Internationalization is one of the key features across the school, vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) sectors in the 21st century. The demands resulting from globalization, neoliberalism, the knowledge economy, changing global/national/local labor markets and the advancement of information and communication technology have played a key role in shaping the internationalization of education over the past three decades (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Knight, 2004; Marginson, 2007; Rizvi, 2004; Van Der Wende, Beerkens, & Teichler, 1999). Student mobility is often identified as a primary dimension of internationalization in the VET sector. In addition, off-shore education, staff mobility, internationalization of programs, transnational institutional partnerships and industry networks, and the involvement of aid and development activities in the developing regions are the main components of internationalized VET (Tran & Dempsey, 2017). The VET landscape is significantly changing under the influence of global forces, workforce mobility, technological advances and international student mobility into the VET sector, especially in European and English speaking countries (Tran & Dempsey, 2017). Around the world, over five million tertiary students undertook education outside their home country in 2015 (OECD, 2016). The latest figure from Australian Education International (AEI, 2017) shows that Australia hosted 583,243 international students in June 2017, and the government sets the target of an international enrolment of 990,000 students by 2025 (Australian Government, 2016a). There were 438,010 and 1,043,839 international students enrolled in the UK and the US respectively in the academic year 2015–16 (IIE, 2017; UKCISA, 2017).

Vocational training and training plays a crucial role in the training of the labor workforce and maintaining the strength and competitiveness of a country. It has therefore attracted the attention and investment by governments worldwide. Like higher education, the VET sector has recently been under the influences of different contextual trends and dimensions, including but not limited to globalization and the emergence of global labor markets, migration policies and flows, demographic pressures, internationalization of education, skills shortages and growing international competition for skilled labor (Cameron & O’Hanlon-rose, 2011). In response to these changes in the landscape of VET, various efforts have been made to ensure that the sector provides sufficient supply of quality human resources to meet industry demands in the changed circumstances. A historical review of what has happened in Europe shows that the European Community has put together and implemented several initiatives, programs and assessments to improve the quality and attractiveness of the VET sector (Misra, 2011). Similarly, in Australia , the National Training Framework for VET, which was endorsed by Australian state ministers in 1996 following decade-long reforms, aimed to “reorient VET so that it was aligned with and designed to produce the skills needed by industry” (Goozee, 2001, p. 97, cited in Pasura, 2014, p. 564). This Framework, together with its subsequent modifications, resulted in the VET sector being reconstructed into a competitive training market where the industry, private training providers, and full-fee-paying international students are key stakeholders (Pasura, 2014).

This book examines the professional learning needs and practices of teachers in the VET sector in Australia under the changed circumstances of internationalization, transnational workforce mobility and the Australian government’s policy on Asia engagement. International education is Australia’s largest service export, contributing approximately AUS $29 billion to the national economy in the fiscal year 2016–2017 (ICEF Monitor, 2017). Of the 583,243 international students currently enrolled in the major educational sectors (Vocational Education and Training, Higher Education, English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students, and Schools), about one quarter are in VET courses (AEI, 2017). Australian VET teachers are facing significant professional challenges to engage with pedagogical issues in teaching international students, who are considered a non-traditional component of the VET student population. However, there has been a lacuna in empirical research and literature on how teachers are equipped to effectively cater for international students and respond to the demand of internationalization in VET . The gap in knowledge extends to private, public, off-shore and onshore VET where teachers of Australia-based and non-Australia-based international students and educators managing offshore programs have to navigate challenging cross-cultural expectations and different educational practices (Cao & Tran, 2015; Dempsey & Tran, 2017; Tran, 2013b).

The VET and HE systems around the world are encountering the growing demand for internationalizing the experience for both international and domestic students. Various studies and national policy texts cite the development of global and intercultural competencies for domestic students as being crucial for national capacity building in both developed and developing countries due to the rise of the knowledge economy and the increasing mobility of the workforce between national economies (Australian Government, 2012; Cameron & O’Hanlon-Rose, 2011; Singh, 2005; Tran & Nyland, 2013). At present, a growing number of Australians are participating in transnational labor mobility with one million Australian citizens working overseas (DFAT, 2013). National policy texts such as Australia in the Asian Century (Australian Government, 2012) and New Colombo Plan (Australian Government, 2016b) see the development of Asia-relevant capabilities as critical for Australian domestic graduates. Yet little is known about whether and how VET institutes and teachers have been prepared to engage in this discourse and respond to the demand of internationalization and global workforce mobility.

Also, there is a conflict between the Australian government’s skilled migration policy change which severely restricts the chance for international VET students to secure permanent residency and the VET sector’s competency-based approach which aims to prepare students for the Australian industry (Tran & Nyland, 2013). Teachers have to juggle between the demand to demonstrate compliance to training packages designed to assist learners with the development of the capabilities to work in Australia and the needs of international students , many of whom cannot or do not want t...