Notes on the data: Education

Participation in vocational education and training - Aboriginal and total population, 2021

Policy context: Vocational education and training (VET) refers to post-compulsory education and training (excluding degree and higher level programs delivered by further education institutions) which provides people with occupational or work-related knowledge and skills [1]. VET also includes programs which provide the basis for subsequent vocational programs. VET qualifications include certificates, diplomas, trade certificates, traineeships and other qualifications awarded by Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges and other training providers [2]. VET programs may be government-funded, or delivered on a fee-for-service basis by public or private providers. For school-aged participants, VET programs offer industry-specific skills and pathways to further study and initial employment opportunities [2].

Participation in VET programs is higher among the Indigenous population than the non-Indigenous population, an age-standardised rate of 19.2 (Indigenous) and 16.7 (non-Indigenous) persons per 100 population, respectively, with a total population participation of 16.8 persons per 100 population. For many younger Indigenous Australians, VET is principally an alternative to schooling as a means for continuing education and training, while for younger non-Indigenous Australians, it complements twelve years of schooling [3].

References

Naidu R, Stanwick J, Frazer K. Glossary of VET, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Adelaide. 2013.
Gørgens T, Ryan C. The impact of additional educational qualifications for early school leavers. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training; 2006.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Taskforce on Indigenous Education. Exploring multiple pathways for Indigenous students: discussion paper. Carlton, Victoria: Curriculum Corporation for MCEETYA; 2001.

Notes: Vocational education and training (VET) data includes all VET activity delivered in Australia to Australian residents by government providers (TAFE institutes, Universities and other government providers), community education providers, enterprise providers, private training providers and schools.

NCVER uses an ABS coding index (click here for more information) to allocate data with partial address information to a single SA2 area. Coding indexes are tables that list a geographic area against its most appropriate match; data for addresses not in this index are included in the Australia total only (approximately 9% of NCVER records are affected).

Details of data presented

Separate data are presented for:

Aboriginal population participation in VET
Total population participation in VET

Note: Non-Indigenous data for VET can now be found in the Indigenous status comparison atlas. The difference between the total population figures and the sum of Aboriginal and non-Indigenous figures arises from unknown Indigenous status and data compilation issues.

Geography: Data available by Population Health Area, Local Government Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage of area and Quintiles within PHNs, and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Aboriginal or total students participating in vocational education and training

Denominator: Aboriginal (usual resident population) or total Estimated Resident Population

Detail of analysis: Indirectly age-standardised rate per 100 population; and/or indirectly age-standardised ratio, based on the Australian standard

Source:

Aboriginal students: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research DataBuilder (https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/data/databuilder), 2021; and the Aboriginal usual resident population, 2021

Total students: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research DataBuilder (https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/data/databuilder), 2021; the ABS Estimated Resident Population, 30 June 2021.