LSAY Briefing Reports

Publication Date

10-2008

Comments

(LSAY Briefing; n.15)

Abstract

This Briefing looks at participation in VET in Schools programs by members of three groups of young people who have been part of LSAY since 1995, when VET in Schools offerings experienced sustained growth. The first group comprises young people who were in Year 9 in 1995 and included VET subjects as part of their Year 11 or Year 12 studies in 1997 and 1998. The second group comprises young people who were in Year 9 in 1998 and included VET subjects as part of their senior secondary studies in 2000 and 2001. Both of these groups participated in VET in Schools while the program was still developing and have provided valuable data on their post-school pathways. The third group included in this Briefing were 15 years old in 2003. At the time, some were in Year 11, but most were in Year 11 in 2004. For this group, data are available for Year 11 only. The three cohorts provide an opportunity to examine changes in participation in VET in Schools between 1997 and 2004 and their outcomes. In LSAY, participation in VET in Schools was assessed from responses to questions asking students in Years 11 and 12 whether they were enrolled in vocational education and training subjects at school, TAFE or another training organisation; and, secondly, whether any of the subjects studied while at Years 11 and 12 on which they had provided information were TAFE or vocational education and training subjects. Among members of the LSAY cohorts, 17 per cent of Year 11 students stated that they were enrolled in a VET subject in 1997. This figure grew to 27 per cent of Year 11 students in 2000 and to 30 per cent of Year 11 students in 2003-2004. These estimates are lower than those reported by MCEETYA up to 2004 but closer to the figure of 37 per cent reported in the 2005 National Report on Schooling. The lower participation figures from LSAY probably also reflect the fact that some students do not recognise that they are participating in VET in Schools subjects.

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