Success with Defence equals success for TAFE.

FROM STIGMA TO SUSTAINABILITY AND THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS, WODONGA INSTITUTE’S CEO PHIL PATERSON TALKS TAFE.

- JULIE COOPER

It’s no surprise that some of the highest-paid workers got where they are today thanks to higher education. However, a university degree isn’t the only pathway to success. Vocational Education and Training, or more commonly VET, turns out some of the highest-paid graduates, according to a 2017 report from the Skilling Australia Foundation. Not only will a TAFE qualification take less time to complete – typically six months to two years versus a university’s three-year minimum – its graduates also start earning more, and sooner.

The median starting wage for VET graduates comes in at A$56,000. That’s A$2,000 more than university graduates. Yet, according to that same report, one in five Australians believe VET graduates earn less than university graduates, and four out of five parents would prefer their children go to a university instead of a vocational institute.

These attitudes have created an uneven playing field, where higher education is valued more highly than vocational education. It’s time to set the record straight and rewrite that narrative once and for all. And Wodonga Institute of TAFE CEO Phil Paterson is just the man to do it.

“There have been some recent reports about the stigma associated with the VET sector, and how the school system and parents focus on pushing universities. We need to change that thinking so the choice is an equal one for students,” Phil explains. “It’s going to require a multi-pronged approach, including government as well as local responses. But I see it as a key opportunity for the VET sector.”