What is Vocational Education and Training?!

May 7th, 2013

By William Cowie

You’ve probably heard of Vocational Education and Training (aka VET), what is it exactly? Why should you care about it? Read on!

What is Vocational Education and Training?

Vocational education and training is a way to describe a practical style of technical, or job related, training. You can study at a vocational school like Australian TAFEs or a private training organisation like Inspire Education. Many vocational courses offer the opportunity to learn by doing; demonstrating your skills in the real world, as well as through written assessments. Vocational courses are designed to teach you the skills you need to succeed in the workplace.

Vocational qualifications to suit everyone

You can also choose the qualification you need to start your career or take it to the next level. Once you’ve obtained one qualification, you can build on your training with higher level courses.

Start your child care career with a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care qualification

The Certificate III qualification in Early Childhood Education and Care is essential to start a career in child care. Then take your career to the next level with a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care.

Courses are offered at a number of levels:

• Certificate I – graduates will have the knowledge and skills for initial work, community involvement and/or further learning.

• Certificate II – graduates will have the knowledge and skills for work in a defined context and/or for further learning

• Certificate III – graduates will have theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for work and/or further learning

• Certificate IV – graduates will have theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for specialised and/or skilled work and/or further learning

• Diploma – graduates will have specialised knowledge and skills for skilled/paraprofessional work and/or further learning

• Advanced Diploma – graduates will have broad knowledge and skills for paraprofessional/highly skilled work and/or further learning

Vocational training also offers a pathway into higher education. Depending on your qualifications, universities can provide you with credit towards a degree. You’ll have the advantage of practical skills from vocational education & training, as well as high-level theory learnt at university!

Heaps of industries to choose from

VET covers a broad range of careers and industries including trades, engineering, building, horticulture, land management, office work, business, management, sports and recreation, community services, health, retail, tourism, hospitality, and technology!

Phew!

Vocational school – Study anywhere in Australia, work anywhere in Australia!

That’s right, you can study your accredited course with any registered training organisation in Australia (like Inspire Education!) and your qualifications will be recognised nationwide. You can check which courses an organisation has approval to deliver training and/or assessment in, using the Government’s database, training.gov.au. Here’s ours: Inspire Education at training.gov.au!

What kind of vocational qualification would your trainers have?

To teach you a vocational course, your trainer needs to have done that course themselves (or a higher level version). Your trainer will also have completed a specialised training course to qualify as a trainer: TAE40110, the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (or ‘train the trainer’ qualification as it’s often known).

So what are you waiting for? Enrol in vocational education and training!

Vocational training is perfect for developing and formalising your skills in many professions and trades. Don’t put it off – get started today and you’ll be finished in no time.