How students are getting an edge with extra qualifications
The number of Queensland students studying VET courses in high school is set to soar with the qualifications now counting towards ATAR.
THE number of Queensland students studying VET courses in high school is set to soar with the qualifications now counting towards ATAR.
Students will now have their VET qualification at Certificate levels III, IV, Diploma and Advanced Diplomas count towards their ATAR alongside four general subjects.
In 2019, 22,503 Year 12 graduates achieved a VET Certificate I, II, III or IV qualification during their senior schooling and about 60 per cent of schools were registered to offer VET certificates and courses.
Vocational training: Taxpayers to bail out victims of dodgy VET courses
VET courses better than university for many students
Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry said VET counting towards an ATAR would open the door to university for many students.
Dr Perry said about 2100 Year 12 students at Queensland Catholic schools received either a Certificate III or Certificate IV in 2019 with a trend in uptake of higher-level VET programs.
“If you live in a mining area or a tourism area, being able to develop skills at school that would be useful in a local industry where there is ongoing demand for those skills gives students real and immediate career options.”
Independent Schools Queensland executive director David Robertson said VET had always been an important part of senior secondary with high participation rates across the state.
He said that there were 155 independent schools offering a VET program with an increase in the number of school-based trainees and apprentices – 1197 in 2018 up to 1275 in 2019.
Brisbane’s St James College has long had a focus on fostering students’ education through vocational courses, with 73 per cent of students in 2008 and 83 per cent of its 2019 cohort graduating with a VET qualification.
It was among the top Catholic schools with the most school leavers graduating with VET qualifications.
St James College assistant principal in learning and pathways, Kristina Dolejs, said all students were encouraged to gain qualifications in vocational education to ensure they had an edge over other graduates.
“St James has been strategic in ensuring that there are Certificate III qualifications in a variety of areas that would benefit students who are choosing an ATAR,” she said. “Vocational education is an important aspect of schooling, for all students and has therefore always had a focus and value given to it for students at St James.
“The skills embedded in vocational education are very much part of what studies have shown employers are looking for in terms of problem solving, communication, team work, resilience, autonomy, creative and critical thinking and digital literacy.”
It comes after long term growth in the numbers of students adding VET courses to their senior school course choices, with 31 schools having 100 per cent of students achieve a VET qualification last year.
Time is now for students to explore options for the future
