The principal-agent model in public service education, training and professional development

The outsourcing and contracting policy-practice establish principal and agent relations in the environment of learning and development within the public service. The article applies the principal-agent model and determines the nature and extent of the contractual relations between government departments on the one side, and on the other, higher education and training institutions (HETIs) and independent individual contractors (IICs). This article argues that the interplay and mutual support of the different decisions within these collusive contexts combine with the outsourced contracting policy-practice contribute to multiple principals and agents across the components of education, training and continuous professional development (ETPD) provisionin the public service. The principal-agent model provides opportunities for agency and self-interests behaviour in ETPD provision.