Data released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has found less training qualifications are being completed by young people, with the overall completion rate of students aged 25 years and under declining 5.9 percentage points from 2012 to 2013.
The likelihood of completing a government-funded VET program 2009-13 report found the completion rate for training programs started in 2013 by young, full-time students declined to 40.9 per cent, down from 46.8 per cent for programs started in 2012.
The report also found that the level of the qualification is linked to the overall likelihood of completing a course, with the completion rate for diploma level and above qualifications more than double the completion rate for certificate I level programs (42.2 per cent compared to 19.9 per cent).
VERTO chief executive, Ron Maxwell, said this data was concerning given the current national issue of youth unemployment.“The youth unemployment rate in Australia is currently over 13 per cent which equates to nearly 300,000 unemployed young Australians,” Mr. Maxwell said.
“Given this, it is really important that all government policy concerning the vocational education and training sector continues to focus on supporting young people to undertake training in industries where there are skill shortages and employment opportunities.
“At VERTO, we are pleased to see an overall rise in young people completing qualifications across New South Wales of three per cent (58 per cent to 61 per cent) from 2013 to 2014.
“Highlights include completions in Bathurst increasing by 21 per cent, completions in Orange increasing by 76 per cent and completions in Taree increasing by 37 per cent.
“We hope this positive trend is reflected across Australia in future data,” Mr. Maxwell said.
