Moving on from enabling courses: Why do some students remain in enabling courses?

Purpose of this research

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the reasons why some students who have successfully completed an enabling course subsequently enrol in a course at the same level of qualification or re-enrol in the same enabling course. Phan and Ball (2001) used the term 'enabling' to describe the lower-level preparatory and pre-vocational courses in the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Key issues

One of the primary aims of enabling courses is to provide students with remedial education or preparatory activities to facilitate acquisition of the skills necessary for further studies or employment. Successful completion of an enabling course means that the student has demonstrated the competency standards prescribed for that qualification; for example, in South Australia, Certificate I in Employment Skills Training, Certificate II in Introductory Vocational Education (IVEC), or Certificate I, II and III in English Proficiency; and in New South Wales, Certificate I in Work Skills, Certificate I in Foundation and Vocational Education (FAVE), or Certificate II in General and Vocational Education (CGVE). In general, enabling courses are expected to lead to higher-level general or vocational studies or paid employment.

Through an analysis of the national VET surveys data, Phan and Ball reported positive outcomes for most of the students who completed enabling courses. However, they also reported the tendency for about one in every 12 students who re-enrolled in VET studies to enrol in the same enabling course in the following year. In addition, 48% of the enabling course graduates who re-enrolled in the VET sector the following year had undertaken a course at the same qualification level as the previous year. It appeared that an unacceptable number of people might remain in enabling courses for years.

In this study, the data from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) 2001 National VET Collection are analysed and compared with Phan and Ball's findings. Further information from three TAFE institutes in metropolitan and rural regions in South Australia and New South Wales elaborates the reasons why students re-enrol in the same course or at the same level of qualification. The case studies focused on students in enabling courses in vocational preparation, disability and Aboriginal education programs.

Findings

About 6% of the total number of students in public VET system courses in 2001 and 1998 were undertaking preparatory or pre-vocational courses; that is, 'enabling' courses. However, there is a higher proportion of the 'disadvantaged' groups in enabling courses than in mainstream VET courses. For example, students who left school before completing Year 10 are four times more likely to undertake enabling courses than those whose highest school attainment level was above Year 10. There is an even higher proportion of students who belong to more than one disadvantaged group in enabling courses than there are in mainstream VET courses. In addition, the analysis of data from the 2001 National VET Collection indicates an increasing proportion of students in the 15 to 19 years age group in enabling courses.

Is there a significant problem with students remaining in enabling courses? It appears not, as many of these students had, in fact, progressed to a more advanced course within the same level of qualification or diversified into other areas of learning; for example, to explore vocational or personal interests, such as office skills, information technology or horticulture.

TAFE staff note that, in many instances, the more important objective of enabling courses is to increase the student's self-esteem, confidence and motivation for further study or employment. In particular, students need to become independent learners who are motivated to succeed by their own goals or perhaps community goals, for example, in Aboriginal communities. Most Aboriginal students, like other students, need the motivation of employment opportunities at the end of their training to encourage them to continue with further study.

TAFE staff acknowledge that students who have completed an enabling course and who are looking for work are encouraged to continue in the same or a similar course in order to maintain their self-confidence and skill levels while seeking work. In addition, there are examples of students who complete an enabling course, obtain voluntary or paid work and subsequently re-enrol in the same course with increased self-esteem and motivation in order to achieve higher skill levels, especially in literacy and numeracy or English proficiency.

So, is there a residual group of students remaining in enabling courses who are still a problem? This study found that the return of students to enabling courses was a positive outcome, in that these students had increased self-esteem, and wanted to retain or improve their skills in the hope that they would obtain employment or gain community, personal and social benefits from further learning.

TAFE staff highlight that, for students in vocational preparation courses, there are often multiple barriers to learning to overcome in order to move on from enabling courses. These include low self-esteem, demoralising experiences at school, lack of schooling, immaturity, trouble with the law, and financial or health problems. Students who lack self-esteem or maturity take longer to find their areas of interest and so may remain longer, or try several enabling courses before achieving the self-confidence or motivation to continue with studies for a higher-level qualification. In addition, the 15 to 19-year-old unemployed people undertaking vocational preparation programs often require additional support services, including accommodation, rent assistance, suicide prevention, counselling and crisis intervention.

This report also comments on strategies to help students to move on from enabling courses to higher-level qualifications, paid employment or voluntary community work. Successful strategies include developing clear pathways for students, including work placements or work experience as part of the enabling course, encouraging students to gain either part-time or voluntary work, providing mentoring by mature-aged students or staff, and linking training to employment opportunities or encouraging students to set up small or cooperative business activities to use their skills and create employment opportunities.

Conclusions and implications

This research confirms that a small number of students, generally those with low-level skills in literacy and numeracy, re-enrol in the same enabling course while others re-enrol at the same level in another qualification. However, this outcome should not be considered negatively, as this study concludes that these students are still progressing to a more advanced level of study or exploring a different vocational area. Hence, they are gaining further skills and experience from their re-enrolment in enabling courses. The community also gains benefits through improved health of individuals and positive links between the community and VET. Considered essential however, is the provision of employment opportunities or practical work experience for students in enabling courses.