by CLAIRE FIELD
Following the release of the data on all 2020 VET activity (fee-for-service and government-funded), last week saw the release of the first three months of government-funded data for 2021. With five years of comparable data available it is possible to see trends over that period, as well as in the last twelve months, as governments invested in VET as a response to COVID-19.
Firstly, what is noticeable is that, despite all of the efforts of the VET sector to create national Training Packages tightly aligned to specific industry needs (and with state/territory government approval needed on the content of all Training Packages) – non-training package enrolments consistently comprise approximately 20 per cent of all government-funded activity.
While 80 percent are in TAFEs and other government providers, in 2021 these non-training package enrolments at independent providers increased 185 percent on 2020 figures.
Between January and March 2021, the Training Packages with the highest enrolments were:
* Community Services (161,695)
* Non-Training Package (146,750)
* Construction, Plumbing and Services (71,450)
* Business Services (57,340)
* Health (47,080)
* Electrotechnology (41,075)
* Tourism, Travel and Hospitality (33,180)
* Automotive Industry Retail, Service and Repair (30,410)
* Metal and Engineering (24,495)
* Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management (22,875)
Unsurprisingly, given COVID-19, the largest increases in government-funded enrolments in the first three months of 2021 compared with 2020 were in Health (23 per cent increase) and Community Services (22 per cent), compared with an overall increase of 11 percent.
The number of government-funded students in VET in the first three months of 2021 was 18 per cent higher than in 2017, and differences were apparent by provider type:
* TAFEs and other government providers (16 per cent increase)
* Independent providers (26 per cent)
* Community providers (-3 per cent)
* Other providers (33 per cent)
The annual increase in government-funded students was lower (up 11 percent between January – March 2020 and 2021) and some jurisdictions prioritised independent and other providers in 2021 while others prioritised TAFE.
Overall independent providers experienced a 24 percent increase between 2020 and 2021, TAFE student numbers rose just six percent, and government-funded students in community providers declined (-7%).
Further analysis is available on my website.
Claire Field is an advisor to the tertiary education sector