VET productivity measures are messy – but better than HE

The Universities Accord originally proposed a 60 (HE) – 40 (VET) qualification divide but now an even split is mentioned around the ministerial traps.

So, sooner or later, crazy-brave officials will have to work ways to measure productivity across the very different systems and the states.

Universities hate the idea of complying to system-wide performance metrics (ask a VC about QILT) but with training being pitched as the new big thing in job-generating economy-expansion, data on vocational education has super performance powers.

The new Productivity Commission report on the training system will not be especially newsy for followers of the estimable National Centre for Vocational Education Research’ data collection. But it will matter when the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission starts talking about resources with regard to “opportunities to expand the role of TAFEs.”

For example, there are a bunch of State-based training data that does not easily apply, or does not exist for universities but which would matter if there was an attempt to create a common resource fund, such as:

1. 87.1% of government‑funded 2023 VET qualification completers across the country reported that training “fully” or “partly” helped achieve their main reason for training.
2. Only half employers engage with the training system and overall, two-thirds are satisfied. Although, not so much with apprentices and trainees; in 2023 satisfaction was 73%, down 8% on 2015.
3. VET completers of government funded courses in 2024 who were subsequently in employment or further study was stable in the high 80%’s.
4. What isn’t as great as might be expected is that only 40% of total completers were at a higher AQF level on the previous qualification, 50% for those in government funded courses. Queensland was way-strongest.
5. Skill utilisation, working in the same occupation-field as highest qualification or in one where it is still relevant is marginally down on 2018, to 78%. (Sorry FC has no idea if this is ok, ordinary or awful against comparable countries).

And then there is government recurrent funding per teaching hour which exists for publicly-supported VET. Inevitably differences across State and Territory systems create a kennel of qualifications to a standard number, making any attempt to set comparable prices a dog’s breakfast. The 2023 hour-cost in Victoria was $18.90, it was $27.80 in the ACT.

But at least there are national numbers, which have more system credibility than the cost models underpinning the Job Ready Graduates university teaching model.