In Australia, TAFE refers to the Technical and Further Education system. It's the public provider of vocational education and training, which exists in every state.
Andrew Williamson is the Executive Director of the Victorian TAFE Association. He says TAFE offer over a thousand different courses across the country, covering almost every industry.
"From accounting and automobile industries to hair and beauty, building and construction, business and marketing, community services. Certainly, we're big in healthcare and community care, engineering and electrical, early childhood education, plumbing, it goes on and on. There's an enormous range of fields that one can study here."
TAFE courses tend to be practical courses to give skills for jobs. They range from short courses like the Responsible Service of Alcohol or RSA to longer apprenticeships for trades.
Most TAFE establishments offer a large scope of subjects, except a few, like William Angliss in Victoria, which focuses on hospitality.
It's where Young Ju Lee studied when he moved to Australia from South Korea.
"When I came here, I didn't know a lot about ingredients, I didn't know that much about Western ingredients. I've learned quite a lot of cooking skills and a lot of knowledge of ingredients.
He now owns a thriving Korean restaurant in Ringwood East, Mr Lee's Food, and supply Korean grocers across the country. He says that studying at TAFE and meeting other students helped him get there.
"The teachers, they're pretty good, they're all professionals. And also the students can help other students as well so it's quite helpful. We encourage each other as well. In my class, when I was at William Angliss, they were all international, 20 people from about six, eight different countries so we learned from each other quite a lot."
Some courses have entry requirements, while others do not. Mandy Nour is the Adult Migrant English program lead for TAFE New South Wales. She says that your local TAFE can help you figure this out.
"Some might require a certain level of English to be accepted so there may be a test to get in. But if you don't meet the entry requirement for the course, we can advise you on other ways to get there. For example, it might be possible to start with a lower level course."
While international students and temporary visa holders can go to TAFE, financial help is only available to citizens and permanent residents.
Andrew Williamson explains that in several states, there's a list of free courses for Australian citizens and permanent residents
"There's an initiative underway in a number of states where, Victoria, I think was, the first to lead on this, where from the first of January this year, a list of courses that were seen as strategically important to Victoria have moved on to what they call the free TAFE list and there are 40 or 50 courses that range from pre-apprenticeship courses all the way to certificate four to diplomas, where the government will pay the TAFE directly for the course fees instead of student having to pay those fees."
These free courses range from civil construction trades to community care and health care courses.
Refugees and asylum seekers also have access to certain courses for free.
If you can't access concessions and subsidies, Mandy Nour says your TAFE can help you in other ways.
"We do also offer other options for people who need financial help. For example, the course fees can be paid in installments, and we have for the higher level courses, debt student loan or FEE-HELP, which is funded by the Commonwealth government and allow people to study now and pay later."
The best way to know how much your course will cost and how much financial help you can get is to get in touch with your TAFE.
Andrew Williamson says that your TAFE can also provide career advice.
"We're able to have qualified career advisors sit down with our prospective students and talk through their options, what they want to achieve out of the course and into their career and to perhaps explore a range of options that might be suitable for the student."
Mandy Nour also says that you can ask for support in your language.
"For people whose first language is not English and who need help with that, we do have many staff who speak other languages or you can use the Translating and Interpreting Service by calling 131 450 and talk to us in your own language."
Whether you're looking for a course that will lead you to your first job in Australia, help you up-skill to get a better job or even completely change career, have a look at the courses offered by TAFE.
"The area that's expanding the most rapidly is serviced by people who are qualified through the vocational education and training system. When you choose to study at a TAFE, you're doing so at a public institution with a set of public values. That means that you'll receive quality service, quality education from a trusted provider."
Get in touch with your local TAFE and the staff will assist you with career advice, course selection, financial help and enrollment.
