There are a number of famous sayings and
statements about the dangers of hope. One of the most enduring warnings
is in the story of Pandora. When Pandora opened a jar, despite being
warned not to, all the world’s evils escaped from the jar, leaving only
hope inside. Some academics have suggested that the reason hope was left
in the jar was to make hope itself another curse to ensure humanity’s
ongoing suffering.
This story of Pandora and hope might be a
strong analogy for the release last week of the Total VET Activity 2025
by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
Perhaps it is hope that is the sector’s tormentor-in-chief. Last week I
had suggested that despite a number of factors that would probably drag
growth lower, overall growth in student numbers of around 2.0% was
feasible, meaning 5.23 million students in 2025 was likely.
Instead,
we saw growth of just 1,585 students over the entire Australian skills
training sector in 2025. That’s 0.031% growth in the middle of a
national skills shortage.
The overall growth in student
enrolments shows some interesting patterns, however, keeping in mind
government prioritisation of investing in institutions at the expense of
supporting student choice.
There has been a substantial
contraction in students receiving government support to undertake skills
training, with 76,265 fewer government-supported students in 2025 than
in 2024 (-5.8%).
In 2025, the independent sector continued to be
the choice of students and employers, with independent Registered
Training Organisations supporting 91.1% of all student enrolments. In
practical terms this means that for every student enrolment in the TAFE
and university sectors, there are more than six in the independent
sector.
At the same time, however, 86% of those students in the
public skills system received government support in 2025 through
subsidies or loans, while only 11% of all students at independent
providers enjoyed such support.
This is what investing in institutions at the expense of students looks like.
Some
uninformed commentators like to bloviate that independent providers
only deliver short courses and that these are somehow of lesser value.
Sure, there are a lot of people upskilling in mid-career and early
career who would dispute that. As would those undertaking compulsory
CPR, Confined Spaces, Manual Handling, Working with Vulnerable Children,
Anaphylaxis Management and more. These commentators should also be
aware that independent RTOs support the majority of students at every
AQF qualification level including 76.5% of those at Diploma and above.
Financial support discrimination against these students is not a serious
or sustainable policy.
Felix Pirie
ITECA Chief Executive Officer
Further Information —
If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact the ITECA team at [email protected].