ACT leads the nation in vocational education and training

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Canberra is producing the best skilled workers in the country thanks to reforms and investment from the ACT Labor Government.

The latest Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development performance report released today has revealed that the ACT is outperforming other states and territories in the country in the areas of vocational education and training (VET) and employment opportunities after training.

The ACT is consistently the highest performing state or territory in the country across a range of indicators and targets.

In both 2009 and 2010 the ACT seen significant improvements in our performance in the following areas:

• The number of 20-64 year olds without a Certificate lll or above, which decreased significantly between 2008 and 2010, from 39.1 per cent to 33.9 per cent,
• number of higher qualification completions (Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas), which increased by 22 per cent between 2008 and 2009,
• the proportion of VET graduates employed after completing training, which increased between 2008 and 2010, from 85 per cent to 88.7 per cent,
• proportion of VET graduates unemployed after completing training, which decreased between 2008 and 2010, from 6 per cent to 5.6 per cent, and
• proportion of VET graduates reporting improved employment status after training, which increased between 2008 and 2010, from 64.3 per cent to 68.3 per cent.

These results are a credit to everyone involved in the ACT VET sector, private providers, the Canberra Institute of Technology and its local industry partners.

The fact that more students are in vocational and educational training shows our system has the capacity and flexibility to help students get the skills they need for a great career.

I am pleased to see that the last five years of significant reform and investment made by the ACT Labor Government in the education system is meeting the needs of students and business operators.

The ACT Labor Government is committed to the continual improvement of our education and vocational education and training system to ensure it continues to deliver for Canberra students, for our economy and for our community.