We are delighted to share the recently received very pleasing results from the 2023 National Student Outcomes Survey and the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled Provider snapshot.
These independent reports demonstrate the quality of what we do at the College. More importantly they fuel our commitment to our vision of stronger communities through the power of learning and connection. Our commitment to our learners is unwavering at Macquarie Community College, many of whom face barriers to participating in learning and employment.
The College is helping more Australians build their skills, knowledge and qualifications to find employment, while meeting an unprecedented workforce shortage across multiple sectors, through its tailored training programs.
Happily we are seeing the economy returning to growth, especially employment growth after the huge impact of the Covid years. Despite historically low rates of unemployment in Australia many sectors are affected by a chronic skills shortage including aged care, disability support and childcare.
Macquarie Community College is bridging this gap by offering a wide range of programs in skills shortage areas and also assisting thousands of people in our communities to gain the necessary skills and training to enter the workforce, upskill or transition to a new career.
A testament to our success is the recent achievement of over 85% of graduates from the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Individual Support programs gaining employment in related positions.
Equally exciting and a very proud moment, we are thrilled to share the achievements of Simone, a 2023 Community Education Student of the Year finalist. Simone not only completed the Certificate III in Individual Support but gained immediate employment!
Simone says, “I am proud of how far I have come, and I am so much happier since being violence-free and looking forward to studying more and working in the aged care and disability industry. I want to help people. I am hoping that I can help and inspire other people by reading my story.” Read more about Simone’s journey.
The 2023 National Student Outcomes Survey, conducted by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER) into VET graduate outcomes and satisfaction, highlighted the success the College has had in improving learning and employment outcomes – especially when compared to the two prior annual reports of 2022 and 2021 when our communities were heavily impacted by Covid.
Improved employment outcomes
- 63.4% of surveyed students had improved employment status after training – a very large increase over the prior year results of 45.1% (2022) and 39.1%( 2021).
- 40.8% were employed before training. Again, this is a large increase on prior year (30.9%) Of these, 4.6% were employed at a higher skill level after training.
- 59.2% were not employed before training. Of these, 52.1% were employed after training – up from 32.8% in 2022 and 24.2% in 2021.
- 66.5% were employed after training – a large increase from the 2022 figure of 50.9% which was up 7% on the 2021 result. Of these, 89.0% received at least one job-related benefit as a direct result of training.
These results are particularly significant given the high proportion of learners at Macquarie Community College that seek to first improve their foundational skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employability) before they enter or re-enter the employment market.
Jennifer immigrated to Australia and struggled to find a job as an Accountant due to her low level of English. After a friend recommended she study English language at Macquarie Community College, her English communication skills drastically improved, along with her confidence, and helped her find her dream role in the industry! Read more about Studying English pays off for Jennifer’s career!
Increased student satisfaction with training
The survey also revealed significant increases in the (already high) levels of satisfaction of our students with the training overall, achieving the following results:
- 94.6% of qualification completers were satisfied with their training overall – an increase on our strong result of 91.8% in 2022. The National average is 89.0%.
- 96.2% would recommend Macquarie Community College to others – a 5.1% improvement of 91.0% (2022). The National average is 86.3%.
- 97.3% of students surveyed indicated that they received as least one personal benefit from being part of the MCC “community of learners”. The national average is 93.1%.
We are a High Performing Provider
These very encouraging results showing high employment and satisfaction outcomes further affirm our Purpose – to create and provide affordable and inclusive learning opportunities that meet the needs of individuals, organisations and communities.
Our Smart and Skilled Provider dashboard collated by State Training NSW reinforces why Macquarie Community College is recognised as a High Performing Provider for Smart and Skilled.
A very high proportion (83%) of students completing this section of the survey indicate they achieved their main reason for training – the average of providers in NSW is 70%. An even higher 95% indicated that their training was relevant to their job after training – compared to an overall provider average of 74%.
One of our key differences is the high retention rates we have with students completing their full course – with a 67% non-dropout rate overall – this is 5% points higher than the national average of 62%. We are almost 10% above the norm when that focus in on the retention of our more disadvantaged students – we achieved 61% completion rates.
This indicates that we adopt best practices as outlined in the NSW Quality Framework as well as continually scoring high on the NCVER surveys each year.
Fee-Free* Nationally Accredited Training – Enrolling Now
Under the NSW and Australian Government Fee-Free Vocational Education and Training Initiative, students may be eligible for FEE-FREE nationally accredited training courses if they meet eligibility criteria.
We currently have training places available for fee-free nationally accredited training in English Language, Job Ready Skills Computing, Aged and Disability Care and Childcare. For Business & Hospitality Smart & Skilled subsidised training is available, including fee exemption training for those that meet the eligibility criteria.
If you’re interested in learning more about the courses Macquarie Community College offers, please visit the website or call 1300 845 888.
*Eligibility criteria apply. This training is fully subsidised by the NSW and Australian Governments, and as a result your fee is determined through Training Services NSW formal eligibility criteria.