If you are considering entering university straight from school, VCAL is probably not the best choice for you. Students planning to go straight into university usually undertake VCE programs which allow them to gain an ATAR score from the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC). If you are studying a VCAL program at Senior level and you decide that you might be interested in going on to university, see your teacher or careers counsellor. It is possible that some universities will consider students with a VCAL Senior certificate for admission.
Entry straight from school is not the only route into university. Some people study a vocational education and training course at TAFE while working, perhaps leading to a Diploma or Advanced Diploma, and then decide that they would benefit from a university course. VCAL would be a good start along this pathway.
The VCAL will give you practical work-related experience and a qualification that will be recognised by TAFE institutes and employers. Together these will help you move from school into work, an apprenticeship or traineeship and/or further training at TAFE.
Alternatively, if you start studying for your VCAL at Foundation or Intermediate level and successfully complete it, you may consider going on to complete either the Intermediate or Senior level of VCAL. Or you might reconsider your options and decide that university is the right choice for you after all, in which case you might consider moving to the VCE.
VCAL students will gain knowledge and skills that will assist their preparation towards entering a trade, eg Occupational Health and Safety.
The OnTrack destination survey for students who completed a VCAL Intermediate or Senior certificate, indicated that 87% of the cohort followed a pathway to education, training or work after their VCAL.