An exploration of VET in Schools programs and contributions to the STEM careers pipeline

STEM-based employment is projected to grow at almost twice the rate of other occupations; yet, there are persistent difficulties in meeting the demands for a STEM-skilled workforce. Further, there are well-established issues in STEM education that impact the pursuit of STEM careers by equity groups including girls, low-SES and non-metropolitan students. Attrition among these groups has been described as the “leaky pipeline”, characterised by students from such equity groups withdrawing from educational pathways that lead to STEM careers. A potential contributor to the STEM careers pipeline is STEM-aligned Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs delivered within secondary schools. The current study explores publicly available VET in Schools data to determine the participation of school-age students, including among equity groups (i.e. girls, low SES, and non-metropolitan students), in STEM-aligned programs. Overall, less than 5% of VET in Schools program completions were aligned to STEM careers; however, the completion of STEM-aligned programs has more than doubled in the last five years. Increases in STEM program completions were observed for girls within this sample; though, their participation in these programs were observed to be lower overall as a group. Descriptive analyses suggested there were increases in STEM participation across all SES quintiles and remoteness categories, but lower completion rates for more disadvantaged and non-metropolitan students. It appears that the potential for STEM-aligned VET in Schools programs to contribute to the STEM careers pipeline is not yet fully realised.