Research

Summary page

Research

Outcomes from higher-level vocational education and training qualifications

The purpose of this project was to examine where diploma- and advanced diploma-level vocational education and training (VET) qualifications lead. In particular, do they lead to employment in associate professional or professional occupations, and are they used as a pathway to university-level studies?

Most qualifications at diploma and advanced diploma level are expected to lead to employment at associate professional or professional level. These areas of the labour market have experienced considerable growth in the past few years, and are expected to enjoy further growth in the medium-term future. However, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) information indicates that significant proportions of graduates from these courses are employed at levels below that of associate professional, with about 20% employed in intermediate service and clerical positions. This would suggest that there is considerable opportunity for diploma and advanced diploma qualifications to be more prominent in professional and associate professional occupations than is currently the case.

Diplomas and advanced diplomas also have an important role as pathways to university study. It is from this level, more than any other, that VET students seek to move on to university studies. While there is no national system of credit transfer, most universities have some kind of credit transfer arrangement for students with VET qualifications, with the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee recommending that diploma/advanced diplomas be granted credit for one year of a bachelor's degree.

Diplomas and advanced diplomas accounted for about 14% of enrolments, and 23% of all training hours (course hours) in the public VET system in 2002. Therefore they are significant in terms of overall VET effort. The enrolment data for diplomas and advanced diplomas suggest three main groups of students undertaking these courses. The first group comprises a large contingent of young students with Year 12 qualifications entering tertiary education for the first time, either with a view to gaining employment, or using the course as a stepping stone to university studies. The second group comprises people aged 25 and over enrolling in the course for reasons related to employment; for example, for increased wages or for promotion, while the final group consists of people aged 25 and over who have not completed Year 12 and are 'catching up' on their education.

An investigation of outcomes from these courses shows that many young people are gaining employment after completing their course. However, the majority are employed at a level below that of associate professional. Our data indicate that 73% of employed young graduates are employed at an occupational level below that of associate professional, with intermediary service and clerical, and elementary service and clerical being the two most popular occupational groupings for young people. However, we also see that, within 30 months after the course, about half of the employed young graduates were employed as associate professionals or higher. Counterbalancing this, we found that about a third of young graduates had gone on to university studies. Clearly, diplomas and advanced diplomas are a significant further study pathway for young graduates.

For people aged 25 and over, there was a variety of employment outcomes, with significant proportions of graduates claiming benefits such as increased earnings, promotion or changed job as a result of the course. Overall, 74% of graduates aged 25 and over stated at least one job-related benefit from the course. Graduates aged 25 and over were also employed at higher occupational levels than their younger counterparts, although this is not surprising. Overall, 56% of employed graduates in this age group were employed as associate professionals or higher, although there was still a significant proportion (20%) employed in intermediate service and clerical occupations. While further study is not a major goal for graduates aged 25 and over, our data nevertheless indicate that about 14% of this group went on to university study following the course.

In our analysis, we also investigated outcomes by field of education. This revealed that graduates from architecture and building along with their counterparts from health obtained the best overall employment outcomes from the course. High proportions of graduates from these courses were employed in associate professional occupations or higher-even young graduates. Our data indicate that 69% of employed young graduates in architecture and building, and 70% in health were employed as associate professionals or higher. For some fields, there were also other significant employment-related benefits. For example, for the minor field of human welfare studies, 83% of graduates claimed an employment-related benefit from the course, with about 40% of these graduates stating increased earnings in particular as a benefit of the course.

By contrast, graduates in the fields of information technology and creative arts did not enjoy such good employment outcomes, with 52% of young graduates in information technology, and 59% in creative arts stating at least one job-related benefit from the course. It is worth noting, however, that at least a quarter of creative arts graduates stated personal interest as a motivation for undertaking the course.

When we investigated further study outcomes for graduates by field of education, we found that, in some fields, high proportions of young graduates went on to university study. We found that 37% of young information technology graduates went on to university studies, a progression which to some extent offsets their poorer employment outcomes. For a couple of the minor fields we examined, namely accountancy, and banking and finance, over half of young graduates and close to a quarter of those aged 25 and over went on to university studies. This is a substantial outcome.

The overall picture is that, undertaking diploma and advanced courses in VET leads to employment outcomes for many students. However, the research also demonstrated that many, particularly younger people, are employed at an occupational level below that intended by the course. There are significant further study outcomes from these courses, with about a third of young graduates going on to university studies. There are also variations in outcomes by field of education, with graduates in architecture and building, and also health having the best employment outcomes. However, we find high proportions of young graduates in minor fields, such as accountancy, and banking and finance, going on to university study following the course.