The Australian Trade College North Brisbane offers students a curriculum which leads to the issue of the QCE (Senior Certificate) as well as a trade qualification in one of the industry groups (Metals and Engineering, Automotive, Building and Construction, Electrotechnology, Commercial Cookery).

The QCE is Queensland's senior school qualification, which is awarded to eligible students usually at the end of Year 12. The QCE recognises broad learning options and offers flexibility in what, where and when learning occurs. 

The QCE is achieved after students complete the required 20 credits to qualify. This is done by:

The Certificate II’s in Business, Workplace Practices and Creative Industries (Media) are all embedded in Applied Trade Practices (ATP), which is a subject taken by all student-apprentices at the College.

Part completion of Vocational Certificate II and above

The application of credits to partly completed Vocational Education Training qualifications is based on a percentage of the total competencies in the particular qualification.
Individual competencies will be recorded in your Learning Account, but it is only when a specified amount of learning in that vocational area has been achieved that those competencies will contribute towards the QCE.

QCE Information Summary for Parents

From 2006, students in Year 10 will work towards a new school qualification. It is the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). The first Certificates will be awarded to eligible students in 2008.

Eligibility for a QCE

To be eligible for a QCE, a student must be enrolled with a school and registered with the
Queensland Studies Authority. For most students the QCE will be achieved over Years 11 and 12. Others may not achieve it until after they finish Year 12.
The total amount of learning required is at least twenty credits. This reflects an amount of learning that could be reasonably achieved by most young people over a two-year, full-time program of study in the senior phase of learning. 

What is a credit?

A credit is a minimum amount of learning at a set standard that can contribute to the QCE. A
credit has two elements: an amount of learning and a set standard.
Some learning achievements will be recorded in the Learning Account but will not be a credit
because they either do not have the required amount of learning or they do not meet the set
standard.

New flexibility

The new qualification will recognise more learning options. Students can design a program of study to match their career goals. There is more flexibility in what, where and when learning occurs.
Not all the learning needs to take place at school. Some learning can be with a registered training provider, in a workplace or with a community group. The list of options is in the table overleaf.

The Senior Statement

The Senior Statement is an official record of all the learning achievements in a Learning Account. It details: what learning was attempted, the standard achieved and, where and when the learning took place.
The QSA will issue the Senior Statement to young people who:
- have met the requirements for the Queensland Certificate of Education, or
- are attending a school, and have banked at least one achievement in their Learning Account, and are enrolled at a school until the prescribed date at the end of Year 12, or
- have completed a pattern of study which makes them OP eligible.

New laws

The QCE complements the Governments “learning or earning” laws which mean everyone will be required to complete Year 10 at school and go on to complete a further two years of education and training.

For more information:

- refer to the QCE attachment
- contact the ATCNB
- visit the QSA website at www.qsa.qld.edu.au
- visit the Careers Information Service website at www.cis.qsa.qld.edu.au
- visit the Department of Education, Training and the Arts website at www.trainandemploy.qld.gov.au for information about Australian School-based Apprenticeships and traineeships.

Attachments:

QCE Planning Pathway

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