Vocational Education as an Alternative to University

The Grattan Institute has released a report which suggests vocational education and training (VET), as an alternative to university, for  students with low school results. Research by Norton, Cherastidtham, and Mackey (2019), suggest that, for those with a low low-ATAR, VET produces higher lifetime incomes than university, particularly for males.

The authors views on female education perhaps may be more controversial. They point out that engineering occupations are male-dominated. They then seem to suggest that women would be better off sticking to traditional female occupations of  teaching and nursing. In terms of public policy, I suggest we need to be changing this situation and not reinforcing existing discrimination through education policy.

Reference

Norton, A., Cherastidtham, I., and Mackey, W. (2019).
Risks and rewards: when is vocational education a good alternative to higher education?. Grattan Institute.