The new millennium sees people living longer than ever. Demographers tell us that today's young adults can expect to live past 80. Biologists inform us that increasingly older people will live healthier lives. They predict a 'compression of morbidity' that will result in older patients experiencing long, healthy and active lives with short periods of severe disability or debilitating illnesses before death (Fries 1984). The buzz word in the gerontology field these days is 'active life expectancy'. Kart (1997 p105) defines this concept as 'the period of life free of limitations in activities of daily living'. People are asking the question, 'how many years can we expect to enjoy?'Not surprisingly, the emphasis of many health programs and policies, and increasingly more so in the future, is on longevity and quality of life. Scientists argue that lifestyle habits improve the quality of life and may prolong life (National Institute of Aging 1993). A study on centenarians found them to have a positive outlook and sense of optimism (Poon et al. 1992), highlighting the importance of mind and body connections. As Tirrito (2003 p 83) notes health is linked to life satisfaction and well-being and 'people who have good health are happier, have a better sense of well-being, have friends, and tend to be satisfied with life'. This message is increasingly being appreciated by consumers. More and more people are recognising that lifestyle offers one of the greatest paybacks in terms of improving health and quality of life.

The University of New England (UNE) and TAFE New England (TNE) commenced delivery of an innovative integrated degrees program in community health in trimester 1, 2014. The degrees will allow students to engage in simultaneous, integrated Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university study leading to both VET and degree qualifications. The outcome of the study program allows students to integrate their study and WIL experience by supporting a sequential, embedded accomplishment of qualifications. The differences in processes and philosophies between VET and Higher Education institutions in relation to WIL have kept the delivery of this kind of study separated, but integration has now become more achievable due to the extension of AQF compliance to the higher education sector. Students in the dual-sector degrees have welcomed the skill-based practical work involved with VET education while learning the theoretical concepts of their university education with a single enrolment. The need for a more seamless engagement with VET and university study is becoming more urgent and there are a large number of possibilities to explore. This paper identifies some of the key issues and proposes some solutions.

In the last twenty years at least one million Nepalese men have travelled to the Gulf States in a government process of regulated labour migration. This involves men being away from home for decades and impacts on at least five million family members in Nepal. Although Nepal relies on remittances from this migration for 23 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, the literature has not explored the health and welfare of the wives who are left behind in this process. This research addresses the other side of regulated Nepalese labour migration because: 1) it focuses on the left-behind wives; and 2) it is concerned with their health using the social determinants of health approach. Capitalism and globalisation have combined to produce a labour supply chain of unskilled and semi-skilled workers from developing countries to increase the wealth in developed countries. Because of poverty, lack of employment opportunities and intra-national conflict in Nepal, migration for work has been taken up by desperate rural men. Nepal is a patriarchal society and the left-behind wives are often subordinate, ill-prepared, and vulnerable in the migration process and its consequences. This research seeks to understand the subjective experience of being left behind from the perspective of the wives. This research explores: the lived experiences of the left-behind wives of the Nepalese migrants to the Gulf States; the impacts of this migration from the perspective of the wives using a social determinants of health framework; and the social support services available and useful to the left-behind wives.