Vocational & Technical Education Public Standard
Vocational & Technical Education Institutions
A complete public pass checklist for regulated postsecondary vocational and technical providers. Every applicable line is mandatory.
Jump to:1 Legal2 Public proof3 Retention and achievement4 Outcomes5 Capacity & protection6 Public informationRulesFormal basis
1 · Legal recognition and status
The provider and every qualification must be recognized and in good standing.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Official vocational or technical education provider registration | Active and unrestricted | Government or statutory VET register |
| L2 | Authority to deliver regulated qualifications or apprenticeships | Current and valid for 100% of assessed provision | Official training, qualification or apprenticeship register |
| L3 | Active qualifications and occupations within approved scope | 100% | Official scope-of-registration record |
| L4 | Training sites, workplace delivery and subcontracted provision | 100% legally authorized | Official site, employer or subcontracting record |
| L5 | Continuous regulated training operation | ≥ 5 years and ≥ 1 complete programme cycle | Official registration history |
| L6 | Latest required external VET audit or quality review | Within the official cycle and ≤ 6 years old | Official audit, inspection or accreditation report |
| L7 | Mandatory external-review areas | Every area meets the required standard | Complete official review report |
| L8 | Current major regulatory sanction | 0 | Official enforcement record |
| L9 | Current stop-enrolment, qualification suspension, closure or insolvency notice | 0 | Regulator, court or public register |
| L10 | Final finding of serious misrepresentation, qualification fraud or assessment fraud | 0 | Final regulator, court or awarding-body decision |
| L11 | Provider identity and vocational scope | 100% match for legal entity, name, ID, training sites and approved scope | Official registers and data records |
2 · Public evidence
Every decision must be independently reproducible from public records.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Open access | 100% of decision evidence available without login or payment | Public webpage, report, API or open-data file |
| E2 | Private provider submissions used | 0% | Published evidence record |
| E3 | Complete data details | 100% include numerator, denominator, period and scope | Official data and methodology |
| E4 | Outcome history | ≥ 2 of the latest 3 valid cycles | Dated annual or cohort data |
| E5 | Registration and enforcement check | ≤ 90 days old | Official current-status source |
| E6 | Continuation, completion and destination data | ≤ 36 months old | Official provider-level data |
| E7 | Enrolment and staffing data | ≤ 24 months old | Official provider-level data |
| E8 | Financial evidence | ≤ 24 months old | Published independent audit |
| E9 | Tuition and compulsory charges | Current admission year | Public provider fee schedule |
| E10 | Unresolved evidence conflict | 0 | Published source comparison |
| E11 | Manual exception or provider-specific waiver | 0 | Published decision record |
| E12 | Evidence tied to the assessed provider and delivery scope | 100% | Official provider, campus and programme identifiers |
3 · Retention and achievement
Learners must remain in training, complete on time and gain the intended qualification.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| VT-C1 | Learners covered by published outcome data | ≥ 90% of total enrolment | Official provider-level learner data |
| VT-C2 | Learner retention | ≥ 72% and ≥ matched 60th percentile | Official retention data |
| VT-C3 | Qualification achievement or programme completion | ≥ 70% and ≥ matched 60th percentile | Official achievement data |
| VT-C4 | Withdrawal rate | ≤ 10% and ≤ matched 40th percentile | Official withdrawal data |
| VT-C5 | Learners past planned end date without completion | ≤ 5% and ≤ matched 40th percentile | Official learner-progress data |
| VT-C6 | Required work-based learning or placement completion | ≥ 90% | Official apprenticeship or placement data |
| VT-C7 | External skills, qualification or end-point assessment participation | ≥ 95% of eligible learners | Awarding or assessment authority data |
| VT-C8 | Retention and achievement stability | ≥ 2 of the latest 3 cycles pass; latest cycle passes | Comparable official cohort data |
4 · Employment and occupational outcomes
Training must lead to work, further learning or verified occupational competence.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| VT-O1 | Positive destination 6–12 months after completion | ≥ 80% and ≥ matched 60th percentile | Official graduate-destination data |
| VT-O2 | Employment among graduates available for work | ≥ 75% and ≥ matched 60th percentile | Official employment data |
| VT-O3 | Employment related to training or use of acquired skills | ≥ 70% and ≥ matched 60th percentile | Official occupation or skills-use data |
| VT-O4 | Graduate destination known | Administrative match ≥ 90% or official survey response ≥ 60% | Official destination coverage |
| VT-O5 | Required occupational-licence examination participation | ≥ 95% of eligible graduates | Occupational regulator or examination authority |
| VT-O6 | Required occupational-licence examination pass rate | ≥ 80% and not below the national first-attempt rate | Occupational regulator or examination authority |
| VT-O7 | Achievement gap for published priority groups | ≤ 15 percentage points | Official group data; pooled sample ≥ 60 |
| VT-O8 | Positive-destination gap for published priority groups | ≤ 15 percentage points | Official group data; pooled sample ≥ 60 |
