More Victorians enrolling in Free TAFE and subsidised training

More students, apprentices and trainees are getting the skills they need for the job they want, with a new report showing that enrolments for Free TAFE and other government-subsidised training are increasing in Victoria.

The report released today by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows Victoria’s enrolments in state-subsidised courses were 10.4% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than at the same time last year.

This increase is well above the national average, which saw enrolments drop to 0.1% lower than last year, and is second only to Western Australia at 10.9%.

The NCVER report presents data on government-funded students and courses across the country. It shows that the number of students benefitting from Victoria’s Free TAFE program and other funded courses has increased by 13,345 since last year.

This growth was fuelled by Victorians looking to reskill or change careers. The report shows that the estimated number of commencements by students reskilling are nearly 20% higher in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023.

The increase is due to changes in eligibility for Free TAFE in 2023 which meant that Victorians can study a Free TAFE course without paying tuition fees even if they already hold a VET qualification or degree and that people can do more than one Free TAFE course in a selected pathway.

The largest increases in enrolments in Q1 2024 were in care courses such as the Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care (up 39%), Cert III in Individual Support (up 65%) and the Cert IV in School Based Education Support (up 57.6%).

Victoria’s Free TAFE program is making our vocational education system more inclusive by removing the financial barriers to training for many Victorians. The report shows there were an additional 545 First Nations government-funded students in Q1 2024, and 1,380 more students with disability.

Victorians can access more than 80 Free TAFE qualifications and short courses without the cost of tuition fees. The free courses on offer align with the skills and jobs that are in high demand or are in areas that are a high priority for government like the care sectors or construction.

More than 175,000 students have benefitted from Free TAFE since it was introduced in Victoria in 2019, saving them more than $503 million in tuition fees.

To find out more about Free TAFE, visit: Free TAFE for more Victorians.