The latest data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has found that the number of students enrolled in nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) has increased by 5.1% to 4.5 million between 2021 and 2022.
Most of the increase can be attributed to significant rises in domestic and international fee-for-service subject enrolments not delivered as part of nationally recognised programs, especially in health-related fields of education.
The Total VET students and courses 2022 report found that 25.0% of Australian residents aged 15 to 64 participated in nationally recognised VET in 2022, up from 24.0% in 2021. The highest participation group was Australian residents aged 15 to 19 at 45.7%.
Between 2021 and 2022, the number of students enrolled in nationally recognised programs decreased by 1.3% to 2.1 million, while the number of students enrolled in subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program increased by 10.4% to 3.0 million.
The most popular field of education for those subjects was health, which made up 67.6% of all subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program.
In 2022, both domestic and international fee-for-service numbers increased. Domestic numbers increased by 8.7% to 3.4 million, whilst international numbers increased by 6.2% to 226 675.
Government-funded students decreased by 5.2% to 1.3 million.
Overall student numbers have increased 11.3% between 2018 and 2022, except for 2020 which saw numbers decline following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background:
Total VET students and courses 2022 reports the number of students and enrolments in nationally recognised VET on a government-funded or fee-for-service basis, noting many students enrol in more than one type of training.
Download the report: Total VET students and courses 2022
Enquiries: Chantal Deutrom P: +61 8 8230 8418 E: chantaldeutrom@ncver.edu.au
About NCVER: we are the main provider of research, statistics and data on Australia’s VET sector. Our services help promote better understanding of VET and assist policy makers, practitioners, industry, training providers, and students to make informed decision.
This work has been produced by NCVER on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.