NCVER

Description

This publication provides data and insights on vocational education and training (VET) in schools, drawing on data to 31 December 2025.

VET in Schools is undertaken by students as part of their secondary schooling, aiming to build workplace skills and pathways for students, and can support school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBAT).

VET subjects often contribute to the achievement of a senior secondary certificate of education (SSCE), although the integration of VET into the school curriculum differs by state and territory and the completion of a full VET qualification is not necessarily a prerequisite to attain a SSCE.

Any registered training organisation (RTO) may deliver VET in Schools, including secondary schools themselves (where appropriate registration is held), as well as TAFEs, community education providers, and private RTOs contracted to work with schools.

VET in Schools is typically delivered from Year 10 through Year 12, although some jurisdictions offer introductory VET study as early as Year 9. This publication focuses on ‘School-aged’ students aged 19 years and under¹, which comprise 99.7% of all VET in Schools students.

Report

In 2025, compared to 2024, amongst ‘School-aged’ students there were:

• 276,860 students, an increase of 11,005 (4.1%),
• 412,840 program enrolments, predominantly qualifications, an increase of 18,860 (4.8%), and
• 151,485 program completions, an increase of 9,180 (6.4%).

Continuing the growth observed last year, VET in Schools student, enrolment, and completion numbers in 2025 are all at their highest levels since the collection began in 2006.

Students

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported 1,224,615 secondary school students aged 14 to 19 in 2025². The total of 276,820 VET in Schools students of the same age range therefore represents an estimated participation rate of 22.6% amongst the Australian school-aged population in 2025, which is a slight increase from 22.1% in 2024.

Queensland holds both the highest participation rate and overall student numbers of any state/territory across Australia, and has done so consistently since the introduction of the Queensland Certificate of Education in 2008. Western Australia’s participation rate has declined since 2019 following increased pathway flexibility in the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), but remains third highest nationally just behind the Northern Territory. The Australian Capital Territory’s participation rate and overall VET student numbers have continued to decline year-on-year over the past decade.

Tracking changes in student numbers amongst key equity and priority groups helps evaluate whether VET in Schools is improving access and uptake amongst students who may face barriers to completing secondary schooling and/or benefit from this alternative pathway to a senior secondary qualification and future career.

Nationally, in 2025, many of the cohorts governments typically focus on to improve access and participation saw increases in VET student numbers relative to 2024. This included females, Indigenous students, students with disabilities, and those living in regional and remote areas.

Nationally, the proportion of VET in Schools students participating in school-based apprenticeships and traineeships in 2025 was 7.2%, or 19,825 students, and has remained around 7-9% for the last decade. Tasmania has typically held the highest proportion of school-based apprentice and trainees as a share of all their VET in Schools activity over the past decade, sitting at 10.9% in 2025. However, South Australia has seen a noticeable increase in the number of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, up 3.2 percentage points from 2024, to a total of 11.1% of VET in Schools students.

Note that most apprenticeships and traineeships amongst those 19 years and younger are not school-based. For more information, see NCVER’s apprentices and trainees 2025: December quarter report.

The ABS reports that across Australia the majority (57.3%) of secondary students were at government schools in 2025². Consistent with this, most VET in Schools is also delivered at government schools. In 2025, 60.3% of VET in Schools students attended government schools.

Program enrolments

VET in Schools training is aligned to nationally recognised VET programs, with most activity in training package qualifications. Training packages are structured around industry-defined and endorsed skills frameworks. However, accredited qualifications, courses, or training package skill sets (where recognised) may also contribute to students’ schooling.

In 2025, school-aged students trained in:

• 383,335 training package qualifications, an increase of 18,135 (5.0%) from 2024,
• 29,465 accredited qualifications, an increase of 740 (2.6%) from 2024, and
• 35 training package skill sets, down from 50 in 2024.

Enrolments in food and hospitality-related programs remain strong, with Certificate II in Hospitality (SIT20322) attracting the highest number of enrolments nationally in 2025, and was the most commonly enrolled in program in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.

Programs focused on building and construction saw growth in 2025. The Certificate II in Construction Pathways (CPC20220) was the top qualification in both South Australia and Tasmania, and ranked within the top five for New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. The top qualifications in Western Australia and Queensland were more employability and foundation skills-focused.

