What Is VCE Vocational Major and How Does It Work?

The core of a VCE VM program is four VM studies, which are subjects written for the Vocational Major. The Victorian Department of Education describes them this way:

• Literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening across many different situations
• Numeracy: logical thinking and solving everyday problems with numbers, measurement, shapes and data
• Work Related Skills: exploring career options, writing a career action plan and building job-seeking skills
• Personal Development Skills: taking an active part in your community and understanding your own identity

Like most VCE subjects, each VM study is made up of four units, the parts you complete one after another. You usually take Units 1 and 2 in Year 11, then Units 3 and 4 in Year 12. You also take VET, which trains you for work, and you can add other VCE subjects. You could, for example, take VCE English or a VCE maths subject in place of VM Literacy or Numeracy, or add a subject you enjoy.

VET stands for vocational education and training: courses that train you for a particular kind of work and lead to a recognised qualification. VET qualifications come in levels, and VCE VM asks you to train at Certificate II level or above, one of the early levels. Which courses you can choose depends on what your school offers, so the list of VET options is one of the first things to look at.

Alongside VET there's structured workplace learning, which is time spent in a real workplace connected to your VET course. VCAA calls it “highly recommended for all VET studies”. It isn't a separate VM requirement, though some VET courses require a placement.

If your week ends up split between classes, training and a placement, our weekly study planner can help you lay it out and see where study fits.

To complete VCE VM, you need an S for at least 16 units across Years 11 and 12. Each unit gets an S (satisfactory) or N (not satisfactory), and an S means you've completed the unit's work to the standard set.

The VM studies give you a little more room with timing than other VCE subjects. Units 3 and 4 of most subjects have to be done together in the same year, while VCAA lets VM students spread Units 3 and 4 of a VM study over two semesters or more than one year.

Many university courses use an ATAR, a rank, to select students. TMJ tutors VCE subjects, so that's our interest. VCE VM suits you if you learn best by doing; a VCE with an ATAR suits plans that need an ATAR.

Our guide to study scores, scaling and the ATAR shows how an ATAR is worked out, step by step.

VCAA says the program prepares students to move into:

• apprenticeships and traineeships, which are paid jobs where you train towards a qualification as you work
• further education and training, such as a VET course at a higher level
• university through a pathway that doesn't use an ATAR, such as a university's alternative entry program
• work, straight after Year 12

Each university sets its own alternative entry programs. If there's a university course you're already curious about, you can look up on its admissions pages how it selects students who don't have an ATAR, so you know what the route involves before Year 11 starts.

Your school's careers adviser and its VCE or VET coordinator know what your school offers and can help you plan a program, so they're the people to talk to before you choose. You can ask to meet them if a conversation isn't already booked. A few questions you can bring:

• Does the school offer VCE VM, and which VET courses could I do?
• Where and when does the VET training happen, and is there any cost?
• Does the VET course I'm interested in include a workplace placement?
• Could I add other VCE subjects, and could that mix lead to an ATAR if I wanted one?
• If my plans change after Year 11, what could I change to?

If you're thinking about adding VCE subjects, our guide to choosing VCE subjects can help you weigh them up before that conversation.

VCE VM and a VCE with an ATAR are two ways through the same certificate, each built for different plans. You don't need your whole future mapped out to choose between them. Knowing roughly what you'd like to be doing the year after Year 12, and asking your school what it offers, is enough to start.

What happens if I don't meet every VM requirement?

You can still receive the VCE. If you meet the general VCE requirements but not all of the VM ones, VCAA awards the VCE without the words “Vocational Major”. If you don't complete the certificate, your school can check whether you're eligible for a Student Achievement Profile summary of what you did complete.

Can I do Work Related Skills or Personal Development Skills in a VCE with an ATAR?

Yes, if your school offers them. Since 2025 schools can offer these two VM studies to any VCE student. VM Literacy and Numeracy are only available in the full VCE VM program.

Can time in a workplace count towards VCE VM?

Yes. You can earn up to two credits at the Units 1 and 2 level by completing 80 hours in a workplace and 20 hours of class work linked to your VET course, and keeping a workplace learning record of it.

What is the Victorian Pathways Certificate?

It's a separate certificate, not part of VCE VM. VCAA describes it as a foundation secondary certificate for students who want an individualised program at a more accessible level than the VCE, and its units don't count towards VCE VM.

We checked these official sources on 6 November 2026.