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Vet enrollments & funding on the slide – Productivity Commission

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The Productivity Commission’s annual review of government services for vocational education and training was released this week

It shows that enrollments in training and funding for training are down

This week the Productivity Commission released the annual Review of Government Services for vocational education and training (VET). The Review provides a snap shot of enrolments, funding, training providers and training satisfaction. 2018 saw a decrease in both enrolments (-1.5%) and funding (-4.0%) in comparison to 2017.

4.06 million Australians enrolled in VET courses in 2018, down slightly on the 4.12 million enrolled in 2017. Over half of enrolments were in Certificate III and IV level qualifications, 16 per cent in Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas and 21.4 per cent in Certificate I and II level programs. 1.1 million enrolments were government-funded, with over half of these also at the Certificate III and IV level.

Total funding for VET in 2018 was $6.02 billion, a decrease in real terms of 4.0 per cent on 2017 funding and 6.3% since 2009. Adjusting 2009 funding to 2018 dollars, Tasmania is the only state or territory to see an overall increase in VET funding, up 3.2 per cent on 2009 levels. South Australia and the ACT have experienced the most significant decreases since 2009 at 23.6 per cent and 23.0 per cent, respectively. In 2018, 20.7 per cent of total funding was provided to non-TAFE providers, a decrease of 8.0 per cent on 2017. Non-TAFE providers include schools, other government enterprises, private sector, community, industry and local government.

Changes total VET enrollments 2017 to 2018

There were 3,830 VET training providers registered in 2018. 1,747 of these providers received government funding, which was delivered in 30,485 locations.

In 2019, 88.6 per cent of government-funded VET graduates were satisfied with the overall quality of their training, 87.5 per cent were satisfied with their instructors and 89.5 per cent were satisfied with assessments. Employer satisfaction was also high, albeit lower than student satisfaction. VET graduates continue to have positive outcomes from training, with 86.2 per cent of graduates employed or in further study after completing their training.

In 2019, 69.2 per cent of employers were satisfied with all forms of VET training they engaged with. Satisfaction with apprenticeships and traineeships was higher at 77.7 per cent.

Download the full report

Ends…

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