at a glance

This publication provides information about students undertaking training within Australia’s public Vocational Education and Training (VET) system in 2001. It provides an overview of student characteristics as well as the nature of training being undertaken. Trends and changes over recent years are also presented.

In 2001

• 1.76 million students undertook training in the public vocational education and training system, equating to more than one eighth of Australia’s working age population.

• Nearly a third of all Australians aged 15–19 years participated in vocational education and training, up from a quarter in 1998. VET in Schools has driven this change.

• Females accounted for almost a half of all VET students; this proportion has been stable since 1998.

• There were over 58 000 VET students who identified themselves as Indigenous; an increase of 12% from 2000.

• Nearly three-quarters of all VET students attended a TAFE institution, with the remaining students distributed equally between community education providers and ‘other’ registered training providers.

• The average number of annual hours of study per VET student increased to 215 hours, up from 189 in 2000.

• 70% of VET students were studying for a qualification recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), an increase of six percentage points since 1998.

• 430 000 qualifications were completed; almost two-thirds of these being AQF qualifications.

Copyright © NCVER 2003-2008    ABN 87 007 967 311