First Nations people are increasingly choosing vocational education and training pathways to give them the right skills and experience to build successful and fulfilling careers.
VET qualifications are helping students to complete their high school certificate as well as put them on the path to further study when they finish Year 12, including higher education, that quickly leads to full-time employment and career satisfaction.
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show in 2021, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had obtained a Certificate III or Certificate IV qualification as their highest level of study beyond school.
The proportion was up from about one in 10 (9.4 per cent) recorded in 2001.
Another 8 per cent held a Diploma or Advanced Diploma, up from 3.1 per cent 20 years prior, while 6.6 per cent held a bachelor degree, up from 3.1 per cent in 2001.
Jobs and Skills Australia research reveals VET is a particularly important pathway into employment for First Nations students living in regional and remote areas.
It finds, for example, high proportions of people who identify as Indigenous among VET enrolments from very remote areas of the Northern Territory (69.2 per cent), Western Australia (47 per cent), Queensland (38.8 per cent) and South Australia (35.9 per cent).
For many First Nations VET graduates, including Taylor Hampton and Lawson Connor, vocational education and training allows them to learn the skills they need to progress through their careers while they are working.
It also helps them to find and pursue their passion and gives them the confidence to continue learning and apply for new work opportunities.
TAYLOR’S STORY
Taylor Hampton, 33, has completed four VET qualifications, with his first beginning as soon as he finished Year 12.
A school advisor suggested he apply for an Aboriginal traineeship, which included studying a Certificate II in School Support Services, at a school in his hometown of West Wyalong in NSW.
He says university wasn’t something he was interested in, nor was it pushed upon him, but he thought the traineeship would be a good opportunity and something more than just any job after he finished school.
“I just took that and I had no idea what it was all about,” he says.
“I did that traineeship for two years, which was something I’ll always remember, because it was the start of my journey in terms of working with young people in communities.
“I was a sports coach when I was younger anyway but that’s really where it all kind of started, because when I was working in schools, I was working with young people, I really enjoyed that.”
READ MORE: Smart and Skilled qualifications subsidised by the NSW Government
He says studying the VET qualification was “completely different” to school, as he was learning things he was really passionate about and wanted to pursue as a career.
“I don’t think that I wasn’t smart enough – I reckon if I tried I probably would have succeeded in school – but it wasn’t something that I had that interest in so I just didn’t take it very seriously,” he says.
“I think probably the reason why school and vocational education is different is because I got to choose what I wanted to do in vocational education.
“Youth work was something I was really passionate in, something I really wanted to pursue so I think because I had that motivation and it’s what I wanted to do, I had a lot more investment in these courses and in these qualifications.
“If I wanted to work in community, if I wanted to work with young people or, in terms of the the latest course I studied, if I wanted to become the best leader and best manager I can be, I’ve got to really put the work and put the effort into these courses and take it seriously.
“I could see that was where my future was leading and these were the courses that led me to where I am today.”
After his traineeship, Taylor continued working in the youth services sector until he relocated to Albury and decided to pursue further study.
He juggled working in a pub with studying his dual qualification, Certificate IV in Youth Work and Community Services at Wodonga TAFE, then the following year, commenced a Diploma in Youth Work.
That enabled him to get his first full-time job as a youth justice worker.
READ MORE: Bradley Maynard’s story
After several years working in various roles, the opportunities vocational education and training could provide to him were presented to him again, this time by his manager, who suggested he further his skills in leadership by studying a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management at Kangan Institute.
“My manager was supporting me in whatever leadership style that I was doing at the time, and said ‘I can see that you’re going to be a really strong leader one day and I think this would be a great opportunity for you to take what you know and expand that into theory, and hopefully one day, you’ll be able to take up some further opportunities’,” he says.
“I took everything out during that course and was able to use what I learned in the course almost immediately in my work.”
His newly developed skills led to a new opportunity as an active program manager before he even finished the Certificate IV.
“I don’t think I would have been confident enough to take that on if I didn’t have the skills,” he says.
“I want to gain some more skills in my leadership style and see where my career takes me with this new qualification and then down the track I’ll probably do some more studying.”
READ MORE: Education and training opportunities offered by the QLD Government
As a senior facilitator in the learning development team at Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA), he says he loves working with people, sharing his culture and his passion.
“I didn’t have a lot of cultural knowledge and there wasn’t a lot of cultural knowledge that was shared when I was a young fella growing up,” he says.
“I was able to kind of create my own journey and my own pathway into who I wanted to be, where I wanted to go and through that I gained a lot of cultural knowledge and that sense of belonging, that sense of purpose, sense of pride.
