As the economic impact of the pandemic began to bite last year then education minister Dan Tehan, went big on short courses at universities. If the success of VET is an indication he was on to something

The estimable National Centre for Vocational Education Research sets out VET student outcomes for 2020 in new research.

It finds short courses appealed to people in work who needed to increase their skills, with 82 per cent of completers employed when they started.

58 per cent of them had “improved employment status” after training and 49 per cent reported they “gained extra skills for my job.”

The vast majority surveyed thought this was all very good, with 93 per cent, “satisfied with the overall quality of training.”

Of course, short-courses may not suit all VET and HE teaching models, but micro-credential providers (Google and Coursera, for example, (CMM October 19) ) can help out.