TasTafe offers 3000 fee free spots for Tasmanian courses

TasTafe is offering more than 3000 students their courses for free in 2024. Find out which fields are eligible.

SUN TAS. Rhiannon Kerin who completed a certificate II in baking at TAFE and is now employeed at Pigeon Whole Bakers. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

TasTAFE is offering fee-free places for 44 courses in 2024 for Tasmanians wanting to train, retrain or improve their skills.

It follows the success of 3336 Fee-Free TAFE enrolments in 46 courses state-wide this year.

TasTAFE CEO, Grant Dreher, said under a joint agreement with the Australian and Tasmanian Governments, 3400 fee free places would be available in 2024.

“Our 2024 fee-free courses cover some of our most popular study areas, providing people with job-ready skills for industries where there is a high demand for jobs,” he said.

“This includes areas like community services, individual support (disability and aged care streams), early childhood education and care and cyber security, agriculture, tourism and hospitality.

“There are also plenty of courses for people looking to take the first-step towards an apprenticeship with Certificate II vocational preparation courses available in electrotechnology, salon assistant, construction pathways, automotive and baking.”

Drysdale restaurant in Hobart. Picture: Linda Higginson

In 2023, 46 TasTAFE courses were fee-free including those with full qualifications along with some short courses and skill-sets.

Mr Dreher said fee-free TAFE was “a fantastic way to provide more people with the opportunity to learn at TasTAFE”.

“We know that vocational education and training can make a real difference to people’s lives and careers and we’re excited to again be able to increase access to our training through this initiative,” he said.

Course costs vary depending on the qualification with fees listed on the website.

Fee-free TAFE has resulted in increased numbers of course enquires including both fee-free and other courses.

Under fee-free TAFE, tuition fees are covered, however, students may need to cover the cost of textbooks, workbooks, uniform, online learning resources or personal protective clothing depending on the requirements of the specific course.

As at the third quarter of 2023 TasTAFE had 20,916 enrolments compared to 19,255 in 2022.

TasTAFE offers 215 nationally accredited qualifications.

About 20 per cent of TasTAFE students receive concessions and will pay no more than $390 per annum for their course

Applications for 2024 fee-free TasTAFE courses are now open. Visit www.tastafe.tas.edu.au/fee-free for more information on studying fee-free in 2024.