Studying in Australia is a popular plan for international students who want education and experience from abroad. Warm weather, fun cities, stunning nature and awesome educational opportunities certainly contribute to why Australia is such a great destination for further education.
While studying in Australia, you’ll be able to learn and most likely work or intern to build your CV and international credentials. Outside of class, you’ll be exposed to a new culture and diverse people.
As Henry Miller said about travel: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
One new way of seeing things? Opening up to the possibility of a lesser-known but super popular educational path that offers real-world skills and expert instructors, a route that almost 170,000 international students choose each year: vocational education trainings (or VET).
VET services, taught at a Registered Training Organization, or RTO, help prepare students for a new job, career change or continuing on to university. These accredited institutions have instructors who’ve spent their career working in the fields they teach, so you know you’re learning from the pros.
The VET courses and RTOs make sense for international students looking to study abroad. The flexibility and practical skills associated with this path explain the huge popularity.
Do you need help finding education opportunities for international students in Australia? Check out what international courses you can take with Barrington College.
Here’s why international students choose VET
Choosing to first focus on VET doesn’t mean you can’t go to university or you’re choosing a vocational route instead. In fact, international students specifically choose VET because it gives them the credentials, credits and skills to later be accepted into an Australian university.
Because educational standards can vary widely around the world, it’s not always easy for students coming from abroad to get accepted into university at first. Qualifications for VET programs tend to be more flexible, which means you’re more likely to get accepted. You can then choose to complete your VET education and enter the workforce or continue on to university. By achieving a Diploma through VET training, you’ll be one step closer to an acceptance letter– and it’s a smart strategy for getting to where you want to be.
Another big perk? You’ll have international credentials on your CV and you might even be able to add Australian work experience by getting a part-time job or internship. Many employers like to see diverse and uncommon experience– and moving to another country to study and work certainly fits that category!
Sure, it’s great for a future employer to see it– but for the student studying abroad they’ll have a better understanding of other work cultures and how business operates in a market different than theirs. You’ll become more adaptable and build context for how your native country and Australia are both similar and different. You never know what you learn in Australia could be a huge help back home– and vice versa.
Photo Credit: Bench Accounting
Some students learn best when the subject matter in a class is interesting to them and can be applied sooner than later. Instead of having to wait three or four years for their education to be applicable, VET courses promote actionable, real-world skills. How you choose to use those skills is important, but a VET will give you the opportunity to pick up new qualifications that will influence the rest of your career. You just might be able to take the lesson you learned in your morning class and apply it at work that same day!
Knowing what you want to do with your life and career is difficult at any age and many students find the thought of investing years into a degree they’re not sure about to be quite frightening. We can’t blame them for feeling that way because it is a big decision, but there’s good news.
VET courses are the perfect solution to figuring out what you want.
While studying at an RTO, you’ll still be learning useful skills and lessons, but you’re not locked into a lengthy, expensive university program. You’ll be able to try classes in different topics and see what fits you and your interests. You’ll be able to work and intern and see how those experiences influence your career. You may find the perfect career and go straight to work, or you might find what you’re looking for and decide to study it for years in a university setting. Either option works, but don’t let feeling confused about the future get in your way of success.
After all, plenty of successful people spent the early parts of their lives trying to figure things out.
Photo Credit: Andrew Neel
What happens next?
Whether you use a VET to expand your skills, explore career options or use it as a strategy to enrol in university, you’ll find a country that is welcoming to international students and instructors who love to see their students succeed.
Making the move to Australia as a student can raise quite a few questions about visas, applications, where to live and more– but we have you covered.
We’ve already written an International Students’ Guide to Landing in Australia to help you figure out every step of your journey from application to arrival.