“I have that willingness to share what’s been passed to me so I can pass that down to people who are willing to learn, willing to listen, willing to understand and ask questions and have some more in-depth conversations.
“The role that I’m in gives me that opportunity to do that day in, day out.”
His success in VET saw him being nominated for awards including Victorian Koorie Student of the Year leading to him being a finalist in the Australian Training Awards.
“If you asked me 10 years ago, if this would be where I am, I’d tell you that you’re dreaming,” he says.
“It’s not something that was that I thought I’d be where I’d be.
“The role that I’m in and the work that I’m doing at VACCA and the work that we’re doing in general, it’s just phenomenal working in community and that’s the opportunity I get to do.”
READ MORE: Fee-free vocational education and training courses offered by the SA Government
LAWSON’S STORY
Lawson Connor, 17, has experienced the health sector first hand as a patient, with epileptic seizures causing him to be taken to hospital in an ambulance many times.
This led him to consider a career working in the health sector, where he would not be stuck in an office environment and could engage with people as well as care for them at critical times, including help to save their lives.
READ MORE: Jessica Addo’s story
Around the time he was completing Year 9 at Gungahlin College in Canberra, ACT, a careers advisor at his school found a Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance course being offered as a school-based apprenticeship through Indigenous Allied Health Australia’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy.
He had no idea what allied health was – just that it was in the health field.
But through the school-based apprenticeship, which he undertook in Year 10, he was able to experience almost all disciplines of healthcare through more than 200 hours of clinical placements.
“From this experience I knew I definitely wanted to do paramedicine, given my personal experience having been involved with the ambulance service quite often, given the seizures,” he says.
“Every time I’d have to call an ambulance, it was always at the back of my mind that it was a (career) option.
“Having proper work experience in the healthcare system, I realised paramedicine is definitely what I want to do.
“I really like that emergency care.”
At first, that seemed unattainable. He forged ahead with his allied health course but as his health issues had caused him to miss a lot of traditional school, he knew he would not get the Year 12 results to allow him to apply for a paramedicine degree.
“I know I wanted to do paramedicine, but I didn’t have a pathway because I wasn’t going to get an ATAR, which was a bit scary,” he says.
Then, he remembered his careers advisor had told him his university accepted certificate III qualifications and experiences as an entry pathway into the bachelor degree, so he did not need an ATAR.
“A lot of stress is put on to students to get an ATAR and I’m very lucky I didn’t have that pressure,” he says.
Today, he is studying paramedicine, combining it with a Certificate III in Ambulance Communications while working as a Triple 0 call taker.
READ MORE: Kevin Wilson’s story
“I loved vocational education so much because I really thrive in that practical kind of environment,” he says.
“I knew that’s how I learned best and vocational education really offered that.
“I saw advertising for a Triple 0 call taker in the ACT and it was a program where they train you and you get your certificate out of it.
“I thought absolutely it’s really good industry experience, especially for the role I want to go into with paramedicine. I started that a couple of months ago and have been loving it.”
He has enjoyed empowering people to health, such as helping people to regain their ability to walk, and guiding others to save lives by providing CPR in emergency situations.
“It’s more than rewarding, it’s just so special,” he says.
“Not everyone gets to experience it, so I’m very privileged and I really love the job.”
VET IS AN OPTION THAT MUST BE EXPLORED
Taylor says there may be a sense of uncertainty held by many First Nations people around whether they are smart enough or good enough to further their education after school.
“For me, that’s exactly how I felt, especially going into this leadership and management course, I was worried that I wasn’t even going to be able to complete it,” he says.
“But with the support through Kangan Institute that they were offering – there were a lot of opportunities for flexibility around our course and around our studies – I think that’s something that is now offered for our students to continue on through their studies.
“It was a sign of relief for me because it’s not something that I thought I would be able to complete, but with the flexibility they were offering, working full time and studying at the same time was easier.”
Online and face-to-face classes help students to work while they study, while tutoring sessions offline also help students fulfil their assessments.
Lawson, meanwhile, encourages First Nations students to make the most of the vocational education and training opportunities on offer while they are still at school.
“I really do like school-based apprenticeships because it’s an area you have a passion for, and if you have a passion for it, then you can really thrive in that area,” he says.
“I didn’t even know it existed before I started doing it and my friends still barely understand it.
“It’ll take you pretty much everywhere you want to go.”
When contemplating your life after school, remember to Explore All The Options
Cara Jenkin is a freelance journalist with more than 20 years’ experience working in the print, digital and television media. It included 10 years as the editor of NewsCorp’s Careers employment section, covering topics ranging from education and training to workplace.