International VET student satisfaction remains high

Media release

29 April 2020

New data reveal 84.4% of international students who completed a nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) qualification in Australia in 2018 were satisfied with the overall quality of the training.

The report International onshore VET graduate outcomes 2019, compiled by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), uses data collected in mid-2019 from approximately 15 000 respondents to the National Student Outcomes Survey.

Satisfaction levels were steady or fell slightly when compared with the previous year, with 86.9% saying they’d recommend the training and 83.2% their training provider (down 1.6 percentage points from 2018).

International onshore VET graduates mainly undertook training for employment-related reasons (70.0%), with the most common reason being to develop or start their own business (18.5%), followed by to get a job (17.3%) and to gain extra skills for current job (14.1%).

Employment outcomes for international onshore VET graduates were similar to 2018, with 68.9% employed after training; 62.5% in Australia and 6.1% in another country.  Over a third (36.0%) were employed in Australia and enrolled in further study.

In mid-2019, over half of international onshore VET graduates were actively looking for work in Australia, including some who were already employed.  Almost all faced at least one barrier to finding work. The most commonly cited barrier to finding work in Australia was not having permanent residency or a work visa (45.9%) followed by not having enough work experience (31.9%).

Around 15 000 international onshore VET graduates completed the 2019 survey, which collected information on students’ reasons for training, employment and further study outcomes, satisfaction with training and type of visa held by students.

International onshore VET graduate outcomes 2019 is now available on the NCVER Portal.

The 2020 National Student Outcomes Survey is set to commence at the end of May.

Enquiries: Helen Wildash, PR and Social Media Officer M: 0448 043 148 E: helenwildash@ncver.edu.au


About NCVER: we are the principal provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector. Our services help promote better understanding of VET and assist policy-makers, practitioners, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decisions.

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