The debate between academic and vocational education has persisted for some time. After graduating from school, students face incredibly difficult decisions about their career goals that they are generally expected to carry on throughout their lives. While some students may pursue academic careers, others may choose vocational training. Though it ultimately depends on personal preference and goals, the scope of vocational education can often be obscured by traditional academic choices. Vocational courses in Australia have seen incredible development and diversification over the years.
If you are a student fresh out of school debating your next step or someone trying to make a shift in their career pathway, you are in luck! This article is a comprehensive breakdown of why vocational education and training are excellent ways of achieving industry success.
Vocational education, as opposed to academics, adopts a completely different form of learning. It prepares students for jobs in the field of skilled trade, with some examples being artisans, tradespersons, craftspeople, technicians, etc. Vocational education emphasizes the focused development of skills in an area where the individual wants to be gainfully employed. This can occur in higher education, post-secondary education, and even apprenticeship. At the post-secondary level, these courses are provided by colleges, trade schools, art schools, etc., specifically dedicated to vocational training.
Vocational education has incredible career advantages. Focused, hands-on education in a particular skill can help students pursue a targeted career path, which reduces doubts and uncertainties. Here are some reasons why picking vocational education is worth its weight in gold:
Hands-on action and learning by doing are the core principles of vocational education. In other words, practical experience takes precedence over merely acquiring theoretical knowledge. This is because skills and propensity to perform are the main aims of vocational education. This makes working experience a part of the training program in vocational education. As a result, students feel far more comfortable transitioning from an educational to a professional environment.
Our experiences in the world are filtered through our ability to act. This is in line with the aim of vocational education, which is to confer practical, actionable skills. Vocational skills train students to deal with real-life problems through their learned skills. For example, trade folks are expected to communicate and deal with people from various walks of life. Electricians and technicians are the foundation of all modern infrastructure.
If faced with troubles in circuits or connectivity, their vocational training will equip them to take care of the situation by themselves. Furthermore, vocational education is required worldwide, which makes jobs like artists, technicians, and traders universally relevant. This allows professionals to transition their work overseas with relative ease. That’s why vocational courses for international students are especially accessible.
Vocational education streamlines your career choice by helping you become the best in one skill of your choice. This narrows down the best job opportunities for you. Vocational skills are required everywhere, which makes your expertise applicable in almost every working sector. For example, electricians are required in every electrically powered infrastructure. Artists are an indispensable part of every culture, its preservation and proliferation.
Similarly, chefs and cooks are necessary to feed people worldwide. Hence, vocational education makes marketing your skills far more straightforward. This is because service workers and skilled people are the pillars on which most social infrastructures stand. Further, there is no ambiguity in job prospects, which makes earning money immediately after graduation easier.
With skill-based curriculums geared towards building a career on those skills, vocational education programs often have a shorter period, ranging from one to two years. Once students have honed their skills and are ready to use them professionally, they can focus on building their careers and offering services to various clientele. This makes vocational education lucrative from a financial standpoint.
One of the best parts of vocational education is that it creates an immense sense of satisfaction and fulfillment from the jobs. When you see the results of your skills manifest in real-time before your eyes, it can provide a great sense of purpose and develop your passion for your work and career.
Further, various studies show that hands-on learning and creating with your hands can boost serotonin in the brain. This makes vocational jobs better for your mental health and sustainable in the long haul.
The field of vocational training has diversified to accommodate various skill sets. From hospitality and management to commercial cooking and childcare, impeccable skills never go unrewarded. Skills Australia Institute, located in Adelaide, Perth and Cannington, is one of the best colleges in Australia for vocational education that helps students hone their craft and apply their abilities in practical settings.
One of the best practical scopes to study in Australia, SAI has the best faculty and classes to help foster the builders of tomorrow.