National Skills Agreement to lift VET completion rates

Boosting VET completion rates will be one of the key elements in a new National Skills Agreement, according to the Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor.

O’Connor says that, together with other state and territory ministers, he will be looking at “myriad ways we can improve the completion rates”.

“It’s going to be subject to discussions with all state and territory governments and industry when we are negotiating the National Skills Agreement.

“I’m inviting people to put forward their views as to how we improve the approach because, to date, the just-over 50 per cent completion rate which has been around now for close to a decade is not acceptable,” he says.

“One thing we do know is that if you invest in areas of emerging and existing demand, there is a greater likelihood of completion because people can see a line of sight between their training or education and that job.

“We also know that if we engage more with industry and industry engages more with training providers, like TAFEs, then there is, again, more chance of finishing that apprenticeship because [students] feel a greater confidence about using those skills in the labour market.”

Photo courtesy of PEER.