Page 168 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 26 February 2014
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and training than in other jurisdictions. A rate of full-time engagement at work or further study among the 17 to 24-year-olds in the ACT is the highest in the country. Indeed, 93 per cent of year 12 graduates in 2012 were employed or studying in 2013.
The challenge now confronts the ACT to sustain and improve on the high attainment levels of our youth. Young people are especially vulnerable to changes in economic conditions. Youth who are not fully engaged after leaving school are at a greater risk of an insecure future. Those unable to find a job or who are made redundant are at risk of remaining unemployed for a significant time. Vocational education and training programs contribute to many young Canberrans making successful transitions from school to work, further education and training.
Most early school leavers undertake some form of vocational education and training study. Vocational qualifications allow for better employment opportunities, higher wages, and the prospects of achieving higher skills and qualifications. Higher level qualifications help meet the demands of the changing ACT economy. These qualifications provide skills for new and emerging jobs.
A measure of how effectively the ACT VET system is responding to the skills requirement of the ACT economy is the level of employer satisfaction with training as a way of meeting their skills needs.
The ACT has also maintained consistently higher rates of 20 to 24-year-olds achieving or studying towards non-school qualifications than in the rest of Australia.
In the ACT the proportion of VET students gaining qualification at a higher level than their previous education level has been increasing rapidly in recent years. The great benefit of an apprenticeship or traineeship is the opportunity to combine training with paid workforce experience. The ACT government directly employs over 500 apprentices and trainees. Even more are employed through group training arrangements, including over 100 school-based apprentices.
The ACT government ensures that publicly funded VET opportunities can be accessed by people from groups that traditionally experience some disadvantage. The gap between the proportion of Indigenous and non-Indigenous 20 to 64-year-olds with or working towards a non-school qualification is smaller in the ACT than in the rest of the nation. Working age Canberrans in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas are also more likely to have or be accessing education or training towards a non-school qualification than the same disadvantaged cohort across the rest of Australia.
At the heart of the ACT government’s planning and priorities for vocational education and training in the ACT is the strong commitment to supporting the participation of those who have traditionally been outside the workforce and increasing the productivity of those already working.
Quality VET outcomes for Canberra’s youth and social equity groups is the foundation for further improvements in overall education levels and employment participation. We are committed to a strong ACT VET sector that will drive higher productivity; contribute to social and cultural welfare; encourage investment, creativity and innovation; and respond to the changing needs of the ACT economy.
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