Australia’s chronic skills shortage and the Federal Government’s push to get people off welfare and into the workforce is presenting teachers, trainers and welfare workers new challenges. How can we make the transition easier? This pressing issue will be canvassed at a half day Research in Vocational Education and Training (RIVET) group colloquium at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus on Tuesday 13 February. Speakers include Dr Steve Johnson, Director of the Policy Research Institute of the Leeds Metropolitan University, where he will outline the skilled workforce shortage also confronting the United Kingdom. CSU experts will also examine the social implications and various teaching strategies that can be used in the welfare to work policy. RIVET’s Associate Professor Erica Smith says “The success of Welfare to Work policy is important for individuals entering or re-entering the workforce as well as the nation.”