Vocational Education and Training Delivered to School Students

Policy

This policy outlines the purpose of Vocational Education and Training (VET) delivered to school students (VDSS), the ways schools may plan for and offer VDSS and how VDSS funding is allocated.

Summary

• VET allows students to work towards qualifications for all types of employment and gain sector-specific skills to help them in the workplace.
• Undertaking VET while at school allows students to mix general and vocational education and to make a start on training for a career before they leave school.
• VET studies allow secondary students to gain practical skills in a specific industry while contributing towards the completion of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), including the VCE Vocational Major.
• 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.
• Schools are encouraged to promote and communicate vocational and applied learning and pathways as of equal standing to ‘academic’ learning and pathways.
• All government schools and participating Catholic and independent secondary schools have access to an effective VET Cluster which facilitate collaboration to provide expanded access to VDSS for students.
• Schools and VET clusters are encouraged to actively engage in VDSS provision planning for VET courses in the following year.

Details

Schools are encouraged to support students to access the VET certificates within the VDSS Core Offering, a set of 12 pathways comprised of 41 VET certificates that reflect student interests, areas of industry need and jobs growth.

Schools are recommended to work towards offering students access to VET certificates in 8 of the 12 pathways consisting of certificates in each of the 6 priority pathways and certificates in 2 of the flexible pathways.

For more information about the VDSS Core Offering refer to the Guidance tab.

Schools can support student access to VDSS by:

• running VET programs directly, where the school is approved by either the Australian Skills Quality Authority or the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (as appropriate to the individual school) as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
• engaging external RTOs, including TAFEs, to deliver VET programs either directly or through auspicing arrangements. For further information refer to: Purchasing Secondary Courses and Vocational Training from External Providers
• offering school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs). For further information refer to: School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships
• collaborating as part of the VET Cluster Framework (the Framework). The Framework allows schools to work together with other schools (including participating Catholic and independent secondary schools) and Victorian Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) to jointly plan for (provision planning) and provide VDSS to cater for local student needs. For more information on the VET Cluster Framework, please refer to the Guidance tab.

Provision planning for VDSS

Provision planning is the process by which schools and clusters estimate student demand and identify suitable providers and modes of delivery for VDSS courses.

Schools and clusters undertake provision planning throughout the school year to prepare for the following year.

For more information on provision planning activities for schools and clusters refer to the Guidance tab.

VDSS funding

The primary source of funding for VDSS is through the Student Resource Package (SRP) provided to schools.

Government schools also receive targeted VET funding to support the higher cost of provision in this area.

A new VDSS funding model for Victoria government schools was introduced in 2023 and will continue in 2025.

The current VDSS funding model features:

• funding bands for VDSS to support VET provision. Funding will be allocated pro-rata for enrolments up to 180 hours per VET certificate per year
• funding bands for VET materials costs allocated per VET certificate enrolment per year
• a small-scale adjustment to offset VDSS costs for schools with low total enrolment numbers.

The following table shows the 6 VDSS funding bands for 2025.

Funding for students undertaking VET through an SBAT is provided through Skills First. These enrolments are not eligible for targeted VET funding.

School-based RTOs are eligible to receive VET materials funding for some certificates for government school students. The department will communicate the Schools Targeted Funding Governance Portal process directly to school-based RTOs each year.

Please contact vet.secondary@education.vic.gov.au if your school-based RTO has students in this situation.

Schools can use the SRP budget planner (available through the SRP Portal) to estimate their VDSS funding for budget planning purposes.

Reference 143 of the SRP Guide outlines the revised VDSS funding model, including how funding for VET programs is allocated to schools and how schools may use their targeted VET funding.

Eligibility for VDSS funding

A VET program will be eligible for funding where:

• the program is provided to students undertaking certificates at levels II and III (with certificates IV and above dependent on Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority approval) as part of their VCE, VCE Vocational Major or VPC studies
• the student is aged between 15 and 20 years of age (inclusive)
• for VET materials, the costs incurred are for items that are necessarily consumed or transformed by students as part of training or assessment.

