This report tracks vocational education and training (VET) student outcomes for the top 100 courses (by completion). This innovative approach to uncovering this data is the result of a collaborative project between Jobs and Skills Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

This report was made possible through a new data set, titled the VET National Data Asset or VNDA. It will assist Jobs and Skills Australia to provide advice on the adequacy of the Australian VET system, unlocking new insights and analysis possibilities.

Key findings:

• Overall, completing a VET course produces positive employment outcomes. The percentage of graduates who were employed after completing a VET course was 82.7%. Female students have comparable employment rates of 82.3%, however employment rates were lower for First Nations students (76.3%) and students with disability (61.7%).
• The courses with the highest levels of employment after training were concentrated in the Engineering and Related Technologies field.
• The courses with the lowest employment after training were Mixed Field Programmes and, at the lower end, Certificate I, II and III in Written and Spoken English.
• Courses in Society and Culture, Health, and Education had the highest employment change rates, including Certificate III in Individual Support (34.5 percentage points increase) and Certificate III in early Childhood Education and Care (31.1 percentage points). These fields tend to have a relatively high percentage of female completers, with pathways into careers in demand, such as Aged in Disabled Carers and Child Carers.
• Courses in the Management and Commerce field, such as the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, are well represented in the top courses with the highest median income. This indicates the role of VET for those who are not only completing a tertiary course for the first time, but for experienced professionals in the workplace to upskill for different roles.