Frequently asked questions

No. Your VET in the VCE course is part of the VCE and will be one of your elective choices. Contribution to your VCE will be at a Unit 1 - 2 or Unit 3 - 4 sequence. In some programs you can obtain an ATAR score or a 10% contribution.

Your teachers will use a range of assessment tools to ensure you have achieved competency, for example, written tests, skills demonstration and workplace assessment.

You will still receive a Statement of Attainment for completed units, many of which are relevant to a range of courses you may study in the future.

It may, but it would need to relate specifically to the required competencies of your program and be approved by the training provider.

No. Due to student demand, RTOs may offer programs outside the VET in the VCE program, for example, Tourism.

Yes, 50% of Victorian students go on to TAFE and university. The subjects you do in VET Delivered to Secondary Students may give you credits towards other courses.

No, some programs can be completed in one year (for example, Salon Assistant) and therefore do not give credit at 3 - 4 level. In Community Services, you may receive a Certificate II at the completion of one year, and units towards a Certificate III at the completion of two years.

Yes, however you would need to discuss this with your school VET DSS Coordinator.

A school-based apprenticeship or traineeship arrangement combines part-time work, structured training with a registered training organisation (RTO) and school studies. A school-based apprenticeship may give students credit towards their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or Victorian Certificate of Educaton Vocational Major. A School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship refers to an arrangement whereby a student enrolled in a senior secondary certificate (VCE or VCE VM) is also released from the weekly school timetable to attend the training organisation and/or workplace, during the normal school week. In effect, the School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship is integrated within the students senior certificate program. Students undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship that is not integrated into their school learning program and study timetable, are undertaking a Part-time Apprenticeship or Traineeship. This type of arrangement is no longer considered to be a school based apprenticeship however students maybe still be able to receive credit toward their VCE or VCE VM, when they are enrolled on VASS.

The minimum number of employment and training hours required for a School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship is an average of 13 hours per week, over two years. This will comprise at least seven hours of employment and six hours of training per week which may be averaged over three periods of four months in each year of the program. Training should be averaged over three periods of four months in each year of the training contract. Some students will be released for blocks of training; some will spend more than two days per week in the workplace in paid employment. Whatever arrangement is negotiated by the employer, registered training organisation and student/school, the student will be in employment and/or structured training as an apprentice or trainee for a minimum of one day per school week.

In order for the training contract to be registered with Skills Victoria as a School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship, a school representative is required to sign the students training plan to acknowledge that the student is enrolled in a senior secondary program (VCE or VCE VM) and it forms an integral part of the student learning program and study timetable. The signature is not an endorsement of the quality of the training nor acceptance of responsibility for the outcome of the Contract of Training. When the school representative signs the Training Plan, the school is undertaking responsibility to enrol the student on Victorian Assessment Software System (VASS) so that credit for the training within the VCE or VCE VM can be awarded to the student. The Training Plan must provide details of the qualification and the units of competence the student will be undertaking and should include a delivery schedule of the training.

No, the student can be enrolled in either the VCE or the VCE VM. Which qualification a student should enrol in is an individual school/student decision. However, students should be allowed to engage in a School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship within either the VCE or VCE VM.

The home school enrols the student on VASS according to the qualification and units of competence listed in the Training Plan. Schools enter results provided by the Registered Training Organisation (RTO).

Apprenticeship Support Officers are there to: investigate disputes between apprentices/trainees and employers support apprentices/trainees who are victims of workplace violence and harassment help providers of training and further education to participate in apprenticeships and traineeships advise and counsel apprentices/trainees and employers on training and other matters.

Accurate advice to students and parents is critical and is the responsibility of schools, not the responsibility of RTOs or employers. The school is the conduit for information about School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships and credit arrangements in the senior secondary certificates. Schools are encouraged to contact the VCAA VET Unit for clarification and further advice relating to School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships and their relationship with the VCE or VCE VM. Schools are referred to the School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships section of the website for details of specific programs and credit arrangements.

A pre-apprenticeship is a nationally recognised qualification that provides a stepping stone into employment in the same industry area. A pre-apprenticeship training program prepares the student for entry into a trade based apprenticeship by equipping the student with foundation knowledge and skills. Some pre-apprenticeships also provide an automatic training and duration credit into the apprenticeship in the same industry area. In these cases, when the student progresses into the apprenticeship the RTO will advise the apprentice and employer of the training credit on the agreed Training Plan.