VCAL – The "Hands-On" Option
Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning
The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is the ‘hands
on’ option for Year 11 and 12 students and sits along side VCE as
an accredited secondary certificate. There are three levels of the
VCAL, Foundation, Intermediate and Senior, and completion of one
level would generally take one year. VCAL may be undertaken
in either Year 11 or 12, or both and there are no entry
prerequisites.
A student must satisfactorily complete 10 accredited units in
order to achieve the VCAL. Six of these units need to
be at the certificate level. These accredited units or
modules must be selected to cover the following compulsory
strands:
• Literacy and numeracy
• Work-related skills
• Industry-related skills
• Personal development skills
These units can be made up of a mixture of VCE, VET, or specific
school based VCAL units.
Pathways for Students
Successful completion of the VCAL will provide young people with
skills that are important for life, work and further study as well
as a VCAL Certificate and/or Statement of Attainment.
Students who pursue this option are most likely to be interested in
going onto a traineeship or apprenticeship, further study at TAFE,
or ongoing employment. Due to its flexibility it is possible
in some cases to transfer to the VCE and receive some
credit.
Assessment
Styles of assessment vary according to the units studied, although
there are no exams unless negotiated with your teacher. VET
Certificate subjects are assessed according to the guidelines
outlined earlier, and any VCE units are assessed according to VCAA
requirements.
Planning your VCAL
A student’s VCAL program will be individually tailored to her needs
and interests, although all students will still study Religious
Education. This will count towards the student’s VCAL
award. In addition to literacy and numeracy units, students
will be assisted to build a program that includes a VET course or
Australian school based apprenticeship (ASBA) in a vocational area
of interest to them, work-related skills and personal development
projects. These latter will be developed around their interests and
skills, eg Work Experience or a part-time job, Community Service or
volunteer work within or external to the school, School
Production.
Students interested in pursuing this option should make an
appointment to discuss possibilities with Mrs Hansen. You
also need to submit a VCAL expression of interest from with your
subject selection sheet. This can be obtained form Ms
Hansen.
If you would like more general information about VCAL, click the
following link: www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcal/index.html
VET - Vocational Education and Training
Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools in schools is
designed to broaden the range of study options available to an
increasingly diverse senior school population by enabling applied
as well as academic learning. It permits students to combine VCE
studies with study of TAFE modules whereby they may obtain a VET
Certificate or part thereof while completing their VCE/VCAL
Certificate.
At Santa Maria College students may undertake VET/TAFE modules
at the College, at a TAFE institution or at another school that is
part of the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster (NMVC) partnership.
These VET programs tend to be on a Wednesday and taught outside of
normal school hours, which may necessitate a late finish.
Students undertaking most of these courses will incur an
additional cost over and above their school fees to cover
course fees. In some instances further costs will be incurred where
specific equipment is required by the student in order to take up
the course. A full list of courses and costs will be indicated in
the NMVC 2009 booklet.
All VCE VET programs contribute to the VCE and VCAL. Most
contribute at least 4 VCE units, two at 1-2 level and two at 3-4
level. All programs with a 3-4 contribute to the ENTER – either as
a 10% increment or as a Study Score derived from assessment of
course work tasks and an end of year examination. Where a Study
Score is available students must complete the graded assessment
component in order to receive the ENTER contribution.
Generally VET programs are completed over a two year period, in
order to gain the certificate. If students complete Year 11 only
they receive a transcript of results from the TAFE provider
indicating the modules completed and credit for units 1 and 2
towards their VCE or VCAL.
Successful completion of a program not only continues to give
students a university option but also provides additional pathways,
with credit, into vocational education and training courses as well
as into employment, including apprenticeships. These programs
multiply options.
VET Courses which are offered at Santa Maria are:
Certificate II in Hospitality
Students undertaking this course are required to complete classes
via an arrangement that with a TAFE provider. An approximate
cost of $550 is associated with this program over and above the
normal school fees due to Santa Maria College to cover fees, course
and equipment costs. Students studying Year 11 units are
required to buy a chef’s uniform and knife set, and at year 12
students are required to acquire a waiter’s uniform. Normal
classroom arrangements involving supervision and teaching may not
apply to some of the course time in this program. Work
placement is a compulsory part of this program.
Certificate II In Business
Students undertaking this course would be completing it at Santa
Maria College through an arrangement with a TAFE provider.
Some classes might run out of normal school hours.
Many other VET Courses are available to Santa Maria College
students through our membership of the Northern Melbourne
VET Cluster. For example, students can enrol in:
Beauty, Building and Construction, Community Recreation, Dance,
Hairdressing, Horticulture, Multimedia, Music and much more.
If you would like more general information about VET, click the
following link: www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vet/index.html | 