Private Returns to Vocational Education and Training Qualifications

📖 The Scoop

This report presents estimates of the private rates of return for students studying for vocational education and training (VET) qualifications in Australia. Estimates of rates of return are commonly used by governments, businesses and others to compare the merits of different forms of investment where costs or benefits or both are distributed over time. The approach results in a single number that can be interpreted as an interest rate: the higher the interest rate, the higher the rate of return and the better the investment. This report summarises the costs and benefits of studying for a VET qualification. It finds that generally students have an adequate economic incentive to enrol in VET. The best returns were for students who study higher-level qualifications (certificate III upwards), and do so part-time. This study provides valuable insights into the private returns from undertaking VET. However, many interesting questions remain, including whether these rates have changed in recent years, how they compare to the return from university level study and the exact nature of the interrelationship between the year left school and the level of VET qualifications.(Contains 18 tables and 4 figures.) [This work has been produced on behalf of the Australian Government and state and territory governments, with funding provided through the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The author/project team was funded to undertake this research via a grant under the National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation (NVETRE) Program.].

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