by CLAIRE FIELD

We must lift participation, lift attainment and ensure learners from equity groups achieve the same outcomes as others students

Congratulations to the NCVER for the excellent work they have done on making data on equity group participation in, and outcomes from, VET so accessible

Of note is the:

* continuing underrepresentation of people with disability (5 per cent of VET students versus 18 per cent of the general population) and learners speaking a language other than English at home (12 percent  in VET versus 27 per cent of the population)

* high levels of participation in VET by Indigenous learners (5 per cent versus 3 per cent of the general population) but overwhelmingly in lower level Australian Qualification Framework courses (34 per cent of non-Indigenous students are in courses at Certificate IV and above compared with just 21 per cent of Indigenous students), and,

* strong VET participation rates and outcomes for remote learners.

What should shock everyone working in VET is that despite the incredible efforts of so many VET trainers and support staff, the sector has achieved so little over the years for people with disability, Indigenous learners and for those speaking a language other than English at home.

In 1992 Indigenous people were already overrepresented in VET (as a consequence of our school systems not providing them with sufficient support). Indigenous VET students were significantly over-represented in preparatory courses and under-represented in trades and paraprofessional courses.

Twenty-five years ago learners with a disability made up 3.3 per cent of VET students. Superficially the sector has increased enrolments for this group, but in 1997 numbers were undeniably under-reported due to the high proportion (22.7 per cent) who chose not to disclose their disability status. Today the proportion of students not reporting disability status is 12.7 per cent.

In 1998 people who spoke a language other than English at home comprised 13 per cent of the VET population, which was in line with their share of the population (13.9 per cent). The Australian population has since become much more multicultural and yet the VET student population has not reflected that change.

We need to ask ourselves honestly – in the last 30 years what have we achieved?

It goes without saying that individual lives have been changed – but far, far, too few of them.

With an election on the horizon it is beyond time for a truly bipartisan, national effort to refocus the VET sector on equity. We must lift participation, lift attainment and ensure learners from equity groups achieve the same outcomes as other VET students.

Claire Field is an adviser to the tertiary education sector