of transformation within vocational education. From artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to demographic shifts and evolving labour markets, VET systems worldwide are experiencing profound disruption. This dimension invites analysis of how change is conceptualised, managed, resisted, and leveraged within VET contexts, including examination of policy reforms, institutional restructuring, curriculum innovation, and pedagogical transformation.

Identity investigates the evolving constructions of self, role, and purpose within vocational education ecosystems. As traditional boundaries between academic and vocational education blur, and as the nature of work itself transforms, questions of identity become increasingly salient. Who are VET learners, teachers, and institutions becoming? How do marginalised voices claim space within VET discourse? What values and purposes animate contemporary vocational education?