This is one of two articles on the VET workforce in this issue. This one: focused on Job and Skills Australia’s (JSA’s) paper entitled ‘VET Workforce Study’ is a profile of the existing workforce data available, identifying its limits and elucidating “why consistent, regular workforce data collection is needed to ensure an effective workforce strategy for this crucial part of Australia’s skills system.”

This study provides key background to the long-awaited VET Workforce Blueprint. We highlight this latter work in another article in this issue, building on what the VDC has already published about it recently here. Other VDC News items have touched on it over time, for example here and – briefly – here.

What does the workforce study tell us?

It aims to understanding the VET workforce and its job profiles and pathways. It also looks at workforce demand and supply pathways. Key findings are around a series of key issues.

Issue 1: Understanding the current VET workforce

  • “Targeted improvements in workforce data collection will help manage future risk to Australia’s economy, society and VET system by ensuring a sustainable and high-quality supply of teachers and trainers, particularly in industry sectors experiencing skills shortages and high employment demand.”

Moreover:

  • “The VET workforce taxonomy, job profiles and occupational framework will aid future workforce planning and raise the status of VET jobs including the diversity of roles involved in this increasingly dynamic sector.”

And finally:

  • “The diversity of VET providers, student cohorts, funding and training offerings has direct implications for the VET workforce. Teaching roles differ across RTOs and need different supports and policy levers.”

Issue 2: A high demand, coupled with low supply and training pipeline

  • “There is strong alignment between high enrolment qualifications and occupations rated in skills shortages which has led to high and growing demand for VET teachers, but VET teacher numbers have shrunk by between 11-18% over the last decade.”

And:

  • “Training providers are struggling to attract suitable applicants to fill teacher vacancies, with a lower vacancy fill rate than in universities, secondary and primary schools.”

Thus:

  • “The training pipeline is shrinking but is not particularly targeted at new entrants. Completions in the key teaching credential – the Certificate IV TAE – have fallen by almost 25% since 2016. However, this isn’t impacting supply as drastically as expected because almost 70% of graduates are doing the qualification for their existing job.”

Finally:

  • “Student outcomes survey data shows that only a small proportion of graduates are using the Certificate IV TAE to move into VET teaching roles.

And:

  • “Migration pathways are infrequently used for VET teachers. There are some visa options available that potentially could offer a source of supply for VET teachers.”

Issue 3: VET has an older and ageing workforce that is lacking diversity 

  • “The most distinctive demographic aspect of the workforce is that it is older and ageing. This is more pronounced for the Teach, Train, and Assess workforce.”

And:

  • “The VET workforce is more highly qualified than the Australian workforce but there are key data gaps due to the dual professional status of VET teachers, trainers and assessors.” However, “the VET workforce is not as diverse as its student population.”

Issue 4: VET’s workforce is more highly casualised and lower paid than teachers in other education sectors

  • “The VET workforce is more casualised, slightly higher paid and less award dependent than the Australian workforce, but not when compared to their teaching counterparts in other education sectors or industry vocations prominent in VET.” Moreover, “there is a 16% gender pay gap in VET.”

And:

  • “The VET teaching profession lost more people to other occupations than it gained in the eight years leading up to 2018/19 and those that leave get higher pay increases than those that enter.”

In addition: 

  • “There are few common career movements in and out of VET teaching, but where there are it is generally to and from other kinds of teaching, especially Secondary School Teaching. There is also some evidence of career progression within the sector from VET teaching into leadership positions.”

Issue 5: The TAFE workforce has better employment conditions, more diversity and is higher paid

  • “The TAFE workforce has around 40,000 workers, is slightly more feminised, higher paid, more likely to work full-time and even older than the VET workforce broadly.”

And:

  • “The dual sector VET workforce is estimated at around 2000 workers nationally and reflects the TAFE workforce profile in demographics and employment conditions.”

In conclusion

The study “exposed other opportunities that could be explored to ensure a sustainable VET sector that will ensure Australia’s workforce is well prepared into the future.”

It suggests that:

“Future decision-making on policy and regulatory levers in the VET workforce should take into consideration the diversity of the VET sector and its workforce. Developing separate workforce strategies for the different types of teachers and types of teaching in VET is needed. This is especially the case for the workforce that delivers single-subject enrolments versus the workforce that delivers training package qualifications.”