SIT30921 is the nationally recognised Certificate III behind cook work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2022, when it replaced SIT30916. About 959 cook jobs were advertised in June 2026, down 8% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Catering 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 610 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%).
Results for Certificate III in Catering graduates are mixed against other Certificate IIIs. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 97.1% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate III result is 88%, across 105 qualifications. 85.9% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical.
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Catering are dropping fast. Across Australia, 1,070 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 610, down 43% in a year. National data for SIT30921 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SIT30921 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 Catering is 20 units: 10 core, plus 10 electives chosen from 36 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 31 of them, marked below.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps SIT30921 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: NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register training.gov.au, synced 3 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.