VET workforce older, casual, better educated – and heaven knows how big

Workforce data for VET lags way behind what’s available on higher education, with studies offering vastly different estimates of how many people work in the sector.

While TAFEs provide 70 per cent or more of VET in Australia, a new report has found that TAFE staff account for only about 16 per cent of the overall VET workforce. But the finding reflects the unreliability of VET workforce statistics more than any skewing of staff numbers, according to the report from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The report, 'Vocational education and training workforce data 2008: A compendium', suggests statistical collection will need to improve markedly before authorities can get a clear picture of the national VET workforce. The report...