VET FOCUS

If you are wondering how a VET course can assist you in your chosen career pathway – we have some real-life examples of how we have been able to assist our students over the past two years.

By undertaking Structured Work Placements, you meet the employers who will potentially hire you at the end of your VET course, or at the end of year 11 or 12, depending when you choose to enter the workforce.

In the past two years, we have placed students in School-Based Apprenticeships (SBATs) which have gone on to become full time apprenticeships in the following areas: electrotechnology, plumbing, building & construction, horticulture & agriculture, hairdressing, beauty services and automotive.

VET MYTHS VERSUS FACTS

Myth 1: University graduates earn more than VET graduates.

Fact: University and VET both offer a wide range of qualifications that lead to a wide range of salaries. The salary you earn is a result of your qualification and what you do with it – not where you get it.

To put this into perspective, the highest average starting salary for a university graduate is $78,300 (Dentistry) (The Social Research Centre 2018). The highest average starting salary for a VET graduate is $91,000 (Certificate IV in Hazardous areas – Electrical) (myskills 2018).

Myth 2: There are fewer job opportunities for VET graduates.

Fact: More than half of all new jobs projected to be created by 2022 will be achievable with a VET qualification.

57% of new jobs projected by 2022 will be achievable with a VET qualification (Labour Market Information Portal 2017).

Myth 3: You cannot go to university if you do VET at school.

Fact: You can still go to university if you do VET at school.

If you are a VCE student, VET can be used in the calculation of your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).  If you do not achieve the ATAR you need, or if you are a VCAL student, undertaking a VET qualification may give you an alternative pathway to university.

Myth 4: VET courses delivered to secondary students are not the same as VET courses delivered to everyone else.

Fact: VET courses delivered to secondary students are identical to VET courses delivered to everyone else.

VET has national standards. The same standards apply to everyone undertaking a qualification.