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Vocational Education and Training Delivered to School Students

Policy

This policy provides an overview of Vocational Education and Training (VET) delivered to school students, outlining the benefits of VET, available funding, and arrangements to support coordination, delivery and quality.

Summary

  • Undertaking VET during school allows students to combine general and vocational education, explore career options and develop skills for further study and employment.
  • VET allows students to gain practical and work related skills relevant to a specific industry while contributing towards the completion of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), including the VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM), or the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC).
  • Students can also study VET through school-based apprenticeships or traineeships (SBATs) or part-time apprenticeships and traineeships. In government schools, all SBATs are supported by the Head Start program.
  • Supplementary funding additional to a student’s Core Student Learning Allocation Funding, delivered via the Student Resource Package, is available to address the extra cost of VET course fees, materials and transportation.
  • The VCAA’s VCE VET programs have been revised and organised into priority industry areas, integrating and replacing the VDSS Core Offering.
  • Schools are encouraged to work with VET providers and their VET cluster to ensure student access to at least one VCE VET program from each of the 6 priority industry areas.
  • All government schools and participating Catholic and independent secondary schools have access to a VET cluster that facilitates collaboration to expand access to VET.

Details

VET is nationally recognised training that develops practical and industry-specific knowledge and skills, as well as general skills for employment, training and further education.

Students can undertake VET through:

Students can receive credit for VET towards their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), including the VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM), or the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC). Refer to the guidance on VET credit arrangementsExternal Link .

VET can be enhanced with Structured Workplace Learning, which provides students with the opportunity to integrate practical on-the-job experience and learning in workplaces with VET undertaken as part of the VCE, including the VCE VM, or the VPC.

Students may gain a nationally recognised VET qualification from a registered training organisation (such as a TAFE), in certain circumstances where the full VET qualification can be appropriately completed within a senior secondary curriculum.

VET Delivered to School Students funding

Core Student Learning Allocation Funding, delivered via the Student Resource Package, is the primary source of funding for VET for government schools. Schools also receive Supplementary VET funding, which is determined annually by student VET enrolment data entered by the school in the Victorian Assessment Software System by the enrolment deadline.

For detailed information on funding, including the funding components, refer to VET delivered to school students funding.

VCE VET programs

VCE VET programs are made up of VET qualifications approved by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to contribute toward the VCE, including the VCE VM, or the VPC.

The VCE VET programs have been grouped into 14 industry areas, including 6 priority industry areas. These industry areas replace the VDSS Core Offering.

For further information refer to Priority VCE VET programs in the Guidance tab.

VET credit arrangements

Students can undertake nationally recognised VET programs to gain credit towards their VCE, including the VCE VM, or the VPC by undertaking:

  • VET certificates, within the VCE VET programs, that have been developed by the VCAA in consultation with stakeholders including industry and vocational professionals. Some certificates offer scored assessment, and most provide structured workplace learning and recognition
  • approved apprenticeships and traineeships
  • other VET qualifications, which provide credit into the VCE through block credit recognition.

VET clusters

A VET cluster is a network of schools in an area that collaborate, often with the support of a Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN), to improve student access to VET.

Schools are strongly encouraged to participate in their VET cluster. For detailed guidance, refer to Vocational Education and Training Clusters.

Transport funding

The Senior Secondary VET Transport Fund assists schools and VET clusters to provide greater student access to VET.

The department is working on arrangements for 2026 funding, which will be communicated through your local VET Cluster by 31 October 2025. In the interim, schools can direct queries to their area Jobs, Skills and Pathways team.

Purchasing Vocational Education and Training from registered training organisations

Schools have primary responsibility for the delivery of senior secondary curriculum to their enrolled students. However, in some circumstances, schools may need to enter into contractual arrangements with a registered training organisation (RTO) to deliver part, or all, of a VET qualification.

RTOs include:

  • TAFEs
  • private RTOs
  • registered schools, including both government and non-government, that are also RTOs
  • Learn Local providers that are also RTOs.

Schools may need to enter contractual arrangements with RTOs if:

  • the school is not an RTO and cannot deliver VET
  • the school is an RTO but does not have the VET qualification and/or units of competency listed on their scope of registration
  • teachers do not have sufficient training experience or qualifications to deliver the VET qualification and/or units of competency as required under Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) or Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) standards
  • the school does not have the industry standard facilities and equipment required to conduct the training under standards required by VRQA or ASQA.

All government schools entering into arrangements with an RTO must have a valid, signed contract or agreement with the RTO for the delivery of VET. Schools must ensure they continue to meet their responsibilities and accountabilities in accordance with department policy when purchasing VET qualifications and/or units of competency from RTOs.

For detailed direction on the requirements for entering a contractual arrangement with an RTO, refer to the Purchasing Secondary Courses and Vocational Training from External Providers policy.

Trade Training Centres

Trade Training Centres (TTCs) and Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) located on Victorian government school sites are intended to be shared with schools in their VET cluster to increase local school students’ access to VET.

Host schools must work with their VET cluster and/or area-based regional pathways team to determine a suitable approach to sharing access of these facilities. For detailed guidance, refer to the Trade Training Centres policy.

Implementing VET in Strategic Plans and Annual Implementation Plans

All students must be supported to choose and access a senior secondary pathway that best aligns with their strengths, interests and aspirations. All Victorian government schools are expected to provide the VCE VM and VPC where it is a suitable option for students at their school.

As part of the school improvement cycle, school leaders may decide to implement improvements to VET, SBATs and career education within their School Strategic Plan or Annual Implementation Plan.

For further information, including guidance on the measures schools can use to assess vocational and applied learning in schools, refer to the VCE Vocational Major and Victorian Pathways Certificate Provision policy.

Relevant legislation

Contact

For government schools

Schools can contact the Jobs Skills and Pathways Manager in your regional officeExternal Link in the first instance. The Jobs Skills and Pathways team in each region can provide support and advice to schools on how to provide VET to their students.

For Catholic schools

Simone Best
Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA)
Senior Office, Pathways and Transition
sbest@vcea.catholic.edu.au

Alternatively, contact the relevant Diocese representative:

Carmel Clark
Ballarat Catholic Education
pathways@dobcel.catholic.edu.au

Jenny Wilson
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools
pathways@macs.vic.edu.au

Sam Franzi
Sale Catholic Education
pathways@doscel.catholic.edu.au

Barry Norton
Catholic Education Sandhurst
pathways@ceosand.catholic.edu.au

For independent schools

Independent Schools Victoria
Maria Floudiotis
Education Consultant – Careers
Phone: 03 9825 7246
Email: maria.floudiotis@is.vic.edu.au

Department policy outlining the ways in which Vocational Education and Training can be offered to students. This topic includes information about funding and materials funding

Reviewed 22 July 2025

Policy last updated

21 July 2025

Scope

  • Schools

Contact

There are multiple contacts for this topic. Refer to the contacts heading at the bottom of the page.

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