SIT30821 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Commercial Cookery. It prepares you for work as a cook. It has been the current version on the national register since 2022, when it replaced SIT30816. Employers posted about 959 cook jobs in June 2026, down 8% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Cooks are in national shortage and employment is projected to grow through 2035. Job ads in June 2026 were down 8% on a year earlier and enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting fewer cook jobs than a year ago. About 959 cook jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 8% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 12,800 job ads, while 21,730 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates cooks as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Cook as in national shortage.
Cook jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 39,447 workers in May 2025, 41,804 by May 2030 (up 6%) and 44,394 by May 2035 (up 12.5%).
Certificate III in Commercial Cookery graduates do better than is typical at Certificate III level. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 92% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate III result is 88%, across 105 qualifications. Median income after training was $60,100, against $54,000 typical. 91.2% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery are dropping fast. Across Australia, 37,460 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 21,730, down 42% in a year. National data for SIT30821 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SIT30821 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Certificate III in Commercial Cookery is 25 units: 20 core, plus 5 electives chosen from 29 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 36 of them, marked below.
Providers listed on Get Course offering this qualification or its pathway. Enquire and the provider confirms details directly.
Earn a nationally recognised SIT30821 Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and build real kitchen skills through blended training and hands-on placement.
Earn while you learn with SIT30821 — a face-to-face apprenticeship that builds real kitchen skills over 156 weeks, with 192 hours of workplace training included.
Get Course maps SIT30821 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 3514) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all Certificate IIIs in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: register training.gov.au, synced 4 September 2026; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.