Future bright for quality VET in Schools studies

Media release

1 September 2017

Students undertaking vocational education and training (VET) in schools across the country are gaining positive employment and educational opportunities according to new research released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

The report VET in Schools students: characteristics and post-school employment and training experiences shows what students are doing five years after their in-school training, with close to 90% of participants either working, studying or both.

“This new research tells us that, when chosen well, quality VET in Schools studies can work,” said Dr Craig Fowler, Managing Director, NCVER.

“Seventy eight percent of students who participated in VET in Schools in 2006 were employed five years later, with many of them in occupations related to their training, especially those in trade-specific pathways.”

The research, which links 2006 VET in Schools data with the 2011 Census of Population and Housing, also shows that most of these students engaged in further studies, with around half completing non-school qualifications and some attending university.

NCVER researchers intend to update this work in the near future by linking the 2011 VET in Schools data with the newly available 2016 Census of Population and Housing.

The research report has been released to coincide with the publication of the 2016 VET in Schools data. While there was a small decrease in student numbers last year, there has been a general upward trend of students over the past 20 years, with 243 300 students enrolled in 2016 compared with just 60 000 in 1996.

Over 17 000 students were enrolled last year as school-based apprentices and trainees, with the most popular areas of training being retail, business services and tourism and hospitality. Student numbers have also doubled over the past ten years in the areas of sport and fitness and community services.

The publications VET in Schools students: characteristics and post-school employment and training experiences and Australian vocational education and training statistics: VET in Schools 2016 are available from www.ncver.edu.au/publications

To learn more about the VET in Schools Collection, visit www.ncver.edu.au/data/collection/vet-in-schools

This work has been produced by NCVER on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Department of Education and Training.

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