Collapse in training numbers continues says new data

The vocational education and training (VET) system is continuing its long term decline with further falls reported in student numbers by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

While student numbers fell in 2018 by a modest 1.5 per cent to 4.1 million people, this represented a fall in full-year training equivalents (FYTEs) of 6.3 per cent to 1.1 million.

The decline was across all qualification levels, with the largest falls in courses at he level of diploma and above.

In summary from 2015 to 2018:

# domestic fee-for-service students increased by 13.7 per cent to three million while FYTEs decreased by 7.0 per cent to 424,600.

# government funded students decreased by 7.3 per cent to 1.2 million and FYTEs decreased by 14.7 per cent to 526,100.

# international fee-for-service students increased by 37.3 per cent to 194,600 and FYTEs increased by 37.1 per cent to 120,000.

# students enrolled in nationally recognised programs decreased by 16.2 per cent to two million.

# students enrolled in subjects not delivered as part of a nationally recognised program increased by 46.6 per cent to 2.5 million

The most popular recognised training programmes are in business services, followed b management and commerce and society and culture.

The 400,000 enrolments in society and culture programmes exceeded the 368,000 studying engineering and related technologies.

In other developments since 2015 – by 2018 the number of government funded students had fallen by 7.3 per cent to 1.2 million, partly offset by a 37 per cent rise in international students to 194,600.

Picture: NCVER

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.