More SA students are opting to study ECEC, NCVER report shows

More South Australian tertiary students are choosing to study early childhood education and care (ECEC), along with other priority industries such as construction and electrotechnology, a new report from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows.

 

The NCVER’s Government-funded Students and VET Activity report – which covers the 2023 calendar year when South Australia’s Fee-Free-TAFE initiative was implemented – shows there were 72,095 government-funded vocational education students, a five per cent increase from 68,640 in 2022.

 

“South Australia recorded more than 72,000 government-funded students in 2023, an increase of 5 per cent from the previous year,” Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy Susan Close said. 

 

“We are in the midst of a skills shortage nationally, so to see the investment in the sector reflected in a higher number of students taking up courses in those critical areas, is really important. Particularly with the recently announced Housing Roadmap – there has never been more of a demand for those in the building and construction sector.”

 

The number of students is the largest in almost a decade, with the report also showing significant increases in government-funded program enrolments, hours of delivery and subject enrolments.

 

Qualification completions are also up – 19,900 compared to 18,500 in 2022. TAFE SA was boosted by an 11.3 per cent increase in 2023, with an additional 3,515 students, three percentage points above the national increase of 8.3 per cent and the third largest percentage increase in the nation.

 

“Having students enrolled and taking up critical training places is important for the growth of South Australia’s economy,” South Australian Skills Commissioner Cameron Baker said.

 

“It’s especially encouraging to see the number of female students, Aboriginal students and individuals living with a disability also on the rise. Opportunities in training need to be made available to everyone.”

 

‘I’m also pleased to see the continued increase in the number of completions. While commencements are important, we will only start addressing areas of critical workforce shortages if we continue to see completions rise.”

 

The top program enrolments were for Certificate III qualifications in Individual Support, Electrotechnology, and Early Childhood Education and Care; while a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and a Certificate IV in Information Technology remained popular.

 

The report is a summary of data relating to students, programs, subjects and training providers in Australia’s government-funded VET system in 2023. To view the full report please see here.