Enrolments in ECEC continue to trend in South Australia

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) continues to be a trending choice for those pursuing vocational education and training (VET) in South Australia. 

ECEC is one of the priority areas in terms of training and upskilling for the state, with the enrolments in ECEC continuing strong numbers seen since 2022. 

The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) Government Funded Students and Courses January – September 2024 report shows that across all courses and qualifications there were 65,300 government funded vocational education students during the time period covered, 4,385 more than there were in 2022 and a rise of 7.2 per cent.

The number of students is up 13.1 per cent compared with the same time in 2019.

The number of course enrolments aligned to South Australian Government priority areas, including education, care, construction, defence and manufacturing and clean energy, have increased by 2.9 per cent compared to 2023.

The key priority areas are:

• Engineering and related technologies program enrolments are up 4.2 per cent
• Society and culture (which includes mental health, community services, disability and aged care) enrolments are up 18.3 per cent
• Architecture and building enrolments are up 6.6 per cent
• Education (inc. ECEC) enrolments are up 16.7 per cent

Importantly, the Fee-Free TAFE initiative is increasing access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with almost 450 more South Australian students attending TAFE between January – September 2024.

There were 33,785 government funded vocational education students attending TAFE, an increase of 4,905 or 17 per cent from 2022.

For South Australia, there were increases in the number of vocational education students, compared to 2023:

• Those attending secondary school: by 10.1 per cent to 8,625
• Studying a Certificate II level course: by 9.2 per cent to 8,840
• Those aged 24 years and under: by 3.3 per cent to 28,590
• Those reporting a disability: by 0.9 per cent to 5,660.

“We want more South Australians training in the areas our economy needs – and today’s data confirms we are successfully building the workforce pipeline we need in areas like early childhood, building and construction and defence,” Education Minister Blair Boyer said.

“We are not taking our foot off the pedal when it comes to supporting South Australians to get the skills they need in the areas we need them most.”