A great range of Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses are offered to secondary students attending The Geelong College. There are two forms of course delivery:
Internal delivery by Geelong College staff (VET Music in partnership with COSAMP - Provider No 41549, along with VET Sports Coaching in partnership with SAVILE - Provider No 45452)
External delivery by staff at one of the Registered Training Organisations (RTOs in the Geelong area offer over 40 courses).
Geelong College offers VET to students who want to include practical work-related skills in their education. It helps make them more employable and work ready. As such, VET is very much a hands-on educational pathway that will suit some, but not all students.
VET can be regarded as one of the required number of subjects for students at Years 10, 11 and 12, although as places are limited, priority is often given to students who are starting their two-year course at Year 11. Applications are usually processed on a 'first in, first served' basis, so it is important to apply as soon as possible. For instance, VET applications for courses in 2026 at some RTOs open in July 2025, although those for the Gordon Institute are expected to open on Thursday August 7, 2025 (with applications for students entering Y10, a week later).
The teaching or delivery of VET courses occurs in two places:
External delivery at RTOs: Most VET Courses are taught and delivered externally through a Registered Training Organisation (RTOs), see list below.
Internal delivery at Geelong College: Currently, Geelong College offers two internal VET subjects; VET Music (mostly for those in Years 11 and 12), and VET Sports Coaching (as and elective in Year 10). These two VET studies are delivered internally in the same way as any other VCE study. Internal delivery is possible through our auspicing partnerships with COSAMP (Music RTO 41549) and SAVILE (Sports Coaching RTO 45452).
There is an annual fee on a parent’s account when a student chooses to study an external VET course. This is over and above normal College fees. The cost is equal to what TGC is billed by RTOs and covers the cost of tuition, materials, and equipment. Exact fee information for next year should be available early in Term 4.
Assume that you have found an external VET course that you would like to start (or continue) next year. The process of applying for a place in a course is separate to the normal Geelong College subject selection process online (even though you can select VET as one of the required number of studies). You MUST submit a SEPARATE VET APPLICATION, involving one of two approaches (depending on your chosen RTO and VET course):
VET applications at the Gordon Institute: For VET courses at the Gordon, you must apply online directly through the Gordon Institute's web site. Online applications are scheduled to open early in August, and usually close in early September. In addition, so that our records here at TGC are complete, you must also collect complete and return to Student Administration, a hard copy of the special VET Application Form (forms available from Student Admin).
VET applications at all other RTOs in Geelong: For VET courses at any other RTO in the Geelong Region (other than the Gordon Institute), you must complete and return to the VET Coordinator, a special hard copy VET Application Form. You can collect one of these forms from Student Administration, the Careers Centre or from the VET Coordinator. This needs to be completed and returned to the Student Administration Office at TGC as soon as possible, by late July or early August.
Please note the following:
It may be possible to make a late VET application after these dates, but applications are usually processed by the order of their submission, and places are limited- so it’s best to be early.
To complete any VET application, you will first need to obtain your free USI or Unique Student Identifier beforehand, by going to https://www.usi.gov.au/students/create-your-usi . Please ensure you record this information for later reference.
In addition, when you complete your normal on-line subject preferences for Geelong College, you should also indicate, that you hope to do VET as one of your subjects.
During Term 4, RTO's will notify student applicants of their success or otherwise in gaining a place. They will also provide students with details such as RTO enrolment requirements, any information sessions, and starting dates for Term 1 the following year.
If you are still in doubt right now about whether you really want to do an external VET course, it may be best to apply for a place, and when/if a place is forthcoming later in Term 4, you can then either accept the offer or withdraw your application. Only after this final decision has been made and you have been offered a place in a VET course would this study be incorporated on your timetable.
Some advantages of taking VET externally:
VET may broaden your educational pathways and expand your opportunities beyond those provided by traditional Year 10 and VCE subjects. Through VET, you may be able to develop better your areas of personal interest and gain more enjoyment and satisfaction from your studies.
Most VET courses have a ‘hands on’ or practical focus (as well as normal classroom-type learning). This appeals to some students.
Most (but not all) VET results can beneficially affect, your VCE/ATAR for acceptance into tertiary study. Here, VET is usually treated as any 5th/ 6th subject and students gain a bonus increment equal to 10% of your fourth highest scored study from your primary four, 3-4 VCE studies (assuming the course selected is a non-scored study). There are also several VET courses that offer the option of a scored result.. Our VCE Coordinator can answer specific queries in this regard. Alternately, VET can help you gain an apprenticeship or traineeship with an employer.
