Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said she encouraged prospective students to look at courses on offer through the Free TAFE initiative.
“We know that TAFE is an equal choice to uni, and if you enrol in a Free TAFE course, you can get started in your career without debt,” Ms Symes said.
Since the program was introduced in 2019, it has grown to include more than 80 qualifications and short courses.
This has helped more than 156,000 students save almost $423 million in tuition fees since the program began, including more than 90,000 women who have gained new skills to benefit their careers.
Free TAFE is benefiting all Victorians, with a quarter of all Free TAFE students based in regional Victoria and more than 44,500 coming from multicultural backgrounds.
With enrolments now open, students can kick-start their careers or upskill to gain new experience or qualifications across a range of sectors, like nursing, building and construction, community services and cyber security.
The program is helping Victorians get the skills they need for the job they want, including in growth areas like clean energy, building the state’s future workforce as it transitions to net-zero.
Free TAFE courses are available to all Victorians, regardless of their existing qualification level, and it’s also possible to do more than one free course, provided it’s within the same priority pathway.
Victoria’s TAFE network is a vital part of the state’s education system, helping students become job-ready faster and providing the skills we need to grow our economy.
For the full list of Free TAFE courses visit vic.gov.au/free-tafe/