Nursing and community services remain the most popular fee-free TAFE courses in Ballarat as the federal and state governments continue to push the initiative as a solution to nationwide skills shortages.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Almost 3000 people commenced a Free TAFE course at a Ballarat provider in 2022, with the Diploma of Nursing, Diploma of Community Services, Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping, Certificate IV in Cyber Security, and Certificate III in Horticulture attracting the most enrolments.
Ballarat providers include Bendigo Kangan Institute, Federation University Australia, Gordon Institute of TAFE and South West Institute of TAFE.
Based on enrolments to date, Federation's most popular Free TAFE courses this academic year are Nursing, Community Services, Cyber Security, Early Childhood Education and Care, and Training and Assessment.
Courses seeing lower levels of enrolment include the Diploma of Building and Construction, the Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying, and certificates in plumbing, electrotechnology, and engineering studies.
READ MORE:
Nursing and Community Services have been among the top choices for Federation students since Free TAFE's inception in 2019.
Federation could not provide completion rates for its free TAFE courses, with a spokesperson saying these were "difficult to measure" because "many courses run over multiple years and because these courses are in areas of such high-demand, students often get job offers before completing their course and will often be employed before they have the opportunity to complete their qualification".
The state government's Social Services Jobs Guarantee means any student who graduates from the Diploma of Community Services between September, 1 2022 and August 31, 2024 is guaranteed a job.
A skills agreement between the federal and Victorian governments is injecting more than $250 million to support access to more than 55,000 Free TAFE and vocational education and training places in 2023.
