Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year	2025 course information
Award granted	Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training
Deakin course code	E506
Faculty	Faculty of Arts and Education
Online	Yes
Duration	1 year part-time
Course Map - enrolment planning tool	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8

Course sub-headings

Course overview

Take your teaching expertise and salary to the next level, with Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training. This course will equip you with the advanced knowledge and practical skills – and AQF level 8 qualification – to meet the growing demand for teachers within the TAFE and Vocational Education and Training (VET) system.

With a focus on developing your agency in the classroom, this course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to confidently design, teach and assess in TAFE/VET. You’ll explore the methodologies behind creating authentic and inclusive learning experiences for students and investigate the design, development and evaluation of research in education. You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake your own independent research project relevant to professional practice in education.

Ready to boost your VET professional learning to take your teaching career and salary to the next level?

With a supervised professional practice component, you’ll gain the support you need to integrate the innovative practices and approaches you learn about directly into your teaching, enhancing your expertise – and your career. By developing transferable skills, such as critical enquiry, collaboration and strategic thinking, you’ll also be set to skilfully navigate the challenges of VET teaching, now and into the future.

Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training meets the requirements for an AQF level 8 or above teaching qualification in the Victorian TAFE Teaching Staff Agreement, meaning you’ll graduate qualified to apply for new MEA classifications and associated incremental salary points.

This course is delivered via Deakin’s premium online platform – meaning can get ahead with your career journey while also maintaining work, study and personal commitments. You can also choose to start your course in any of Deakin’s three study periods (trimesters) across the year.

Career opportunities

Graduates of Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training will have advanced skills, knowledge and expertise to teach in TAFE and the Vocational Education and Training system, including the adult and community education sectors.

For more information go to DeakinTALENT.

Participation requirements

Compulsory learning experiences

A total of 200-hours of teaching practice, teacher observation and teacher professional development and professional activities, including:

15-days (120-hours) in which the teaching practice of the teacher candidate is observed and evaluated by a qualified teacher educator of the institution conferring the teaching qualification or, by other fully qualified teachers who agree to act as supervisor/s of the teacher candidate.
50-hours in which the teacher candidate participates in activities such as
- attendance at meetings of teachers,
- development of course materials,
- student interviews,
- industry liaison and consultation with external authorities and enterprises; and

50-hours of other teaching-related activities which may involve further directly supervised teaching practice or further teaching observations or participation in other professional teaching activities (25-hours each embedded in EEE735 & EEE736).

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Critically analyse and apply advanced and specialised knowledge of the principles of contemporary vocational education research, curriculum design, pedagogy and evidence-based assessment and their application for teaching and learning in adult, vocational education and training
Communication	Employ expert oral and written communication skills and standards required of the adult, vocational education and training teaching and scholarship to be able to transmit complex knowledge to a variety of audiences
Digital literacy	Apply a range of digital technologies and data sources to create, search, analyse, report, evaluate and communicate within the practice and scholarship of teaching of adult, vocational education and training
Critical thinking	Critically review, analyse and synthesise complex ideas and make informed judgements to improve teaching and learning methodologies, pedagogy and practices in adult, vocational education and training
Problem solving	Apply specialist knowledge of theories of learning and teaching, to identify, evaluate and resolve problems and challenges impacting on adult and vocational education and training, including addressing implications for teaching and scholarship
Self-management	Apply an evidence-based approach to critical self-reflection in relation to teaching and learning, and evidence of a commitment to ongoing, self-directed lifelong learning and professional development
Global citizenship	Analyse and apply ethical and professional standards in engaging with key challenges in teaching and learning globally, and within diverse socioeconomic, cultural and religious contexts

Approved at Faculty Board September 2019

Course rules

To complete the Graduate Certificate of Adult, Vocational Education and Training students must pass 4 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
4 credit points of core units

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.

Note:

This course is part-time only.

Course structure

Core units

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit)

EDX701

Research Design Development and Method

EDX707

Independent Research Project for Professional Practice

EEE735

Designing, Teaching and Assessment in Adult, Vocational Education and Training

EEE736

Contextualising Learning and Teaching in Adult, Vocational Education and Training

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.

Further information

Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.

Contact Student Central

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.