24/11/2025
RECORD NUMBERS OF STUDENTS TURN BACKS ON ATAR — Wake-Up Call Australia Can’t Ignore
In one of the most significant education shifts in decades, Aussie students are walking away from the ATAR in record numbers at the same time Yr 12 completion rates hit their highest point in history.
According to The Sunday Age (23 Nov), Yr 12 completions surged by 97% since 2021, yet far fewer students are choosing to receive an ATAR at all.
In 2020, 9/10 Yr 12 students left school with a score to enter university.
In 2024?
A dramatic turn.
1000's are opting for VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) instead.
In 2yrs, the program has doubled in scale- more than 11k students now eligible to complete it are preferring hands-on learning, real-world experience, and employability skills over exam scores.
And honestly?
It makes sense.
💡 Why Students Are Walking Away From University Pathways
Several Education experts offered explanations but the truth is likely a combination of factors:
1. The economics no longer stack up.
Education researcher Katie Roberts-Hull points out growing evidence that students don’t see the financial payoff of a university degree.
When a 3–4 yr degree can leave a young person with 10s of 1000s in HECS debt, and the cost of living continues to rise, the calculation changes.
2. Students don’t want debt without direction.
A growing number of young people are openly questioning whether university guarantees anything at all especially with AI automating many graduate-level roles.
3. Work readiness matters more than theory.
Gen Z want to work, earn, learn, and see clear pathways not wait years before entering the workforce.
💠 VCE VM Is a Brilliant Step Forward But It Isn’t the Whole Solution
The VCE Vocational Major offers:
🔷 180+ hrs VET training
🔷 Work placements
🔷 Industry exposure
🔷 Employability-focused subjects
🔷 Pathways into construction, hospitality, beauty services, and more
It’s a strong foundation.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Work experience isn’t the same as work readiness.
Just because a student can perform a task…
Doesn’t mean they can navigate a workplace.
And this is where the gap is growing.
⚠️ We Don’t Have a Pathway Problem We Have a Soft-Skills Crisis
Last week a TikTok video went viral of a 25-year-old saying:
“I’m lost. No job. No direction. I don't know what I'm doing.”
That video has over 100k likes because almost every young person watching it relates.
👉 Here’s the missing piece:
No school pathway — ATAR, VCE VM, VET or VCAL consistently teaches the real human skills that determine whether a young person thrives or flounders after graduation.
Skills like:
Communication
Initiative
Boundaries
Emotional regulation
Conflict management
Resilience
Adaptability
Self-motivation
Professional behaviour
Asking quality questions
Showing up
Which is why we are delighted to have Marg Lange join our team as Head of Life Skills and Wellbeing Education to build our new 2026 framework direction for Stride -so we can help schools better equip this growing trend