Subject load pass rates

In 2025, the overall subject load pass rate was 86.3%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from 2024.

NCVER uses subject load pass rates to report on the success of a program’s underlying VET subject activity. The subject load pass rate is the proportion of successfully completed subjects, weighted by the nominal hours required for each subject to reduce the influence of shorter subjects on the overall result. This is an alternative indicator of the success of VET study in school (compared to program completions), as students are often required to complete a specific number of hours or gain credits to receive a senior secondary certificate.

In 2025, the subject load pass rate for Certificate I and III programs increased relative to 2024. There was a small decline in the subject load pass rate for Certificate II programs. Subject load pass rates were broadly consistent with 2024 below Certificate I level or at Certificate IV or Higher, although these categories have much lower levels of activity.

Program completions

In 2025, school-aged students completed 151,485 programs. Currently, 2025 is the highest single year of completions by VET in Schools students, up 6.4% on 2024.

As with VET in Schools enrolments, the vast majority of completions were in Certificate II and III level programs, with both recording growth relative to 2024 (up 6.2% and 8.6%, respectively).

Completions of VET in Schools programs increased amongst most priority cohorts, including females (up 6.5%), Indigenous students (up 10.4%), students with a disability (up 10.3%), and regional and remote students (up 8.9%).

The number of completions in Certificate I level programs has held steady since 2023, but is down historically from numbers exceeding those of Certificate III programs a decade ago. This trend reflects a shift away from enrolments (and therefore completions) in Certificate I level programs and towards higher levels of VET in Schools programs, which has been observed since the collection began in 2006.

Description

This publication provides data and insights on Australia’s government-funded vocational education and training (VET) system, drawing on data as at and to 31 December 2025.

Government funded VET is defined as all Commonwealth and state or territory government-funded training delivered by technical and further education (TAFE) institutes, other government providers (such as universities), private providers and community education providers.

State and territory governments fund vocational education and training through their own and Commonwealth contributions, including Intergovernmental Agreement funding. Funding for vocational education and training supports local and national skills needs (such as those under the National Skills Agreement), though not all funding goes to direct training delivery.

Since 2023, the Commonwealth has funded Fee-Free TAFE with states and territories to reduce financial barriers and expand access to training in priority areas. While Fee-Free TAFE activity falls within scope of this reporting, it is not separately collected and therefore cannot be identified in the data. Data for this program are available from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. NCVER will begin collecting and reporting Free TAFE data from 2027.

Data for the Government-funded students and courses series are received in four cumulative submissions across the calendar year. This report covers the full period of 1 January to 31 December 2025. All figures in this publication may be filtered by the state/territory responsible for administering funding of training activity, unless footnoted otherwise. Additional data are available in DataBuilder, VOCSTATS, and by request to NCVER.

Report

In 2025, compared to 2024, there were:

• 1,137,645 students, a decrease of 82,170 (6.7%)
• 1,310,845 program enrolments, a decrease of 132,545 (9.2%)
• 1,106,240 qualification enrolments, a decrease of 116,770 (9.5%)
• 350,800 qualification completions, a decrease of 16,740 (4.6%)

Each year, governments support the placement of new entrants into the system while continuing to support the ongoing training of past entrants. Program enrolment figures represent an aggregation of this new and continuing training activity, and students may study multiple forms of training concurrently.

Disaggregating to commencing activity provides a clearer picture of new entries into VET programs in 2025, and allows comparison with commencements in previous years. Training may span multiple years, and continuing program enrolments capture this ongoing activity within the system. Trends in continuing activity can reflect increases or decreases in commencements from previous years.

While both commencing and continuing program enrolments in 2025 were down overall compared with 2024, there was a larger decrease in commencing activity (-11.0%) than continuing activity (-6.2%). Declines across enrolments overall were driven by reduced activity in nationally recognised qualifications and short courses, which form the majority of government funded program activity. Locally developed and non-nationally recognised programs saw some growth in continuing and (to a lesser extent) commencing activity relative to 2024.

