Victorian school students are to have more senior secondary options to get an education, with new pathway options to suit every student.
Minister for Education, James Merlino said as part of a reform of senior secondary school pathways, legislation had been introduced to deliver two new options for students in their final years of school from 2023.
Mr Merlino said the options would provide education alongside workplace experience to set students up for further education, training or employment.
“The Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Major is a new two-year vocational pathway program that will replace the Intermediate and Senior Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and will be embedded in the VCE system,” Mr Merlino said.
“Students enrolled in the Vocational Major will also have access to an enriched curriculum as well as relevant workplace experiences based on their career goals that will develop their real-world knowledge, and technical and transferrable skills that will set them up for further education and employment,” he said.
“The Victorian Pathways Certificate will replace Foundation VCAL and is designed to support students to transition either to the VCE or to entry level VET or employment – particularly focussing on vulnerable students at risk of leaving education or students with additional needs.”
Mr Merlino said students undertaking the Pathways Certificate would see a revised and enriched curriculum with more subjects and support to develop the skills, capabilities and qualities they needed after their school years.
The Minister said work to implement the Certificates by 2023 would deliver on a key recommendation from the Firth Review into vocational and applied learning pathways for senior secondary students.
“The new courses have been developed after extensive consultation with students, employers, educators and education experts, reflecting the aspirations and perspectives of students for excellence in all senior secondary education pathways,” he said.
Mr Merlino said the new legislation allowed the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) to conduct an accreditation process for the new Certificate framework and facilitate a smooth transition process for senior secondary providers into the new structure.