| VT-O9 | Material programme groups covered by destination data | ≥ 90% | Official programme-level destination data |
| VT-O10 | Destination-result stability | ≥ 2 of the latest 3 cycles pass; latest cycle passes | Comparable official graduate data |
5 · Training capacity and learner protection
Qualified staff, sound oversight and effective learner protection are mandatory.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Legally required qualifications for teaching learners | 100% | Official workforce or external-review data |
| S2 | Required background and suitability checks | 100% | Official external-review finding |
| S3 | Learners–teaching-staff ratio | ≤ 15:1 and not above matched local median | Official same-date learner and staff data |
| S4 | Official teaching-quality result | Meets the required standard | Official external quality review |
| S5 | Assessment, learning resources and learner-support result | Every applicable area meets the required standard | Official external quality review |
| S6 | Latest independently audited financial statements | Published and ≤ 24 months old | Independent audit report |
| S7 | Audit opinion and going-concern status | Unmodified opinion; 0 material going-concern warnings | Independent audit report |
| S8 | Statutory tuition protection, insurance or escrow | 100% of applicable learners | Official scheme or audited record |
| S9 | Programme-closure teach-out plan | 100% of enrolled learners covered | Current public learner-protection plan |
| S10 | Academic-record custody after closure | 100% defined | Current public records policy |
| S11 | Confidential internal complaint or reporting route | ≥ 1 | Current public policy |
| S12 | Independent external complaint or redress route | ≥ 1 | Named statutory or recognized external body |
6 · Information for prospective learners
The full offer, cost, conditions and official outcomes must be visible before enrolment.
| No. | What we check | Pass mark | Public proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Legal name and operating entity | 100% | Official name, provider ID, address and ownership |
| F2 | Every programme currently admitting learners | 100% | Programme name and resulting qualification |
| F3 | Recognition and accreditation status | 100% | Authority, status, expiry date and official link |
| F4 | Delivery location and mode | 100% | Campus, online, blended and delivery partner |
| F5 | Normal programme duration | 100% | Full-time and part-time duration and workload |
| F6 | Admission requirements | 100% | Prior qualification, grades, language and other conditions |
| F7 | Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning | 100% | Eligibility, limits and procedure |
| F8 | Current tuition | 100% | Amount, currency and billing period |
| F9 | Application fee, deposit and every compulsory charge | 100% | Amount and refund status |
| F10 | Estimated total programme cost | 100% | Tuition and required study costs |
| F11 | Withdrawal, refund and deposit rules | 100% | Notice, calculation and non-refundable items |
| F12 | Curriculum, learning outcomes and teaching language | 100% | Every current programme |
| F13 | Assessment, completion and placement requirements | 100% | Credits, examinations, attendance and required placement |
| F14 | Official student outcomes | 100% | Direct links to continuation, completion and destination results |
| F15 | Complaints, appeals, academic integrity, anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies | 100%; reviewed ≤ 24 months | Current policies and external complaint route |
How the numbers are handled
Eight rules keep every decision consistent.
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Material cohort | A level, mode or field with a 3-cycle sample ≥ 60 and ≥ 5% of total enrolment must pass separately. |
| Regulated programmes | A programme leading to a regulated profession is checked regardless of its enrolment share. |
| Matched benchmark | Match jurisdiction, qualification level, study mode, delivery mode, broad field and provider type. |
| Small samples | Use the official confidence interval; otherwise pool 3 cycles to ≥ 60. Never estimate suppressed data. |
| No denominator | A value without its denominator cannot decide listing. |
| Campus and partner delivery | Provider-wide data cannot support a campus or partner claim unless the reporting scope matches. |
| No private correction | A correction changes a decision only when it points to a current public source. |
| Annual expiry | Every listing expires with its edition and is removed if any applicable requirement is no longer met. |
Formal basis
The official frameworks and datasets behind this standard.
| Subject | Authority | Used for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope and education levels | UNESCO Institute for Statistics | Postsecondary and short-cycle vocational programme classification | Official source |
| VET quality indicators | European Commission EQAVET | Completion, placement and use of acquired skills | Official source |
| International VET outcomes | OECD | Completion, employment and teaching-staff context | Official source |
| Provider outcome thresholds | UK Government | Achievement, retention, withdrawal and planned-end-date measures | Official source |
| Official provider performance data | UK Government | Provider-level qualification achievement rates | Official source |
| National VET register | Australian Skills Quality Authority | Registered training organizations and authorized qualifications | Official source |
These sources support definitions, evidence classes and threshold design. Leading Institutions publishes and applies its own pass marks. A general reference never replaces institution-specific public proof.