Vocational Education Training (VET) allows you to do nationally recognised training as part of your VCE, VCE VM or VPC. You can combine general and vocational studies, explore career options, and learn in the workplace.
VET develops industry specific knowledge and skills, as well as general skills needed for employment, training, and further education. VET gives you practical skills relevant to your many talents, and helps you work towards a formal VET qualification. You can choose from more than 40 certificate qualifications across 27 VCE VET programs. Read more about each of the
VCE VET programs.
Quick explainer
Scored VCE VET programs provide a Unit 3–4 sequence. They have school-assessed coursework and an end-of-year exam, giving you a study score, like all VCE Unit 3–4 subjects.
1. Complete a VCE VET program
There are 27 VCE VET programs with 47 qualifications to choose from. See the VCAA website for information on each of the VCE VET programs. VCE VET units contribute towards satisfactory completion of your VCE, VCE VM or VPC and give you a qualification that is recognised around Australia. VCE VET programs that have Units 3 and 4 can be included in your ATAR calculation. If you are interested in a particular area of work, ask your school how a VCE VET program in that area can contribute to your VCE, VCE VM or VPC.
2. Do a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship
To become an apprentice or trainee you must be in paid work and sign a contract of training. The training contract must be registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.
Your VCE, VCE VM or VPC program would then include:
- VCE, VCE VM or VPC studies at school
- VET at an RTO, such as TAFE
- part-time paid work in the industry in which you are training.
You can do a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship in many industries as part of your VCE, VCE VM or VPC. These include, but are not limited to, agriculture, building and construction, early childhood education, and sport and recreation. A school-based apprenticeship or traineeship qualification contributes to successfully finishing the VCE, VCE VM or VPC, just like VCE VET programs do, by giving students credit for Units 1 to 4. School-based apprenticeships or traineeships may contribute to an ATAR. Ask your school how they can help arrange a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship for you.
3. Complete a different VET certificate
If you are interested in doing a VET certificate that’s not available as a VCE VET program, you may be able to count it towards satisfactory completion of your VCE, VCE VM or VPC. This arrangement is called block credit. There are specific rules for block credit, so ask your year level coordinator or careers practitioner for more information.
If you complete a VET qualification in any of these ways, you will receive a certificate or Statement of Attainment from the RTO and credit towards the VCE, VCE VM or VPC.
Structured workplace learning (SWL) is on-the-job training or work placements that allow you to develop work skills and understand what employers expect.
SWL can be a valuable component of your VET qualification undertaken within your VCE, VCE VM or VPC. SWL complements your training at school or with another provider.
It should be spread across the whole training program, and it allows you to:
- build and improve your skills
- apply practical industry knowledge
- be assessed in units of competency, as determined by the RTO
- expand your employment opportunities.
When you complete SWL, you can gain extra units towards your VCE, VCE VM or VPC by completing SWL recognition. This process gets you to reflect on your SWL experiences in a Workplace Learning Record and discuss these with your school. This also applies if you are undertaking a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship.
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