You can obtain a VET Certificate, as well as the VCE. This can help students gain valuable industry training that may make them more employable in full-time or even part-time work, perhaps while they are studying at university.
VET is conducted in a more adult learning environment. Here, students must assume a greater measure of responsibility for the completion of their work and individual performance.
Some disadvantages of taking VET externally:
There is an extra financial cost to parents of students starting an external VET course, on top of normal College fees. There is no extra charge for the internally delivered VET Music course.
For external VET courses, there is no refund of the year’s fees if a student withdraws after the first 2 – 3 weeks of Term 1 classes (the free trial period). Hence, please be sure to consider your choice carefully.
So as not to fall behind in their other subjects, external VET students need to be able to effectively use the extra 3-4 study periods each week that they gain from taking one less normal subject on their timetable. These study sessions are taken in the George Morrison Library and should be used to catch up any class work that has been missed here at TGC, or VET tasks.
Taking an external VET study means that students are out of school once a week, usually on a Wednesday afternoon. This is likely to cut across normal class lesson time. For example, most external VET classes start at 1.30pm and go all afternoon so it is likely you would miss out on part of Period 4 and Period 5. Unfortunately, it is not possible to avoid this clash on the timetable.
VET students need to be organised and be prepared to accept responsibility for monitoring their completion of work.
VET is normally a two-year commitment. As with all Year 10 or VCE studies, VET is not a way out of hard work. Additionally, if students drop their VET course during the year, they will be required by the College to take up another subject immediately to make up the full subject load, but by this stage, choices may be limited.
If Year 10, 11 or 12 students select an external VET course, it normally means that they will take one less subject at Geelong College (e.g., one less elective at Year 10, only 5 other VCE subjects in Year 11 and 4 other subjects as Year 12).
There is some travelling involved each week to get to external VET classes that are delivered outside the College. It is hoped that free, one way government funded bus transport to RTOs will be available but if not, private transport arrangement will need to be organised by parents of students. Boarders or day students requiring return transport from RTOs may be charged extra for taxis.
Some VET courses involve compulsory Work Placement or catch-up classes during one of the term holidays. However, for most courses, Work Placement is optional.
Although most VET courses add to your ATAR (often 10% of your fourth best scored Unit 3-4 study), a couple do not. This might be an important consideration for those wanting a scored VCE. If you are in doubt, please check this out carefully with the VCE Coordinator or Careers Office before deciding.
It is possible that there may be a clash between your VET classes (usually on Wednesday afternoons for Year 1 students or Monday afternoons for Year 2 students) and sport training here at TGC.
Information relating to most external VET courses available in the Geelong Region can be found by clicking here
Bellarine Secondary College - Course Information
Belmont High School - Course Information
CUA30920 Certificate III in Music Promotion
SIS20419 Certificate II in Outdoor Recreation
SIS30122 Certificate III in Sport Aquatics and Recreation (Partial Completion)
Covenant College - Course Information
ACM20121- Certificate II in Animal Care
AHC20122- Certificate II in Agriculture
AHC20422- Certificate II in Horticulture
Geelong High School
To be confirmed
Geelong Industry Trade Training Centre
To be confirmed
Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College
To be confirmed CUS40109 - Cert IV Music (Sweethearts)
North Geelong Secondary College
To be confirmed
Oxygen College
To be confirmed
The Gordon Institute - Course Information
VFA Training - Course Information
SIS30321- Certificate III in Fitness
CHC30121- Certificate III in Early Childhood Education & Care
HLT33021- Allied Health Assistance
Other: VCAA List of VET Programs
Some RTOs run special information briefings and Open Days. For example, you can apply for a range of 'Taste of TAFE' courses at the Gordon.
It is worth checking out the web sites for RTOs in the Geelong Region.
Additionally, if you have any questions, please contact
TGC Careers Centre (Mary-Anne Lewis, Emma Witham, Sam Kenny)
TGC VET Co-ordinator (Richard Morris)
Assessment in VET is ongoing and varies depending on the course selected. To gain your VET Certificate, you need to satisfactory complete and demonstrate various competencies (often based on self-paced written and practical tasks completed and submitted throughout the year). As previously mentioned, most VET courses can contribute to the ATAR, typically using an addition of 10% of the student’s fourth best scored 3-4 VCE study. However, there are also a few VET courses that currently offer students the option of a scored study (eg, Digital Media, Hospitality, Engineering, Health, Furnishing, Laboratory Skills, Cookery and Community Services).