Governments also fund a mix of providers (e.g. TAFEs, schools) to meet their specific training goals. The mix of providers may be adjusted annually to support updated priorities. As above, the reporting of training activity at a provider is a combination of both the latest year and ongoing training from previous years.

Nationally, program enrolments were down both at TAFE institutes (-10.6%) and private training providers (-12.6%), though there was a slight increase in enrolments at other provider types (+5.3%), mainly driven by schools and universities.

Students

Government directs VET funding to key equity and priority cohorts to improve access and participation, address disadvantage, and ensure a more inclusive and skilled workforce. Priority cohorts typically include Indigenous people, women, and people with disabilities, among others.

In 2025, students with a disability were the only cohort to increase from 2024 to 2025. All other cohorts declined. Numbers varied across states and territories.

Participation rates show how widely the working age population (15 - 64) engages with government-funded VET, indicating the reach and relevance of this investment. In 2025, an estimated 6.2% of the Australian resident population aged 15 to 64 years participated in government-funded VET. Participation was highest among those aged 15 to 19 years at 18.7%.

Program enrolments

Governments support the delivery of a variety of training types, spanning both nationally and non-nationally recognised training. The type of training classification is hierarchical and accounts for both who delivered the training and whether that training – both the subjects and program – is recognised across Australia. Recognised training delivered by a currently registered training organisation is referred to as nationally recognised.

There were increases within locally developed courses and non-nationally recognised training compared to 2024, whereas declines were found across all nationally recognised program types (i.e. training package qualifications and skills sets, accredited qualifications and courses). This trend was largely observed across states and territories.

Qualification enrolments

Governments predominantly fund nationally recognised qualifications, and overwhelmingly those from training packages. Training packages are organised around an industry-defined skills framework, and contain endorsed training products, such as units of competency and portable industry-recognised qualifications.

Relative to 2024, the largest absolute increases in training package qualification enrolments for 2025 were in Electrotechnology (up 7.3%), while large declines were seen in Community Services (down 11.1%) and Business Services (down 28.7%).

Training package programs span multiple qualification levels depending on the occupation and skill requirements, but are most commonly delivered at Certificate III and IV levels. In 2025, enrolments in both training package qualifications and accredited qualifications at the Certificate III and IV levels declined relative to 2024 (-8.4% and -17.3% for these two levels, respectively).

Qualification completions

Qualification completions measure the number of students who complete a full qualification and provide an important indicator of training outcomes. However, not all learners complete a qualification, with many leaving after gaining the specific skills or competencies needed for work or further learning.

Completions are reported as occurring within a given year, though completions may relate to study that commenced one or more years earlier. How long it takes for a student to complete a qualification is influenced by many factors including the intended occupation, skill level, study load, and student’s prior learning.

In 2025, there were 350,800 government-funded nationally recognised qualification completions in Australia. This figure will be revised in future releases of Government-funded students and courses.

Completion rates, which report on the proportion of a commencing cohort who eventually completed, are published separately. For information on completion rates, refer to NCVER’s VET qualification completion rates.

Other government-funded training

Data on other forms of training, including subject-only and non-nationally recognised training, are available in the DataBuilder and VOCSTATS.

Introduction

Drawing on the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, this report presents data on apprenticeship and traineeship training contracts as at 31 December 2025.

Apprentice and trainee activity is shaped by many factors, including labour market conditions, employer demand, student choices, training provider capacity and government funding. Broader trends should also be considered, particularly in the context of evolving Commonwealth and state and territory apprenticeship and traineeship policy settings over time, including system reforms and priority occupations, and changes to incentives (see the Timeline of Australian VET policy initiatives).

Seasonal patterns are also evident in the data. Commencements are typically higher in the March quarter as more apprentices and trainees begin training at the start of the year, while completions are generally higher in the December quarter as contracts conclude.

Data are presented quarterly and over a 12-month period to support analysis of both short-term movements and longer-term trends. Quarterly data refer to the December quarter, while 12-month data cover the year ending 31 December. In-training is a point-in-time measure as at 31 December each year, while cancellations should be considered alongside recommencements because apprentices and trainees frequently change employers and recommence training under a new contract.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) reports training activity using a trade and non-trade classification based on occupation. This approach supports nationally consistent reporting, as occupations approved for apprenticeship and traineeship contracts vary across jurisdictions. NCVER is also working to broaden reporting beyond training contracts by incorporating person-based measures, using unique apprentice and trainee identifiers. This will provide a more comprehensive view of pathways through the apprentice and trainee system and better reflect movement between contracts and employers.

