Blog: Vocational Education and Training Helps Students Get Ahead in Life
Written by Cara Jenkin
More than nine in 10 jobs that are forecast to be created in the next 10 years will require workers to have obtained a qualification after finishing high school.
For almost half of them, a vocational education and training (VET) qualification such as a diploma, advanced diploma, certificate III or IV and/or an apprenticeship and traineeship will be key to being employed.
Jobs and Skills Australia reports a near even split between university (52%) and VET qualifications (48%) being required for those new jobs that require a post-school qualification.
However, students who choose the vocational education and training pathway – or at least at first – can have just as good or better career and lifestyle prospects than those who focus on obtaining a high ATAR and moving straight into a university degree.
Hugo Kregar, 22, is already a homeowner, having earned a wage while learning his carpentry trade and gaining practical skills for his dream to one day run his own building company.
He actually wanted to go straight from school into university to study a Bachelor of Construction Management but his parents persuaded him to start with an apprenticeship first.
“It was between studying construction management or completing an apprenticeship and my parents told me completing an apprenticeship would give me the best understanding of what happens on construction sites and gives me greater skills when completing a construction management degree,” he says.
“I’d have the first-hand knowledge of what happens on site and that practical knowledge as well.”
In the end, Hugo didn’t have to choose between higher or vocational education. He started his construction management degree in the second year of his apprenticeship, completing both at the same time.
“It’s been very time consuming but it’s been great,” he says.
“I’ve been able to learn what happens on site while also studying my construction management course; I can compare the two and refer back to my apprenticeship on a lot of topics as well.
“It’s given me a far better understanding and has put me in a better position, compared to my other construction management peers.”
By taking the apprenticeship pathway first, Hugo also was earning an income while completing his trade training as well as his university study.
“That’s one of the reasons why I undertook an apprenticeship, for the opportunity of getting paid and earning a living and getting ahead in life,” he says.
“I’ve bought a block of land and I’m renovating the house.”
Through his apprenticeship he was invited to work with various industry and VET organisations, which has also helped him to develop leadership skills.
“I’ve loved being a leader and that’s what I’ve always aspired to be – a leader in the construction industry – and completing an apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to do so,” he says.
“VET has been a game changer for me as it has provided me with so many opportunities.
“It has given me the opportunity to be a leader in construction industry, it’s provided me with the opportunity to meet and work with so many incredible people, organisations and companies.
“It’s also given me the opportunity to get ahead in life and the opportunity to gain further knowledge and education in a high demand sector.”
Hugo actually started his trade training in high school, undertaking a VET construction course as part of his school studies.
VET programs in schools give students in Years 9 to 12 the opportunity to try career pathways, learn skills to get a headstart in their career or kick off their apprenticeship or traineeship while gaining credits for their high school certificate.
Students can complete one subject, several units to partially complete a qualification, or undertake a full qualification, including a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship.
All can be used as credits towards gaining a high school certificate, regardless of whether they go on to pursue a career or further study in the area after they finish school.
The vocational education and training component may also be used to form the student’s ATAR if they decide to do want to pursue university.
In 2022, there were 242,945 people participating in VET programs at school, equal to about 27% of the 15-19-year-olds who were attending school.
Students most commonly were gaining skills in tourism, hospitality, sport and recreation, business services, construction and plumbing, at a certificate II or III level.
Of them, 20,765 students in Years 10, 11 or 12 were undertaking a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship, working for an employer and obtaining a recognised qualification while completing their high school certificate.
That is what Cyrus Wren, 20, did and it paid off immensely, as he does not know where he would be without it.
He was so disengaged with school that he was not even attending much of the time, obtaining D and E grades for his subjects.
In order to complete Year 12, his school identified he may be more suited to the workplace than the classroom, so organised for him to complete work experience and then suggested an Australian School-based Apprenticeship (ASbA).
“They said, ‘Cyrus, why wait until you’re 18 to start this career? Why don’t you consider exploring a school-based apprenticeship option?’,” he says.
“I wasn’t really familiar with that, so they explained it to me.
“A school-based apprenticeship essentially is an opportunity for any young person over the age of 15 to go to school like normal, three to four days a week, and then the other one to two days a week they spend with an employer.
“They are getting paid real money, working, studying a nationally recognised qualification and still going to school and working towards your senior secondary certificate.
“I suppose a good summary is it’s an opportunity for a young person to work, study and get paid – all of that at the same time.”
Students complete fewer school subjects as their ASbA work and study load replaces them.
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Cyrus applied for an ASbA with the ACT Education Directorate and completed it during Year 12.
“My school-based apprenticeship really helped me reengage with school because I had a plan at that stage,” he says.
“I was going to finish my ASbA, get my qualification, which was the Certificate III in Business, get my Year 12 certificate and then hopefully find full-time work.
“I had that reason to go to school and those Ds and Es (grades) turned into As and Bs.”
His ASbA led to an offer of a traineeship and further study in project management. A Diploma in Leadership and Management is next on the cards.
“I didn’t know what I was interested in. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t have any goals or passions or aspirations,” he says.
“The first thing VET changed for me was finding a passion.
“I truly think if I didn’t engage with VET when I was at school, I certainly wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.
“Whether you’re disengaged like I was at school, whether you’re school captain, whether you’re someone who has dreams of becoming a lawyer or a doctor or a rocket scientist, whatever it is you want to do, there’s a VET pathway out there that can support you to achieve those goals.”
National Centre for Vocational Education Research data shows about 50% of students who did not have a job when they started their qualification had one by the end of it, while 38% of students who did have a job before they started their VET course got a better one once they finished studying.
Completion rates, however, can seem low, as the data shows of those students who commenced their training in 2018, only 47.6% of them completed it.
However, some training providers have higher rates than others.
Enterprise providers, such as businesses that train their workers in accredited qualifications, schools and private training providers recorded the highest VET qualification completion rates at 58%, 50.4% and 49.2% respectively.
The most common reasons why students do not finish their training was that they changed jobs or left because of personal reasons.
However, training not being as expected was also cited by 11% of students.
This may be because they selected the wrong trade or received the wrong advice before enrolling in the qualification.
A pre-vocational or pre-apprenticeship course, such as a certificate I or II or other training program, equips students with the basic skills required for the job.
It can provide insight about whether it is a career for them in six months or less, before they embark on a three or four-year apprenticeship.
Meanwhile, many major employers conduct apprenticeship programs to help support students through their training while giving them the skills to kickstart a career with the company.
They include Komatsu Australia, which won the 2023 Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award at the Australian Training Awards for its apprentice program that provides mentoring, public speaking, mental health awareness and business skillsets as well as the technical skills required for successful careers.
Group training organisations are another employment avenue that apprentices and trainees can take.
GTOs can provide extra support to apprentices which can increase the chances they complete their training.
This includes talking through career options with potential apprentices and trainees to ensure they choose the right vocation as well as address any problems that may arise during their training.
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS TO HELP THEIR CHILD MAKE CAREER DECISIONS ARE AVAILABLE AT MYFUTURE.EDU.AU
Cara