The Australian government funds vocational education and training (VET) to help individuals develop the skills and knowledge needed for employment. Contracted training organisations deliver this funding, available to both Commonwealth and state or territory government-funded training.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) collects and analyses data on government-funded students and courses in Australia. The latest publication summarises the data for January to September 2022, with comparisons to the same period in the previous year.
Student Enrolment
Between January and September 2022, 1,055,585 students were enrolled in government-funded VET in Australia, a 6.1% decrease from the same period in 2021. Of these students, 1,026,450 were enrolled in nationally recognised training, while 52,200 were enrolled in non-nationally recognised training.
Most government-funded students in nationally recognised VET were enrolled in training package qualifications (853,625 students or 83.2%). Accredited qualifications comprised 7.9% of enrolment, while training package skill sets and accredited courses accounted for 2.6% and 3.6% of enrolments, respectively. The remaining 7.3% of enrolments were in locally developed skill sets and courses, and 1.7% were in stand-alone nationally recognised subjects.
On the other hand, non-nationally recognised VET had 31,400 students enrolled in non-nationally recognised programs, 20,770 students in stand-alone non-nationally recognised subjects, and 115 students in higher education qualifications.
Student Enrolment by Training Providers
In the first nine months of 2022, TAFE institutes had the highest enrolment of government-funded students, with 564,310 students or 53.5%. Other government providers, community education providers, private training providers, and other training providers had 45,050 students (4.3%), 51,145 students (4.8%), 366,640 students (34.7%), and 62,750 students (5.9%), respectively.
Provider Reporting Type
In the first nine months to 30 September 2022, 1,420 training providers delivered government-funded VET across Australia. These providers include:
| Provider Reporting Type | 2021 | 2022 |
| TAFE institutes | 24 | 24 |
| Other government providers | 10 | 10 |
| Community education providers | 304 | 283 |
| Private training providers | 948 | 937 |
| Other training providers | 226 | 217 |
| Total | 1460 | 1420 |
Program Enrolments
In the first nine months of 2022, there were 1,245,845 government-funded VET program enrolments in the country, a 5.6% decrease from the same period in 2021. Of these, 84.5% were in qualifications, while 5.6% were in training package skill sets and accredited courses, 6.9% were in locally developed programs, and 2.9% were in non-nationally recognised programs.
Most qualifications were training package qualifications (77.3%), while accredited qualifications made up 7.2% of program enrolments. The most popular field of education was Engineering and related technologies (206,085 or 16.5%), followed by society and culture (185,410 or 14.9%).
Nationally Recognised Qualification Enrolments
Between January and September 2022, there were 1,052,985 government-funded nationally recognised qualification enrolments in Australia, a 2.5% decrease from the same period in 2021. The most popular level of education was Certificate III, with 527,285 enrolments or 50.1%, followed by Certificate IV, with 210,635 enrolments or 20.0%. The remaining enrolments were in Diploma and higher education qualifications.
The government-funded students and courses report provides valuable insights into the enrolment of students, programs, subjects, and training providers in Australia’s government-funded VET system. The data for the first nine months of 2022 showed a decrease in enrolment compared to the same period in 2021, with TAFE institutes and private training providers being the most popular. Engineering and related technologies and Society and culture were the most popular fields of education. These insights can inform policy decisions and ensure that the VET system is meeting the needs of students and the Australian workforce.
