3.2 Re-design VET qualifications to better meet the needs of learners and industry

VET has a long history of providing learners with job-ready skills and meeting Victoria’s skills needs.

The VET qualifications system can be strengthened

Across the economy, the nature of work is changing. Workers need to undertake more cognitive and non-routine tasks, increasing the need for better knowledge and understanding to complement skills.

While many VET qualifications are fit for purpose and lead to strong employment outcomes, others would benefit from better design to improve their value and resulting job options.

Importantly, the current one-size-fits-all competency-based approach that focuses on performing specific tasks (rather than developing the broader knowledge and understanding needed across the workforce) is putting learners at a disadvantage.

New qualification models can help learners

Proposed new qualification models

Occupation-specific qualifications

These qualifications will continue to be highly specialised for occupations that rely on specific technical skills, especially to meet regulatory or licensing requirements (such as the licensed trades). Many of these qualifications are working well and will be retained.

In construction, for example, occupation-specific qualifications include the Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician and Certificate III in Carpentry.

Industry-specific qualifications

Industry-specific qualifications seek to provide learners with a common core of (transferable) skills and knowledge needed across an industry and improve intra-industry job mobility. Such qualifications could benefit a range of sectors, including agriculture and manufacturing – supporting Australia’s sovereign capability and food security.

The broader transferable skills that arise from these qualifications provide a good base for re-skilling within an industry – through recognition of prior learning or credit transfer for example – in response to emerging workforce demands and structural or technological changes within an industry. Recognition of skills for industry-wide application also improves workforce adaptability and supports industries with flexibility in deploying skills. For example, these industry-specific qualifications could better support carers for older Victorians to transition into disability care.

In the Victorian construction industry, these qualifications would aid the mobility of qualified and experienced workers across different areas of construction (such as housing, public infrastructure and clean energy projects), improve career progression and wages for construction workers and help meet emerging construction demands that require a skilled and adaptable workforce.

Vocational learning qualifications

These new qualifications will incorporate skills and knowledge applicable across many industries to help individuals up-skill, for example in digital and management skills. Such qualifications would lift the capability of graduates to be effectively prepared for a broad range of roles in the economy.

The Future Skills Organisation is trialling the principles of cross-industry qualifications by designing new cross-industry digital units of learning that align with five focus areas from the Australian Digital Capability Framework. These include information and data literacy; communication and collaboration; digital content creation; protection and safety; and technical proficiency and problem solving.

Designing new qualifications models

Designing new qualifications models reflects the aspirations of learners for qualifications that are relevant, engaging and valuable to building their careers.

In 2023, Skills and Workforce Ministers established the tripartite Qualification Reform Design Group to investigate new models for qualifications that will provide benefits to both learners, workers and industry.

For learners, new qualification models will make the VET system easier to navigate and support broader career pathways.

For workers, a clearer focus on transferable skills – acquired through formal learning and on the job – will help them switch jobs and adapt to new working situations or changes in work practices.

For industry, new qualification models will produce graduates with transferable skills for a wide range of jobs within an industry to efficiently meet workforce needs.

Self-accreditation for the Victorian TAFE Network could be used to reshape curriculum more regularly to provide Victorian students with contemporary training relevant to new technologies and modern jobs. This would encourage innovation and help the VET curriculum be more responsive to new and emerging skills needs.

Innovative qualifications can be developed in Victoria

Through its strong TAFE Network and local industry engagement, Victoria can pilot innovative VET qualifications.

The VSA is working closely with Jobs and Skills Councils, which have been commissioned to design and test new qualification models. For example, the VSA is collaborating with the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce and the Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance to streamline 14 existing qualifications into fewer, broader qualifications that provide the shared skills needed for pathways into the automotive sector.

There is scope for Victoria to pilot new construction qualifications for key industry areas including Modern Methods of Construction. The qualifications could be co-designed with industry to produce well-rounded graduates who can easily transition through the construction industry and the broader labour market.

The VSA is working with industry to co-design a new educational offering in the sustainable construction industry and the Victorian Government has committed $7 million for the development of new renewable energy VET certificates and other qualifications including in sustainable construction.

The Certificate II in Building and Construction Pre-apprenticeship allows the integration of sustainable building modules from the construction training package. Passive House principles such as energy efficiency and sustainable living can be introduced to provide skills in sustainable practices to help Victoria achieve net zero while building the future.²⁴