BALANCE THE BOOKS
Vocational qualifications are now more highly valued than university to upskill for a career change
MID-LEVEL business qualifications may be enough for most workers to upskill or career change – yet many enrol in a university degree under the misguided notion it will be better.
It has created a mismatch, with many students feeling a bachelor degree leaves them ill-equipped for work.
TAFE Queensland business teacher Anthony Kukas says the myth that vocational training is inferior to university study is further compounded by recruiters, who overlook VET graduates for roles they are well-qualified for.
“Business degrees and business VET qualifications both have their place,’’ he says.
“(But) sadly, I believe the employment market has set up a need for competitive advantage to gain employment and use qualifications as one of its discriminating tools.
“Many working people just want to upskill or change industries and realistically only need to do a certificate IV or diploma level (of) training. However, they are often competing with university graduates for positions and third-party recruiting agencies filter out valuable and experienced candidates, simply because a degree is often favoured over a VET qualification.’’
Meanwhile, those who do pursue the university route are often left disappointed, with a study revealing business students do not believe their degree prepares them for the workforce.
In contrast, Kukas says vocational business qualifications, such as a Diploma of Business, are designed specifically to ensure graduates are work ready.
“The Diploma of Business is an excellent foundation qualification which allows graduates to elect units from a variety of skillsets such as management, leadership and human resources, just to name a few,’’ he says.
“The variety of unit selection allows students to test the water at a reasonable price (compared to university fees) and within flexible modes of study options, such as online or face-to-face.’’
Curtin University Professor Dawn Bennett, who led the study on business students’ views on their employability, says most respondents wanted more authentic, industry-related learning in their degree.
“Students’ worries about whether their degrees were preparing them for graduate-level work were outstanding in the data,’’ she says.
“Students from all years of study were concerned about the transition to graduate life, which suggests that should dedicated career development opportunities be part of the degree, many students would participate in them.’’
Cody Blucher, 23, undertook a Diploma of Business qualification while working as an operator at the Peak Downs coal mine, in central Queensland, and says he uses his new-found skills “every day’’.
Blucher, who hopes to transition to a management role within mining within the next few years, has now applied to undertake a Bachelor of Business Innovation at Griffith University, where he will gain credit for his earlier studies.
“While studying (the diploma) with TAFE Queensland, I was able to (apply) most of the assignments to scenarios that were based around mining, which was great as it (provided) a better understanding for me and let me learn with ease,’’ he says.