HSC Vocational Education Enrolments Rise in New South Wales
Places named in this headline: New South Wales, Australia
More than a quarter of Higher School Certificate (HSC) students in New South Wales are now enrolled in vocational education and training (VET) courses, according to the 2026 HSC Enrolment Snapshot released by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).
The annual September snapshot indicates that VET enrolments increased by 6% compared to the previous year, with 28% of the 2026 HSC cohort studying at least one VET course. Since 2020, total HSC VET course enrolments have risen by 20%.
Hospitality remains the most popular VET course with 9,250 students, followed by Construction with 4,188 students and Business Services with 3,158 students. Several smaller courses recorded notable growth, including Financial Services, which grew 82% to 215 students, and Human Services, which increased 21% to 1,182 students. Electrotechnology (763 students), Automotive (597 students), and Information and Digital Technology (600 students) each recorded enrolment increases above 10%.
The NSW Government linked the trend to policy initiatives and funding, including an $11.6 million expansion of the Educational Pathways Program. The program, designed to connect students with work experience, school-based apprenticeships, and traineeships, will expand to an additional 24 high schools next year, reaching 207 schools. Recent changes to the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) also allow students to count multiple VET courses toward their rank.
In total, 84,053 students are enrolled in at least one HSC course in 2026, with 74,542 students completing their HSC this year.
Among non-VET courses, Mathematics remains the most studied subject area after compulsory English, with enrolments across the five examined mathematics courses remaining steady. More than 40% of the cohort, or 35,258 students, are enrolled in at least one science subject, while approximately 35% are taking a course that includes a major work or performance component.
HSC written examinations are scheduled to begin on 13 October with English Paper 1 and conclude on 5 November with Physics.
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