Vocational education and training graduate outcomes for STEM and other fields

Graduates with vocational education and training (VET) qualifications report on their employment and income outcomes.

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Data insights

Differences between results reported on this page are statistically significant unless otherwise noted. This means that the differences are unlikely to be due to random chance alone. As survey results come from samples rather than the whole population, significance testing helps identify which differences are likely to reflect real patterns rather than random variation.

Gender Equity

Training relevance

In 2024, 65% of women VET STEM graduates reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. A higher proportion of men STEM graduates than women reported their training had some or high relevance to their job (79% compared to 65%).

Overall, health graduates were less likely to report their training was highly or somewhat relevant to their job (70% compared to STEM and non-STEM graduates, each 76%).

In 2024, 70% of women graduates in engineering and related technologies reported their training was highly or somewhat relevant to their job. This was the highest proportion of all STEM fields, followed by agriculture, environmental and related technologies (65%).

The proportion of men who thought their training was highly or somewhat relevant also decreased during this time, from 57% to 50%. In each year from 2016 to 2024, the proportion of STEM women graduates who reported their training had some or high relevance to their jobs was lower than the proportion of STEM men graduates.

Improved employment outcomes

In 2024, the proportion of women whose employment outcomes improved (by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level and/or reporting a job-related benefit) after graduating in a VET STEM field was 55%. This was a decrease from 58% in 2023. This was lower than the proportion of men whose employment outcomes improved after graduating in a VET STEM field, which was 68% in 2024.

The proportion of STEM women graduates who reported their employment outcomes improved after graduating was lower than STEM men graduates across the entire time series from 2016 to 2024.

The proportion of women graduates reporting improved employment outcomes decreased in some STEM fields between 2023 and 2024. The data showed that in:

• information technology, it decreased from 52% to 41%
• agriculture, environmental and related studies, it decreased from 64% to 58%.

In 2024, information technology graduates had the lowest improvement in employment outcomes, with just 41% of both women and men reporting improved employment outcomes.

For women VET graduates, this was significantly lower than all other STEM fields. For men VET graduates, this was significantly lower than engineering and related technologies and agriculture, environmental and related studies.

Income

Across all VET STEM fields, women’s median full-time annual income was $62,000 in 2024, an increase from $59,000 in 2023. Men’s median full-time annual income was $76,000, an increase from $72,000 in 2023. The larger increase in income for men saw the income gap for VET graduates widen in 2024. This gap was present for VET graduates in most STEM fields:

• In natural and physical sciences, the median income for women was $52,000, compared to $63,000 for men.
• In engineering and related technologies, the median income for women was $70,000, compared to $78,000 for men.
• In agriculture, environmental and related technologies, the median income for women was $52,000 in 2024, compared to $60,000 for men.

Equity in diversity groups

The data includes other diversity and location groups, some of which are discussed below. These include comparison by:

• First Nations status
• disability status
• language background
• location.

Training relevance

A lower proportion of VET STEM graduates with disability reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs compared to those without disability. In 2024, 64% of STEM graduates with disability reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 78% of STEM graduates without disability.

A higher proportion of graduates from a non-English speaking background and graduates from a remote location found their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs.

• A total of 81% of STEM graduates from a non-English speaking background reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 75% of STEM graduates from an English speaking background.
• A total of 84% of STEM graduates from a remote location reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 75% of STEM graduates from a major city.

Information technology was the STEM field with the lowest proportion of people from diverse groups who reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs in 2024.

• A total of 51% of information technology graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds reported this. This was in comparison to engineering and related technologies which was the STEM field with the highest proportion of graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds reporting this, at 89%.
• A total of 44% for information technology graduates with disability reported this. This was in comparison to agriculture, environmental and related technologies which was the STEM field with the highest proportion of graduates with disability reporting this, at 74%.

Improved employment outcomes

Employment outcomes improved after graduating from a VET STEM field, by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level and/or reporting a job-related benefit, for a lower proportion of graduates from most diversity groups in 2024.

