wide variations in administrative practices for Victorian training organisations in identifying, recording and reporting qualification completion, and variations in student intent and behaviour in completing qualifications. The DEECD (2012) Strategic Review of Completion Rates in Vocational Training found that one of the difficulties in providing accurate vocational training completion numbers is the quality of data that is collected, recorded and reported in the vocational training data system as course completions to date has not been a ‘required’ field for the Vocational Training data collection. This includes different approaches to reporting of awards and the monitoring of student progress at the training organisation level as well as variations in the types of software used for student information data management. Case studies also indicate that, if qualifications were issued to all students who are eligible for them, rates of qualification completion would be substantially higher. It is also important to note that while the majority of students who enrol in a vocational training course intend to complete all of the modules or the whole course, some instead seek a skill or set of skills. In Victoria, the Department has taken active steps to optimise completions data by: Strengthening Service Agreements to explicitly require all RTOs to: record the qualification completion as soon as possible after the student has completed the requirements of the award, and issue the qualification to students who have completed it, and by auditing performance against this requirement; Continuing to support public providers to: improve their administrative practices, and support their students to complete their vocational training qualifications. Table 1.8: Vocational training government subsidised and fee for service completions, 2008–2012 Figure 1.: Vocational training government subsidised and fee for service completions, 2008–2012 Key Points In line with the overall growth in vocational training enrolments over recent years, the numbers of reported completions have also increased, reaching 238,500 completions in 2012. 2012 figures reveal that total reported completions (government subsidised and fee for service) have grown by 27 per cent compared with 2011, and 79 per cent compared with 2008. Enrolments (government subsidised and fee for service) over the same periods have grown 22 per cent and 69 per cent respectively. Table 1.9: Vocational training completions by qualification level, 2008–2012
for job skills (19 per cent) and for personal interest (18 per cent). Unemployed Students Enrolments of unemployed students in government subsidised training increased by 156 per cent between 2008 and 2012, and also increased between 2011 and 2012 by nearly a third (32 per cent) or 39,900 enrolments. In 2012, just over two-thirds (67 per cent) of total enrolments were in the category of qualifications which excludes foundation training. Of these enrolments in industry-specific qualifications (109,500), 30 per cent or 32,700 were in courses related to specialised or in shortage occupations. Proportionally the share of higher qualifications, i.e. Certificate III or above, being completed by unemployed students has increased. In 2012 about two thirds (68 per cent) of completions of these students were in Certificate III and above courses of study. Between 2008 and 2012 the proportional share of completions by unemployed students decreased for both Certificate I-II and Diploma and above courses of study, with the increases being in Certificate III-IV courses from 45 per cent in 2008 to 57 per cent in 2012. The actual number of completions increased for all qualification levels except secondary and statement of attainment qualifications. Table 2.8: Number of government subsidised enrolments by unemployed students Figure 2.13: Completions by unemployed students Table 2.9: Number of completions by qualification level in government subsidised training of unemployed students Figure 2.14: Unemployed student profile, 2012 (government subsidised) specific
Construction; Accommodation and Food Services; Transport, Postal and Warehousing; and Manufacturing. Detailed analysis of enrolment trends in each industry sector is available in Industry Profiles Chapter of this report. Table 3.2: Top five industries with enrolments in either specialised or in shortage occupations Key Industries 2011 2012 % 2011 - 2012 Health Care and Social Assistance accounted for 43% of enrolments in specialised/in shortage occupations in 2012. Primary occupations include Child Carers, Aged and Disabled Carers, Enrolled and Mothercraft Nurses. 54,300 69,500 28% Construction accounted for 23% of enrolments in specialised/in shortage occupations in 2012. Primary occupations include Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters and Joiners. 34,600 37,800 9% Manufacturing accounted for 7% of enrolments in specialised/in shortage occupations in 2012. Primary occupations include Sheetmetal Trades Workers, Mechanical Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians. 11,300 11,900 5% Accommodation and Food Services accounted for 7% of enrolments in specialised/in shortage occupations in 2012. Primary occupations include Café and Restaurant Managers, Bakers and Pastrycooks. 8,000 11,800 48% Transport, Postal and Warehousing accounted for 7% of enrolments in specialised/in shortage occupations in 2012. Primary occupations include Truck Drivers, Train and Tram Drivers. 8,200 11,100 35% Detailed Analysis of Specialised and In Shortage Related Courses by Occupations In order to study the responsiveness of the training market in more detail, this section includes a selected analysis on the top ten specialised and in shortage occupational groupings. Figure 3.2: Enrolments by Responsiveness Category
Figure 4.12: Forecasts to 2016-17 and 2011-12 current workforce age and qualifications Training Delivery Overview Figure 4.13: Industry training comparisons Enrolments in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing related courses accounted for 9,800 government subsidised enrolments in 2012, up by 3 per cent since 2011. TAFE fee for service enrolments made up 26 per cent of all enrolments within the Agricultural industry and has remained static over 2011 – 2012. Enrolments at TAFE providers declined in 2012 following historically high enrolments in 2011. Twenty-two per cent of enrolments in this industry were for apprenticeships/ traineeships, equating to 2,200. In 2012, nearly 700 of all government subsidised enrolments (7 per cent) were in occupations identified as in skills shortage. Over 500 of these enrolments were related to occupations in Arboriculture, with the rest in Agricultural Consultancy and Science. The share of enrolments in occupations in shortage decreased by 6 per cent following historically high enrolments in 2011. The largest volume of enrolments in Agriculture is in skill sets related to safety and compliance. Two per cent of enrolments were in occupations categorised as specialised. Training Breakdown Training interest in this industry has been primarily male dominated. Seventy-nine per cent of all Agricultural related enrolments are from males The 7,700 enrolments by men in 2012 are up by 4 per cent since 2011. In 2012, enrolments by females fell marginally by 1 per cent to 2,100. Seventy-six per cent of enrolments (7,300) in courses related to the Agricultural industry are at Certificates III–IV levels, up by 22 per cent since 2011.