industry & reform
“ The top five qualifications done by school-based apprentices and trainees in 2020 were in business , retail , hospitality , childcare , and sport and recreation ,” the authors state , and “ nearly half of all students doing a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship in 2020 enrolled in one of these qualifications ”.
‘ Can ’ t go wrong ’
Experts comment on the opportunities of vocational education .
By Wade Zaglas
The benefits of taking a VET subject in the senior years of schooling was recently discussed in an article in The Conversation , co-authored by Michelle Circellii and Josie Misko . Circellii is the senior research officer at the National Centre for Education Research ( NCVER ), while Misko is a senior research fellow at the NCVER .
What vocations does VET cover and where is it offered ? As the authors state , VET provides individuals with the skills for employment , and its courses span some of the most critical and successful sectors in Australia ’ s economy .
“ Think of plumbers , veterinary nurses , fashion designers , makeup artists , chefs , childcare workers , furniture makers , shipbuilders , carpenters , builders , electricians , laboratory and cybersecurity technicians , surveyors , legal assistants and many other vocations ,” Circellii and Misko say .
VET is now seamlessly integrated into many secondary school programs . However , should a student not complete secondary school , they can still study through “ post-school educational organisations ” including TAFE and private training organisations . Furthermore , VET is also accessible through community programs and can be integrated into workplaces readily for apprenticeships and traineeships .
What VET subjects and options exist ? While secondary school students can combine VET ’ s nationally recognised qualifications with other school subjects to keep university open as an immediate option , VET also allows students to embark on school-based traineeships and apprenticeships .
“ Provided students meet necessary requirements , they can finish school with a VET qualification along with their secondary school certificate ,” the authors state .
“ VET studies at school involve a combination of classroom and work-based learning . School-based apprenticeships and traineeships are a combination of classroom learning and on-thejob training under a contract of training with an employer .”
Recent statistics relating to VET studies and secondary school students show the combination is becoming an increasingly appealing option . Last year a substantial 241,200 secondary school students across Australia were studying a VET course that contributed to their senior secondary school certificate , up 2 per cent on the previous year .
A flexible pathway to employment or further study What distinguishes VET studies from board-approved school subjects in the senior years is that the former can set students up immediately for both employment and further study . Also , in a similar vein to a workplace , VET is competency-based , requiring students to perform a skill ; comparisons to other students are therefore moot .
However , aside from these features , it ’ s the flexibility of the TAFE system that is appealing to students , a generation of people who may change careers up to five to seven times during their lives , according to the Australian College of Applied Psychology .
“ The VET system provides flexible pathways , enabling students to move in and out of education and training to get the skills and qualifications they need to enter the job market ,” Circellii and Misko assert .
Why should students consider VET studies during secondary school ? Circellii and Misko say that roughly 45 per cent of secondary students undertake a VET course to improve their employment prospects , while 30 per cent do it to matriculate into further study . Roughly a quarter of this cohort study VET for personal development reasons .
“ Research has found students who did VET studies at school , including school-based apprenticeships and traineeships , were more likely than those who didn ’ t to be in full-time and permanent employment five years after their studies ,” the authors say .
Studying a VET course in the senior years does not necessarily preclude them from achieving an ATAR . “ In the states and territories that allow it , many students do VET studies that count toward their ATAR . Some 45.2 per cent of students in secondary schools that do VET also get an ATAR ,” the authors say .
‘ Money , money , money …’ The researchers also found that nearly 20 per cent of VET studies students went on to complete a bachelor ’ s degree at a later stage in their lives .
While research shows that people with university qualifications generally earn more per week than their VET counterparts , this “ masks ” what the authors call “ the variability in wages between industries and jobs that require VET qualifications ”.
To illustrate , “ people who have a VET qualification and work in the agricultural , forestry and fishing , and mining industries have similar , if not higher , weekly earnings as those who have a university qualification ”.
Further , a swathe of technicians and trade workers ( e . g . plumbers , ICT support technicians , and operating theatre technicians ) who possess VET qualifications “ earn as much per week , if not more , than those with university qualifications in a similar job ”.
“ You can ’ t go wrong doing VET studies at school . It sets you up for a job straight after school as well as opening up opportunities to do further study , whether that be more VET or a uni degree ,” Circellii and Misko argue . ■
12 | educationreview . com . au