Vocational Education and Training (VET) graduates have an income uplift of $11,800 p.a., according to a new report from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).
The Strong and Responsive VET Pathways report provides findings on the economic, employment and further study outcomes for 2019-20 VET graduates over various student characteristics and approximately 500 qualifications.
“Education improves lives. It increases median incomes, reduces dependency on income support, and opens pathways to further study,” said JSA Commissioner, Professor Barney Glover.
“The picture that’s emerging as a result of our work, is that there’s an over-reliance on university that actually goes against the evidence of the value of VET education and its benefits.”
“Parents, teachers, career advisors – we all need to be talking about the benefits of VET qualifications to individuals’ standard of living and to address Australia’s skills gap.”
The report highlights the positive economic and employment outcomes for VET graduates, including amongst First Nations students, women and students with disability. First Nations VET graduates gain a median income uplift of $13,000. Female graduates had a 17 percentage point increase in their employment rate. In addition, around 1 in 5 graduates with disability (21%) progressed to higher-level VET study.
VET graduate cohorts with the highest median income uplifts were apprentices and trainees with an increase of $25,800 and graduate diploma/certificate holders with an uplift of $23,700. Regional and remote graduates had a higher median income uplift than those in major cities, receiving $12,900 and $12,700 respectively against the major city graduates’ figure of $11,500.
VET qualifications also result in a reduction of reliance on income support. Thirty-nine percent of students who were on income support before studying were no longer on income support two years after completing their studies.
Employment rates also lift with VET qualifications. Nationally, graduates see an uplift of 15 percentage points to 84% in the year following completion.
The report also makes apparent the importance of VET in creating pathways to higher-level training, with 40% of Certificate I graduates progressing to higher-level VET qualifications, and 22% of advanced diploma graduates progressing to higher education.
The full report is available here.
Media contact: media@jobsandskills.gov.au
