Courses and study options
All vocational education and training (VET) courses delivered to school students in NSW must be delivered by a registered training organisation (RTO) that is registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to operate in NSW.
VET courses may be delivered by:
- a school based RTO or
- another RTO approved to deliver VET courses under the externally delivered vocational education and training program (EVET).
School delivered vocational education and training
Training delivered by NSW government schools meets the same rigorous standards as all other registered training organisations, such as TAFE NSW.
School-based VET teachers are:
- skilled practitioners in their field
- up to date with current industry practice and
- experts in effectively imparting their skills and knowledge to young people.
Students have access to industry standard training facilities and can develop workplace behaviours and attitudes sought after by employers through work placement.
Local schools will deliver a variety of VET courses. For details on what VET courses are delivered by any particular school, contact the school’s VET Coordinator or Careers Adviser.
The department ensures quality school delivered vocational education and training by:
- seeking and acting on feedback from students and employers
- ensuring trainers/assessors undertake regular professional development to maintain their industry currency
- engaging with industry at all levels.
NSW public schools only offer VET courses if they have:
- access to qualified trainers/assessors and
- industry standard facilities and equipment.
Schools are also supported by a dedicated team of VET professionals, who regularly audit each school’s performance against the National Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015.
To become an accredited NSW Department of Education VET teacher you must complete the VET teacher training program.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for the program teachers must be:
- a permanent employee of the department or
- have a casual teacher approval number and
- have the support of a school.
Entry to the program
To be accepted into the program you will need to demonstrate that you already possess a prescribed level of skills and knowledge in the industry area you wish to be trained.
Further information
Contact your school’s VET coordinator or principal for more information, including how to apply.
Externally delivered vocational education and training
To broaden the range of VET courses available to students in government schools, the department has approved a panel of quality RTOs through a public tender process carried out in 2016 for the 2017-2020 period.
Approved providers may offer VET courses to schools through the externally delivered vocational education and training (EVET) program.
Each year, schools may choose to make VET courses offered by these approved providers available to students.
Applications to undertake an EVET courses occur during Term 3.
Contact the school’s VET Coordinator or Careers Adviser for details on what VET courses are available and how to apply.
To find out what course are available locally, contact your school’s EVET Coordinator or Careers Adviser. For a full range of courses, visit the Externally delivered vocational education and training (EVET) website.
Tenders for the period 2017-2020 are closed.
RTOs interested in opportunities to provide externally delivered VET courses should register with the NSW eTendering website.
NSW Education Standards Authority endorsed VET courses
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) endorses VET courses for inclusion in the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) or the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Not all courses endorsed by NESA will be available for study at any particular school. Contact the school?s VET Coordinator or Careers Adviser for more information.
School based apprenticeships and traineeships
School based apprenticeships and traineeships combine paid work, training and school. More information can be found on the School-based apprenticeships and traineeships webpage.