Not all VET programs are eligible for VDSS funding. The following are excluded:

• programs undertaken outside of the school curriculum that are not contributing to a student’s senior secondary studies
• traineeships undertaken by students outside of school (such as in a part-time employment arrangement)
• Certificates in General Education and School-based Support.

Schools can contact their local Jobs Skills and Pathways Manager (via their DE regional office or VET Cluster) for further information about whether a program is eligible for VDSS funding.

VET materials funding

VET materials funding is incorporated into the SRP under the revised funding model. This funding will help to address the cost barrier for essential learning materials for VET studies.

What are VET materials?

• VET materials are items required for the provision of a VET program. These items are necessarily consumed or transformed by students as part of training or assessment requirements.
• Where an item is consumed or transformed through the undertaking of the VET program, the item is deemed as consumable and is covered by VET materials funding provided to schools. For example, the ingredients for a recipe that students need to complete as part of assessment.
• Where an item is retained by a student and is not consumed or transformed (in part or in whole) this item is deemed non-consumable and must be purchased by the student or their family. Examples include make-up kits, boots, hammers and hairbrushes.

The funding of VET materials aims to allow government schools to support VET selection based on a student’s strengths and interests, without the barrier of financial constraints. If a student is unable to provide or purchase their own tools and equipment, the school must ensure that the student has free access to tools and equipment as required for the delivery of the curriculum.

The approach to VET materials funding consists of 2 funding bands based on analysis of market costs. Certificates are placed into either a high-cost or a low-cost materials funding band:

• high-cost certificate band: $450
• low-cost certificate band: $250.

Schools will receive payments as quarterly cash grants through the SRP as part of VDSS funding allocations.

Schools can use the SRP budget planner (available through the SRP Portal) to estimate their VDSS funding for budget planning purposes.

Where parents choose to purchase additional or alternate items from those provided or recommended by the school or provider, they may do so at their own expense. However, schools must be clear in communications that this is a voluntary decision by parents.

For further information on the VDSS funding model, refer to: Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives: Reference 143.

When can parents and families provide voluntary contributions for VET materials?

Schools cannot refuse students instruction in a VET course, including an ‘elective’, on the basis of financial contributions or payments not being made because all VET courses provided to students by the school are delivered as part of the curriculum.

Schools can invite parents to bring from home or purchase VET tools and equipment directly from third parties instead of using what is made available for free by the school. When inviting parents to purchase VET tools and equipment directly from a third-party provider, the school may include a list of recommended tools and equipment. If a parent does not provide or purchase their own tools and equipment, the school must ensure that students have free access to tools and equipment as required for the school’s delivery of the curriculum.

Schools are not required to provide students with items to own, or keep, on a one-to-one basis. However, schools must determine appropriate resourcing to ensure students have access to the relevant VET tools and equipment for the duration required to access the curriculum.

For further information around parent payments, refer to: Parent Payments.

VET materials funding for SBATs

Government school-based RTOs will be eligible for VET materials funding for materials costs incurred as part of the delivery of apprenticeship and traineeship programs run through their school. Government school-based RTOs will receive the allocated band funding amount per eligible certificate, for each SBAT enrolment from a government school. This includes enrolments supported by Head Start.

For more information about how to access this funding please contact vet.secondary@education.vic.gov.au

Related policies

• Career Education Funding (Reference 91 of the Student Resource Package Guide)
• Parent Payments
• Purchasing Secondary Courses and Vocational Training from External Providers
• School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships
• School Community Work
• Structured Workplace Learning
• Student Dress Code
• Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives
• VCE Vocational Major and VPC Contracts
• Work Experience

Relevant legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)

Contact

For government schools

Schools can contact the Jobs Skills and Pathways Manager in your regional office in the first instance.

For Catholic schools

Contact the relevant Diocese representative:

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

Jenny Wilson and Merry Young
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