Additional data are available from DataBuilder, VOCSTATS, and by request to NCVER.

Longer-term historical trends are available from the Apprentices and trainees 2025: 20-year time series – December quarter.

Key trends at a glance

Apprentices and trainees in training continue to decline

The number of apprentice and trainee active contracts continued to decline across both trade and non-trade occupations nationally. These declines are consistent with changes to government incentives and softening labour market conditions.

As at 31 December 2025, there were 282,430 active (in-training) apprentice and trainee contracts, with almost three-quarters in trade occupations. Total in-training contracts decreased by 8.6% (down 26,650) from 31 December 2024. This consisted of:

• trade contracts decreasing by 5.2% (down 11,510 to 208,950)
• non-trade contracts decreasing by 17.1% (down 15,125 to 73,475).

Commencements rise in December quarter

While apprentice and trainee in-training numbers and commencements declined over the 12 months to December 2025, quarterly data show a recent increase in commencements.

Compared with the December quarter in 2024:

• trade commencements increased by 12.5% (up 1,710 to 15,425)
• non-trade commencements decreased by 2.3% (down 295 to 12,645).

Fluctuations in trade commencements tend to coincide with labour market demand, business conditions and changes to government incentives.

Completions rise in the trades, and decline for non-trades

Trade completions have continued an upward trend since December 2023, while non-trade completions continued to decline. In the 12 months to December 2025, compared to the previous year:

• trade completions increased by 8.1% (up 3,985 to 53,390)
• non-trade completions decreased by 11.8% (down 5,720 to 42,670).

This pattern is consistent with higher commencements from 2020 to 2022, which are now flowing through to increased trade completions. Non-trade completions, which typically occur over a shorter duration, have already peaked and are now declining.

Occupations and skills shortages

Trade activity aligns with shortage occupations

Trade apprentices and trainees in-training remained concentrated in a small number of occupation groups. As at 31 December 2025, Construction Trades Workers, Automotive and Engineering Trades Workers, and Electrotechnology and Telecommunications Trades Workers together accounted for around 82% of all trade contracts in-training.

In the 12 months to 31 December 2025, trade commencements fell by 4.2% (down 3,390 to 76,585), marking the third consecutive annual decline. However, recent quarterly data indicate overall growth in trade commencements, alongside increases in several key shortage occupations (Jobs and Skills Australia 2025), including:

• Electricians, up 18.2% (by 410 to 2,675)
• Carpenters and Joiners, up 11.9% (by 200 to 1,880)
• Plumbers, up 12.2% (by 160 to 1,465).

In the 12 months to December 2025, trade completions reached record highs for Electrotechnology and Telecommunications Trades Workers, Automotive and Engineering Trades Workers, and Construction Trades Workers, reflecting the flow-through of higher commencements in earlier years. Compared with the previous year, growth in the number of trade completions was strongest among Electricians, Plumbers and Motor Mechanics.

Non-trade commencements and completions decline overall, but with growth in some shortage occupations

Non-trade apprentices and trainees in-training remain concentrated in a small number of occupation groups. As at 31 December 2025, Community and Personal Service Workers, Machinery Operators and Drivers, and Clerical and Administrative Workers together accounted for around 78% of all non-trade contracts in-training.

In the 12 months to 31 December 2025, non-trade commencements fell by 14.9% (down 10,450 to 59,715), continuing the decline from the peak observed in 2022.

Despite broader declines, quarterly increases were recorded in some occupations, including Welfare Support Workers, and Aged and Disabled Carers. Child Carers remained a shortage occupation across all states and territories and, despite falling commencements, continued to represent the largest proportion of non-trade commencements (19.2%).

Non-trade completions declined across many occupations, particularly among clerical, sales and labouring roles. However, completions increased in several shortage occupations, including Child Carers, and Aged and Disabled Carers, reflecting a more variable pattern across non-trade occupations.