Income uplift of $11,800 linked with holding a VET qualification

People who graduate from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) space experience an ‘income uplift’ of $11,800 p.a., according to a new report from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).

The Strong and Responsive VET Pathways report provides findings on the economic, employment and further study outcomes for 2019-20 VET graduates over various student characteristics and approximately 500 qualifications.

“Education improves lives. It increases median incomes, reduces dependency on income support, and opens pathways to further study,” JSA Commissioner, Professor Barney Glover said.

“The picture that’s emerging as a result of our work, is that there’s an over-reliance on university that actually goes against the evidence of the value of VET education and its benefits.”

Professor Glover hopes the findings will encourage parents, teachers and career advisors to espouse the benefits of VET qualifications when it comes to improving the standard of living for individuals, and to addressing Australia’s skills gap. 

The report highlights the positive economic and employment outcomes for VET graduates, including amongst First Nations students, women and students with disability. 

First Nations VET graduates gain a median income uplift of $13,000. Female graduates had a 17 percentage point increase in their employment rate. In addition, around 1 in 5 graduates with disability (21 per cent) progressed to higher-level VET study. 

VET graduate cohorts with the highest median income uplifts were apprentices and trainees with an increase of $25,800 and graduate diploma/certificate holders with an uplift of $23,700. 

Regional and remote graduates had a higher median income uplift than those in major cities, receiving $12,900 and $12,700 respectively against the major city graduates’ figure of $11,500. 

VET qualifications also result in a reduction of reliance on income support. Thirty-nine percent of students who were on income support before studying were no longer on income support two years after completing their studies. 

Employment rates also lift with VET qualifications, the report shows. Nationally, graduates see an uplift of 15 percentage points to 84 per cent in the year following completion. 

The full report is available on JSA’s website.