Elevating the Status of Vocational Education and Training (VET)

For argument's sake, imagine you are a student thinking about your future. You are intelligent and driven. You have a strong work ethic. You determine the traditional classroom environment is not the best fit for you. You don’t want to be burdened with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt. And you want to complete your course quickly, acquire job-ready skills and earn a starting wage of $2,000 more than the average university graduate.

What if we told you TAFE addresses all of these? Why, however, are some TAFE students struggling to complete their courses?

Recent data into fee-free TAFE course completion rates revealed that approximately forty percent of students complete their studies. This is a problem when one considers Australia’s projected skills shortages in the coming years. 300,000 new jobs in the construction industry will be required to address the housing crisis. An additional 110,000 aged-care workers will be required to provide basic standards of care for our swiftly ageing population. Our hospitals – still recovering from the pandemic and experiencing immense burnout – will require an additional 120,000 nurses. Given the urgency to create viable skilling pathways that fill these workforce demands, TAFE completion rates are vital to powering Australia’s economy into the future.

TAFE, admittedly, suffers from a status problem. It has been difficult to sell the benefits of a vocational pathway when, for years, university has been emphasised as the best, if not only, way to land a job. That isn't to say university does not have its place. Instead, as the recent Universities Accord highlighted, it is pivotal to articulate the benefits of both and create genuine pathways between each in a manner that 'harmonises', not compromises, the other. Universities alone cannot provide the flood of workers required to rectify predicted employment shortfalls. TAFE must help plug this gap – and quickly.

The House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training estimates that ‘over the next 10 years, around 44 per cent of all new jobs will require a VET qualification’. Yet, a report completed by Year 13 found that ‘47% of young Australians do not have a well-rounded understanding of TAFE’. Worse still, when they surveyed the parents of young people to determine what they thought provided the best pathway to a successful career, only 3% nominated TAFE. Is it any wonder enrolment and completion rates are faltering?

Germany, however, presents a different tale. Over there, vocational education and training is held in the same esteem as higher education. In fact, for some sectors, Germany’s dual training system is a preferred recruitment channel. It provides an excellent approach to skill development, where cooperation with industry combines the vital theory of classroom work with training in a real-life work environment. Students receive market-relevant training that improves their economic mobility and creates immediate impacts in the labour market – one that is constantly evolving its skill development in response to the dynamism of the digital age. This collaborative and skills-based approach has helped Germany enjoy the lowest youth unemployment rate in Europe at 5.8%. Comparatively, Australia's is 9.7%.

However, the horizon is not entirely dim in Australia. Inroads are being made to elevate the status of TAFE and provide it with the necessary tools to course correct. TAFEs, government and industry are reforming an out-of-date qualification system and prioritising skills development that meets the demands of the modern workforce. Selected TAFEs have been given the green light to pilot self-accrediting their own courses. This means they will have the power to create their own courses, align learning with industry needs, adapt learning requirements in real-time, differentiate themselves in the market, and provide competitive pathways that build real, transferable skills in line with our increasingly transformative job market.

But we need to get this message across if we are to deliver tangible outcomes. If we are to improve completion rates in TAFE, we need to get in front of students, parents and careers counsellors to sell the benefits of a system that prioritises both knowledge and practical learning. We need them to view TAFE as a meaningful and feasible pathway to living a prosperous life. And we need industry to remove its prejudices towards TAFE applicants. Because TAFE students deserve to be reassured that, upon completing their course, they are employable with real career prospects.

After all, good students must not be punished for making good choices. And TAFE is a great one.