• The proportion of First Nations STEM graduates whose employment outcomes improved was 60%, compared to 65% of non-First Nations STEM graduates.
• The proportion of STEM graduates with disability whose employment outcomes improved was 45%, compared to 67% of STEM graduates without disability.
• The proportion of STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds whose employment outcomes improved was 59%, compared to 66% of STEM graduates from English speaking backgrounds.

For graduates from a remote location, the proportion of STEM graduates whose employment outcomes improved was 72%, which was higher than STEM graduates from a major city, at 62%.

Of all STEM fields, engineering and related technologies had the highest improvement in employment outcomes across all diversity groups in 2024. Information technology graduates reported the lowest improvement in employment outcomes across all diversity groups.

• 71% of engineering and related technologies graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds reported this, compared to 38% of information technology graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.
• 64% of First Nations engineering and related technologies graduates reported this, compared to 34% of First Nations information technology graduates.
• 51% of engineering and related technologies graduates with disability reported this, compared to 29% of information technology graduates with disability.

Income

Across all VET STEM fields, the median full-time annual income was lower for graduates from all diversity groups in 2024. This gap was significant for STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds and graduates with disability.

• Annual income for STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds was $70,000 in 2024, compared to STEM graduates from English speaking backgrounds, at $73,000.
• Annual income for STEM graduates with disability was $62,000 in 2024, compared to STEM graduates without disability at $75,000.

In 2024, information technology was the field with the largest difference in median full-time annual income between:

• First Nations graduates, $52,000, and non-First Nations graduates, $65,000
• graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, $70,000, and graduates from English speaking backgrounds, $63,000.

For STEM graduates with disability, the largest difference was in engineering and related technologies, where the median income for graduates with disability was $65,000, compared to graduates without disability ($78,000).

Gender equity by diversity groups

Relevance of training

In some diversity groups in 2024, there were significantly lower proportions of women VET STEM graduates who reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to men.

• Of women VET STEM graduates from a remote location, 76% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs in 2024. This is compared to 87% of men STEM graduates from a remote location.
• Of women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, 70% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. This is compared to 84% of men VET STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds
• Of First Nations women STEM graduates, 66% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. This is compared to 81% of First Nations men VET STEM graduates.

Improvement in employment outcomes

In all diversity groups in 2024, there were lower proportions of women STEM graduates whose employment outcomes improved, by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level and/or reporting a job-related benefit, after graduating in a VET STEM field, compared to men. This difference was significant for STEM graduates from a remote location and STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.

• Of women VET STEM graduates from a remote location, 64% reported improvement in employment outcomes. This is compared to 75% of men STEM graduates from a remote location.
• Of women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, 46% reported improvement in employment outcomes. This is compared to 64% of men STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Income

In all diversity groups in 2024, median full-time annual income was lower for women graduates than men.

• Annual income for women STEM graduates from a remote location was $65,000 in 2024, compared to men STEM graduates from a remote location at $78,000.
• Annual income for women First Nations STEM graduates was $61,000 in 2024, compared to men First Nations STEM graduates at $73,000.
• Annual income for women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds was $58,000 in 2024, compared to men STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds at $72,000.
• Annual income for women STEM graduates with disability was $53,000 in 2024, compared to men STEM graduates with disability at $63,000.

About the data

This information is derived from the National Student Outcomes Survey, an annual survey of those who fully or partially completed training in Australia during the previous calendar year. The survey is conducted by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

The survey collects information on VET students’:

• reasons for training
• employment outcomes
• satisfaction with training
• further study outcomes.

The 2024 survey results are based on responses from 243,778 VET students.

The data in the visualisation covers graduates with an Australian residential address. Regional locations include inner regional and outer regional areas of Australia. Remote locations include remote and very remote areas of Australia.

Differences between results reported on this page are statistically significant unless otherwise note. This means that the differences are unlikely to be due to random chance alone. As survey results come from samples rather than the whole population, significance testing helps identify which differences are likely to reflect real patterns rather than random variation.

Income values have been rounded to the nearest thousand and are presented as medians.

Read about VET statistics on the NCVER website.

Read more about our methodology and this data.