Editing Vocational education (section)

===Australia===
{{Main|National Training System (Australia)}}
In [[Australia]] vocational education and training is mostly post-secondary and provided through the vocational education and training (VET) system by [[Registered Training Organisations|registered training organisations.]] However some secondary schools do offer school-based apprenticeships and traineeships for students in years 10, 11 and 12. There were 24 Technical Colleges in Australia but now only 5 independent Trade Colleges remain with three in Queensland; one in Townsville (Tec-NQ), one in Brisbane (Australian Trade College) and one on the Gold Coast ([[Australian Industry Trade College]]) and one in Adelaide and Perth.  This system encompasses both public, [[TAFE]], and private providers in a national training framework consisting of the Australian Quality Training Framework, [[Australian Qualifications Framework]] and Industry Training Packages which define the competency standards for the different vocational qualifications.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Australia's apprenticeship system includes both apprenticeships in "traditional" trades and "traineeships" in other more service-oriented occupations. Both involve a legal contract between the employer and the apprentice or trainee and provide a combination of school-based and workplace training. Apprenticeships typically last three to four years, traineeships only one to two years. Apprentices and trainees receive a wage which increases as they progress through the training scheme.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/11/41631383.pdf |title=Learning for Jobs OECD review of Australian vocational education |website=Oecd.org |access-date=2016-02-06 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090329/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/11/41631383.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The states and territories are responsible for providing funding for government subsidised delivery in their jurisdiction and the Commonwealth Government, through the [https://www.asqa.gov.au/ Australian Quality Skills Authority], provides regulation of registered training organisations except in Victoria and Western Australia. A central concept of the VET system is "national recognition", whereby the assessments and awards of any one registered training organisation must be recognised by all others, and the decisions of any VET regulatory authority must be recognised by the all states and territories. This allows national portability of qualifications and units of competency.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

A crucial feature of the training package (which accounts for about 60% of publicly funded training and almost all apprenticeship training) is that the content of the vocational qualifications is theoretically defined by industry and not by government or training providers. A Training Package is endorsed by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aisc.net.au/ |title=Australian Industry Skills Committee |website=aisc.net.au |language=en |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629074429/https://www.aisc.net.au/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> before it can be used by RTOs to deliver Nationally Accredited Training.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research or NCVER<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ncver.edu.au/ |title=National Centre for Vocational Education Research |website=ncver.edu.au |language=en |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102253/https://www.ncver.edu.au/ |url-status=live }}</ref> is a not-for-profit company owned by the federal, state and territory ministries responsible for training. It is responsible for collecting, managing, analysing, evaluating and communicating research and statistics about vocational education and training (VET).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ncver.edu.au/about-ncver/about-us |title=National Centre for Vocational Education Research About Us |website=ncver.edu.au |language=en |access-date=2024-11-29 |archive-date=2024-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241123183426/https://www.ncver.edu.au/about-ncver/about-us |url-status=live }}</ref>

The boundaries between vocational education and tertiary education are becoming more blurred. A number of vocational training providers such as [[Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE|Melbourne Polytechnic]], [[Box Hill Institute of TAFE|BHI]] and [[William Angliss Institute of TAFE|WAI]] are now offering specialised bachelor's degrees in specific areas not being adequately provided by universities. Such applied courses include equine studies, winemaking and viticulture, aquaculture, information technology, music, illustration, culinary management and many more.<ref>Scott, Rebecca. "[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/24/1027332400427.html TAFE gears up to offer degrees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026105609/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/24/1027332400427.html |date=2012-10-26 }}" ''[[The Age]]'' July 24, 2002. Accessed August 3, 2008</ref>