STEM Equity Monitor

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.

 

VET graduate outcomes

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You can use the data below to compare income, employment outcomes and training relevance for diverse groups with qualifications in STEM, non-STEM and health fields over different years.

Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) 2026

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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 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 2025 survey results are based on responses from 186,642 people who completed a VET qualification.

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 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.

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.

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 2025, 62% of women VET STEM graduates reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 78% of men STEM graduates.

Overall, health graduates were less likely to report their training was highly or somewhat relevant to their job (68% compared to STEM and non-STEM graduates, each 75%).

In 2025, 67% 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. 

In each year from 2016 to 2025, the proportion of women STEM 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 2025, the proportion of women whose employment outcomes improved (by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level or reporting a job-related benefit) after graduating in a VET STEM field was 54%. In comparison, 67% of men reported improved employment outcomes in 2025 after graduating in a VET STEM field.

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 2025.

The proportion of women graduates reporting improved employment outcomes decreased significantly in engineering and related technologies. The proportion of women who reported improved employment outcomes decreased from 62% in 2024 to 59% in 2025. 

In 2025, information technology graduates had the lowest improvement in employment outcomes, with just 40% of women and 38% of men reporting improved employment outcomes. For both women and men VET graduates, this was significantly lower than all other STEM fields. 

Income

Across all VET STEM fields, women’s median full-time annual income was $65,000 in 2025, an increase from $62,000 in 2024. Men’s median full-time annual income was $78,000, an increase from $76,000 in 2024. Men’s median full-time annual income in 2025 was higher than women’s in most STEM fields: 

  • In natural and physical sciences, the median income for women was $53,000, compared to $68,000 for men. 
  • In engineering and related technologies, the median income for women was $73,000, compared to $80,000 for men. 
  • In agriculture, environmental and related technologies, the median income for women was $55,000, compared to $65,000 for men. 

Information technology was the only STEM field where median full-time income was the same for women and men VET graduates in 2025, at $67,000.

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 2025, 63% of STEM graduates with disability reported this compared to 77% of STEM graduates without disability. 

A higher proportion of First Nations graduates and graduates from a remote location found their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs.

  • A total of 78% of First Nations STEM graduates reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 75% of non-First Nations STEM graduates.
  • A total of 83% of STEM graduates from a remote location reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs, compared to 73% 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 2025.

  • A total of 50% 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 86%.
  • A total of 47% 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 73%.
Improved employment outcomes

In 2025, the proportion of First Nations people whose employment outcomes improved (by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level or reporting a job-related benefit) after graduating in a VET STEM field was 59%. In comparison, 65% of non-First Nations people reported improved employment outcomes in 2025 after graduating in a VET STEM field.

For other diverse groups:

  • the proportion of STEM graduates with disability whose employment outcomes improved was 44%, compared to 67% of STEM graduates without disability
  • the proportion of STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds whose employment outcomes improved was 57%, compared to 65% 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 61%.

Of all STEM fields, engineering and related technologies had the highest improvement in employment outcomes across most diversity groups in 2025. Information technology graduates reported the lowest improvement in employment outcomes across all diversity groups. 

  • A total of 70% of engineering and related technologies graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds reported this, compared to 34% of information technology graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.
  • A total of 62% of First Nations engineering and related technologies graduates reported this, compared to 45% of First Nations information technology graduates.
  • A total of 50% of engineering and related technologies graduates with disability reported this, compared to 26% 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 2025. This gap was significant for First Nations STEM graduates, graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds and graduates with disability. 

  • For First Nations STEM graduates, annual income was $73,000 in 2025, compared to non-First Nations STEM graduates, at $78,000.
  • For STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, annual income was $75,000 in 2025, compared to STEM graduates from English speaking backgrounds, at $78,000.
  • For STEM graduates with disability, annual income was $62,000 in 2025, compared to STEM graduates without disability at $78,000.

In 2025, information technology had the largest difference in median full-time annual income between graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, $71,000, and graduates from English speaking backgrounds, $66,000. For STEM graduates with disability, the largest difference was in engineering and related technologies. The median income for graduates with disability was $63,000, compared to $82,000 for graduates without disability.

Gender equity by diversity groups 

Relevance of training 

In all diversity groups in 2025, 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, 67% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs in 2025. This is compared to 87% of men STEM graduates from a remote location.
  • Of women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, 67% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. This is compared to 80% of men VET STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.
  • Of First Nations women STEM graduates, 64% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. This is compared to 82% of First Nations men VET STEM graduates.
  • Of women STEM graduates with disability, 54% reported their training was somewhat or highly relevant to their jobs. This is compared to 66% of men VET STEM graduates with disability.
Improvement in employment outcomes 

In all diversity groups in 2025, there were lower proportions of women STEM graduates whose employment outcomes improved after graduating in a VET STEM field, compared to men. This difference was significant for STEM graduates from a remote location, STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds and First Nations STEM graduates.

  • Of women VET STEM graduates from a remote location, 64% reported improvement in employment outcomes (by gaining employment, being employed at a higher skill level or reporting a job-related benefit). This is compared to 74% of men STEM graduates from a remote location.
  • Of women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds, 43% reported improvement in employment outcomes. This is compared to 62% of men STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.
  • Of women First Nations STEM graduates, 52% reported improvement in employment outcomes. This is compared to 62% of men First Nations STEM graduates. 
Income 

In 2025, median full-time annual income was lower for women graduates than men for STEM graduates with disability and graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds.

  • Annual income for women STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds was $61,000, compared to men STEM graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds at $78,000.
  • Annual income for women STEM graduates with disability was $52,000, compared to men STEM graduates with disability at $63,000.