Letters to the editor

Malcolm White's example of a trade qualification, such as diesel mechanic, to justify the distinctiveness between VET and higher education does a disservice to the number of areas that VET and higher education clearly do overlap (CR, 27.04.09). Paraprofessional areas such as IT, graphic design, multimedia, art and music, business studies, youth work, children’s services, project management, community services, nursing, retail and marketing, hospitality management and justice, just to name a few – most of which are non-trade – are areas where broader knowledge (as opposed to industry-defined job specific skills) relies also on the teaching of relevant theory.