Vocational Education and Training

What is Vocational Education?

Vocational Education is competency-based training designed to meet the requirements of industry as well as individual needs. Vocational Education:

  • trains people in the skills required in the workplace to current industry standards
  • makes entry-level industrial training more flexible, i.e. people are given credit and recognition for the skills they have already learnt
  • provides training to the national framework and is recognised anywhere in Australia.

Course Information

Currently there are 7 Vocational Education Courses:

Below is a short two-minute video of the Courses on offer:


Daramalan College is a Registered Training Organisation. This gives the college an added dimension and capability to offer students vocational courses and training within the ‘Australian Training Framework’. The college can certify its students with certificates I and/or II, in the above mentioned industry areas.

Automotive Technology

This course is offered to students who wish to obtain skills and knowledge that will enable them to better understand their own cars. Students wishing to enter the automotive industry are able to receive credit at the Canberra Institute of Technology and other TAFE colleges in Australia in some modules of the automotive trade courses. Students qualify by undertaking vocational training in the workplace to complement their studies at school.

Business Administration

An ideal course to help gain entry into a Public Service role or the private sector. This course has been designed to recognise the vocational nature of Business Administration. It incorporates nationally accredited training modules and is responsive to rapid technological and industrial change.
The course is designed to develop students’ skills in communicating and managing, processing and manipulating information in the workplace. Students learn how to use a range of equipment efficiently and safely, how to work effectively both independently and in teams and gain the skills to become successful administrators.

Fashion Design & Textiles

This course examines the fashion and clothing industries as well as providing practical experiences in making textile projects. Students design, make and evaluate projects each semester. This course prepares students for further tertiary study in Fashion and Interior Design as well as any course requiring entry by a portfolio of work that displays their design ability.

Furniture Construction

This is a practical hands on course offered to students who wish to enter the building and furnishing industries. Students gain skills in furniture construction whilst developing their own wood projects.

Metal Engineering

Metal Engineering is intended to meet the needs of students who have a general interest in the metals and engineering industry trades/technology as well as those intending to choose a career pathway into the traditional trades and related service industries. Students gain skills in metal engineering whilst developing their own projects.

Hospitality

The Hospitality course accommodates for the variety of students in Years 11 and 12. The course structure provides all students with a broad based experience. The course is designed to provide students, with the appropriate skills and knowledge required to gain employment and to assist them in making an informed decision, about careers in the Hospitality Industry. The course prepares students for further tertiary studies in Hospitality, Events and Hotel Management.

Information, Digital Media & Technology

This qualification provides the skills and knowledge for individuals to safely perform foundation digital literacy tasks using a personal computer and a range of software applications including; word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, communicate & search securely on the internet and use digital devices. Skills learned enhance all school assignments and provide employability skills.

Australian School Based Apprenticeships (ASBA’s)

Daramalan College offers Year 11 and 12 students the opportunity to complete an Australian School Based Apprenticeship.
Australian School Based Apprenticeships are part-time and they incorporate all the features of full-time apprenticeships.

They include:

  • A training agreement that is signed by both the employer and the trainee or apprentice and is approved by the ACT Department of Education and Training.
  • A formal training program with training delivery supported by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) that leads to a nationally recognised qualification (certificate). Most ACT secondary colleges are Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), as is the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), and there are numerous private providers of training.
  • Paid employment under an appropriate industrial arrangement.

How do School Based Apprenticeships work?

Because the apprentices are at school, their training programs need to be flexible enough to accommodate the students’ school, work and training needs. The time spent at school, at work and in training needs to be agreed between the employer, the student’s parents or guardians, the school and the training organisation. Australian School Based Apprentices undertake their program during Years 11 and 12 as part of their course of studies. Apprenticeship training is provided in one of the following ways:

  • Regularly one day a week (hours agreed to suit the employer
  • Periods outside school hours e.g. weekends and school holidays

The formal training program is undertaken at the school or TAFE as prescribed by the Training Provider, e.g. one day a week, block or on-the-job. As a guide, a School Based Apprenticeship should average 8 – 12 hours on the job (in the workplace) and 3 hours of off-the-job training with the RTO. The training agreement signed by the student and the employer is usually set down as 18 – 36 months. The system is competency based allowing for earlier completion in some cases. The way in which training is delivered very much depends on the industry in which the apprentice is employed in.

Why choose an Australian School Based Apprenticeship?

Australian School Based Apprenticeships have many advantages. They offer flexible training, which maximises the time spent in the work place. Apprentices develop skills and knowledge needed to work in their chosen industry and on successful completion a nationally recognised qualification is issued.

Who selects the Apprentice?

As with any job it is the student’s responsibility to find an employer, however, some group training providers such as the Master Builders offer an annual intake of apprentices. Any employer who has an appropriate employment and training opportunities within their organisation may employ an Australian School Based Apprentice. The employer and apprentice need to complete an ACT training agreement. Australian Apprenticeships Centres (AACs) will assist you with the completion of the training agreement and selection of the training organisation and will lodge the training agreement for approval with the ACT Department of Education and Training.

Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)

Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) is the workplace component of a nationally recognised industry specific Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) program. It is a compulsory component for students studying both Furniture and Hospitality Vocational Courses. SWL placements provide supervised learning activities in the workplace contributing to an assessment of competence and achievement of outcomes and requirements of a particular Training Package. SWL placements are usually held at the end of a semester, although evidence of competence may be gained from a students’ casual employment in some cases. This would need to be discussed with the teacher or Vocational Coordinator.

Vocational Work Placements

Placements are highly recommended, although not mandatory in all Vocational Courses. They enable students to gain an insight into real-life experiences and a better understanding of the relevant industry and the types of career pathways available. Placements are usually held at the end of a semester and are unpaid.