Vocational education and training overview

This information provides a general overview of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and the National Training Framework. It explains the relationship between occupational licensing and VET.

What is vocational education and training?
How does occupational licensing relate to vocational education and training?
What are the distinctions between training for licensing and vocational purposes?

What is vocational education and training?

The following page gives a general overview of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system. It focuses on the key elements of the VET system and those parts which impact on licensing stakeholders.

Find out more about vocational education and training in Australia.

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How does occupational licensing relate to vocational education and training?

Meeting competency-related requirements is often a key factor used by a regulatory authority to determine a person's suitability for an occupational licence.

Depending on the licensing requirements stated in the legislation or regulations, an industry regulator may require a prospective entrant to have:

  • an AQF qualification from a training package or accredited course
  • completed certain units of competency from a training package or accredited course
  • completed training and assessment requirements set by the regulator which may not be based on nationally endorsed or accredited training.

In this way there are close linkages and synergies between training and assessment to meet occupational licensing requirements and vocational education and training. However, while that is the case, it is important to recognise the distinction in purpose between the two.

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What are the distinctions between training for licensing and vocational purposes?

The purpose of training and assessment undertaken for occupational licensing requirements is different to the purpose behind the delivery of vocational education and training meets training package requirements which result in a qualification outcome.

Regulatory bodies are primarily interested in ensuring that an applicant for an occupational licence can demonstrate that they meet the minimum standards outlined in the regulations. Those requirements often include other factors beyond skills competency including:

  • suitability of character
  • current financial situation
  • level of experience.

While the industry and licensing competency level requirements may intersect for some licenses, in general, the competency standard expected or assessed by the regulator will often not extend beyond operational safety and public risk reduction.

Depending on the occupational licence, the regulator is not concerned with whether the applicant can meet the industry determined competency levels stated in training packages before they award a licence.

For example, if someone applied for a licence to operate a machine, the primary criteria the licensing/regulatory body will follow is whether the applicant can operate the machine in a safe and effective manner. On the other hand an employer will need evidence that the operator can use the machinery with the precision expected to meet industry, employer and customer standards.

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RELATED INFORMATION

Licensing reforms
Integration into VET
Information for training stakeholders
Key training links

 

This page was generated on 13 October, 2009

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