Fact Sheet Snapshot
- Technical & Further Education (TAFE) in Victoria
- Features of Victorian TAFE
- Features of Australian TAFE
Fact Sheet Snapshot (56 KB)
Technical & Further Education (TAFE) in Victoria
The Australian Vocational and Education Training (VET) system operates as a joint partnership between the Commonwealth and States and Territories. Under this arrangement, the States and Territories retain responsibility for their training systems. Key providers of VET nationally are colleges and institutes of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) operating under different governance arrangements according to each state authority. Governance arrangements for Victorian TAFE Institutes are described in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. Victoria’s publicly funded TAFE institutes are governed by Boards. TAFE institutes/colleges provide education and skills training for students of all ages and backgrounds, for small and large enterprises and across all industries (www.vta.vic.edu.au/members).
The Victorian State Training System provides education and skills training across all occupational groups and includes, among other organisations, 14 TAFE institutes and 4 TAFE divisions within universities. TAFE institutes provide skills training in operative/clerical, trades and professional/paraprofessional areas. Training delivery includes apprenticeships and traineeships, training for members of Koorie communities and training related to Government policies that address national, state -wide and regional skills shortages and community needs. In Victoria there are 22 designated specialist centres in such areas as manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, primary industries, biotechnology, heritage trades, textiles, e-business, environmental sustainability and services to small and medium enterprises.
Victoria ’s TAFE institutes play an important role in reviewing training packages, updating and reviewing curriculum and providing advice to industry sectors. TAFE institutes provide education and training through the following programs:
- Employment skills programs which equip learners with essential skills required to effectively participate in the workforce including entry, apprenticeship, paraprofessional, advanced technical and advanced post-initial training
- The VCE and VCAL for adults and young people as pathways to continuing education, training and employment
- Basic literacy and numeracy (incorporating English as a Second Language programs)
- Vocational education programs for learners re-entering the workforce
- Enrichment programs which meet personal development and special interests.
- Partnerships and consortia such as Skills Stores or pathways to Higher Education.
TAFE institutes in Victoria offer a high degree of flexibility in the delivery of programs including skills recognition (RPL), part time award courses, stand-alone modules and short non-award courses. Programs can be undertaken on-campus, in workplace settings, in partnership with secondary schools, industry and universities, and through distance education arrangements including using online technologies. Victorian TAFE institutes are actively engaged in VET at the state level as well as nationally and internationally. Victorian TAFE providers currently deliver education in all states and training in countries including India, Korea, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kenya, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan and Mauritius. In 2007 alone 14,945 international students enrolled in TAFE programs in Victoria.
Funding is from a combination of sources: the Australian Government, the Victorian State Government, industry bodies, employers and individuals. Currently, Victorian TAFE providers have total operating revenue in excess of $1.2 billion per annum and employ more than 10,200 effective full time staff. They deliver approximately 65 million publicly funded student contact hours per annum. While Victorian TAFE institutes continue to be government owned and regulated they generate approximately 26% of their earnings from commercial activities. Remaining funding is received from the Victorian State Government and Commonwealth Government (61%), Student Fees and Charges (4.7%), Ancillary Trading (2.8%) and other (5.5%) sources.
(September 2008)
Sources: NCVER Australian VET Statistics – Financial Information 2006; NCVER Australian VET Statistics – Students & Courses 2006 & 2007; VLESC Annual Report 2006 – 2007: International Education fact sheet November 2007: Skills Victoria data 2007.
Features of Victorian TAFE
Did you know…?
- There are 14 TAFE Institutes and 4 Universities with TAFE divisions
- In 2007 369,776 individuals enrolled in TAFE programs in Victoria of which 14,948 were international students on-shore
- 81% of 2006 TAFE graduates were employed by May 2007
- In 2007 TAFE institute’s received 26% of income from fee-for-service activities
- In 2006-2007 TAFE institutes delivered in excess of 65 million government funded student contact hours
- 35.4 million student contact hours for fee for service were delivered in 2007 by TAFE institutes
- 6 TAFE Institutes offer degrees in Associate Degree and Bachelor programs. Increasing numbers of TAFE institutes are receiving approval to offer vocational degree qualifications
- In 2006 TAFE institutes and ACE provided Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning programs to 1,401 young people
- In 2006 TAFE institutes and ACE provided VCE programs to 2,839 young people aged 15 – 19 years
- Commonwealth and State government funding to Victorian TAFE institutes for training in 2007 amounted to approximately $722 million
- In 2006-2007 TAFE institutes received $12m in new capital infrastructure for equipment from the Victorian State Government
- TAFE employs around 10,200 effective full time staff
- TAFE delivers education and training internationally with many close links in the Asia-Pacific region
Features of Australian TAFE
- There are 59 TAFE institutes including Universities with TAFE Divisions
- TAFE and other government providers delivered 333 million hours of training in 2007
- 30% of all young people in Australia undertake some form of VET
- TAFE enrolled approximately 1.67 million Australians in 2007
- 88.1% of VET students are enrolled on a part-time basis
- In 2007 around 6% of VET students are over 45 years of age
- In 2007 43.2% of VET student are under 24 years of age
- More than 78% of students who undertake training in a publicly funded training provider enrol in a TAFE or other government provider
- In 2007 1,312,800 students enrolled in TAFE and other government providers
- Around one in nine people aged 15-64 years participated in the TAFE system in Australia in 2007
- Typical student is more likely to be an adult, already employed and upgrading their job skills rather than a school leaver
- 20% of students enrolled in public VET were an apprentice or trainee undertaking off-the-job training
(September 2008)
Sources: NCVER Australian VET Statistics – Students and Courses 2007; NCVER Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics – Student Outcomes 2007; VSC Annual Report 2006-2007; ABS Population Figures.
Page updated 12 September 2008