Determinants of completions and completion deficits in VET: Evidence from Australia

Purpose Completion rates in Australian vocational education and training (VET) are notoriously low. While there are conventional reasons such as issues with course, health, institutional factors, financial and family problems and dissatisfaction with the training experience, more VET specific explanations have included that students may discontinue their studies when they have obtained the specific skills they were seeking or they have gained employment. This present study seeks to examine whether the original intention of students at the time of enrolment along with satisfaction and the benefit that could be obtained from completion have any bearing on completion patterns. Methodology This study utilises the 2011 Student Outcomes Survey and Student Intentions Survey and develops a data integration method to relate intention data to student outcomes. The concept of completion deficit is developed as the difference between the probabilities of intention to complete and probability to actually complete. Regression models and chi squared automated interaction detection are applied to evaluate the relationship between intentions, satisfaction, completion pay-offs and completion patterns. Findings Main findings of this study include the preponderance of part-time students enrolled in lower VET qualifications with high completion deficits. Furthermore, the completion pay-offs in respect to salary and improved employment conditions relate to increased completions and decreased completion deficits, while satisfaction plays only a minor role in shaping completion patterns. Originality This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about completions in VET by including the original completion intention of students in the examination of completion patterns.