VCE-VM and VET

The Victorian Certificate of Education – Vocational Major (VM)  

The VCE Vocational Major program is a new vocational and applied learning program within the VCE. It is based on an applied learning approach to teaching, ensuring students feel empowered to make informed choices about the next stages of their lives through experiential learning and authentic learning experiences.  

The VCE VM will prepare you to move successfully into apprenticeships, traineeships, further education and training, university through alternative entry programs or directly into the workforce. 

How is the VCE VM structured?   

The VCE VM has specific subjects designed to prepare you for a vocational pathway. Subjects include VCE VM Literacy, VCE VM Numeracy, VCE VM Work Related Skills, VCE VM Personal Development Skills, and 180 nominal hours of a VET Certificate at level II or above. 

Each unit (like a VCE subject) has 4 units and each unit has a set of outcomes which are assessed through a range of learning activities and assessment tasks. You will apply knowledge and skills in practical settings and undertake community-based activities and projects that involve working in teams.  

What do I have to do to get my VCE VM? 

To get your VCE Vocational Major, you must successfully finish at least 16 units, including: 

• 3 VCE VM Literacy or VCE English units (including a Unit 3–4 sequence) 

• 2 VCE VM Numeracy or VCE Mathematics units 

• 2 VCE VM Work Related Skills units 

• 2 VCE VM Personal Development Skills units, and 

• 2 VET credits at Certificate II level or above (180 nominal hours) 

You must also complete at least 3 other unit 3–4  sequences. This means 3 other full year studies at a year 12 level. You can do other VCE studies or  VET.

Student Vocational Major Programs 

VM Work Related Skills (WRS) 

Unit 1: Careers and learning for the future 

This unit recognises the importance of effective pathway planning and decision-making. Students will investigate information relating to future employment, including entry-level pathways, emerging industries, and growth industries and trends. Students will reflect on this research in the context of their individual skills, capabilities and education, and/or employment goals.  

Unit 2: Workplace skills and capabilities 

In this unit, students will consider the distinction between essential employability skills, specialist and technical work skills and personal capabilities, and understand the importance of training and development to support the attainment and transferability of skills. Students will collect evidence and artefacts relating to their personal skills and capabilities and promote them through resumes, cover letters and interview preparation. 

VM Personal Development Skills (PDS) 

Unit 1: Healthy individuals 

This unit focuses on the development of personal identity and individual pathways to optimal health and wellbeing. It begins with concepts of personal identity and the range of factors that contribute to an individual’s perception of self and individual health and wellbeing. Students will investigate the elements of emotional intelligence and begin to develop an awareness of interrelationships between communities and the health and wellbeing of individuals. Students will examine relationships between technologies and health and wellbeing, and develop tools for analysing the reliability, validity and accuracy of information and the efficacy of health messages. 

Unit 2: Connecting with community 

This unit focuses on the benefits of community participation and how people can work together effectively to achieve a shared goal. Students will look at the relationships between active citizenship, empathy and connection to culture, and individual health and wellbeing.  

In the topic of community engagement, students will seek to understand different perspectives on issues affecting a community. They will reflect on relationships between community issues, social cohesion, and health and wellbeing, and the importance of clear information and communication. 

VM Literacy 

Unit 1: This unit focuses on the structures and features of a range of texts – print, visual and film – and the personal reasons readers may have for engaging with these texts. Students will read or watch a variety of texts for a personal purpose, and examine how they are influenced by purpose, context, audience and culture. Students will develop their capacity to critically assess digital texts, including webpages, podcasts and social media. Students will discuss the reliability and effectiveness of websites. 

Unit 2: Students will develop and expand upon their learning from Unit 1 and consider the values and beliefs that underpin different perspectives and how these values create different biases and opinions. Students will read, view and listen to a range of texts and content that demonstrate diverse opinions on a range of local and global issues. Students will engage with a range of content from print, visual, aural and multimodal sources and practice note-taking and responding to short-answer questions.  

VM Numeracy 

VCE Vocational Major Numeracy is designed around four complementary and essential components: 

Eight areas of study (four in each unit) that name and describe a range of different mathematical knowledge and skills that are expected to be used and applied across the three outcomes. 

Outcome 1 is framed around working mathematically across six different numeracy contexts:  

• Personal numeracy 

• Civic numeracy 

• Financial numeracy 

• Health numeracy 

• Vocational numeracy 

• Recreational numeracy. 

Outcome  2 elaborates and describes a four-stage problem-solving cycle that underpins the capabilities required to solve a mathematical problem embedded in the real world. 

Outcome 3 requires students to develop and use a technical mathematical toolkit as they undertake their numeracy activities and tasks.