In the most recent report released by NCVER, publicly funded training has crashed to its lowest level in more than a decade.

The report revealed that nationwide, approximately  200,000 fewer people had participated in government-funded skills training in 2015, with the largest decline in students aged 15-19. This has been the lowest number recorded since 2004.

Looking at these figures more closely, the number of students enrolled in government-funded vocational education in NSW has plummeted by 86,300 in the past year, while in Victoria the number has decreased by 83, 900.

Interestingly, NCVER’s findings also revealed that Queensland was the only state to experience an increase in student enrolments in the last year, with an increase of 19,200 students enrolling in government-funded vocational education. Both Victoria and NSW experienced the biggest losses in comparison to the other states.

A representative from NCVER has said they do not yet have enough information to provide a conclusive explanation as to why Queensland has performed better than its fellow states. They are currently looking into a deeper analysis of the statistics.

On the flipside, while vocation and education is suffering, higher education is flourishing. The report also revealed that student enrolments for university have increased by 43 per cent in the last 10 years.

“Throughout 2015, there was significant attention on poor-quality training provision, particularly in the VET FEE-HELP market. This media attention may have led to negative perceptions of VET, which had an effect on students’ willingness to engage in training and perhaps look at other options,” the report found.

This decline reputation in addition to an increase in training fees and a decrease in government funding are believed to be the key reasons for the decline in vocational education and training overall.

University of Melbourne VET expert Ruth Schuber said that her latest research had revealed that funding for VET had declined in real terms, compared with higher education and schools, forcing students to pay proportionally more for their courses.

“Price used to be a big differentiating factor for Vocational Education, especially for those from a lower socio-economic background. Now, with higher prices, reduced funding and a tarnished reputation, vocational education is looking less appealing.”

Professor of Tertiary and Education Policy at the Mitchell Institute Peter Noonan, agreed with this statement. In a paper he released in March this year, Professor Noonan he stated that Funding for VET by all states and territories has declined since 2013.

“Subsidies for many courses have been reduced or removed altogether. Thousands of VET students are facing higher upfront fees but cannot access income-contingent loans; other students are accruing high debts under VET FEE Help.” he said.

In order to address the issue of the collapsing VET market, a report was produced specifically for NSW Skills minister John Barilaro – as NSW has suffered the biggest decline in student enrolments.

The report suggests NSW should look at re-examining fee increases of 29 to 81 percent in Certificate II, III and IV courses. The report found graduate salaries in courses with low lifetime earnings such as hospitality and printing did not necessarily match these fee increases.

The report also recommended the government pursue further deregulation of the market while also urging government to support TAFE as a competitor to the final sector.

State and federal representatives will be reviewing VET funding and privatisation of training in the coming months.

For further details on NCVER’s latest report, click here