TAFE Fees Have Been Reduced, Which Helps Students Like Maddison Study for Her Dream Career

Is now also the best time for you?

This post is presented in partnership with TAFE WA

Jumping into further education is always a massive decision, and you may have a lot of things to weigh up when deciding to get a qualification.

Thankfully, with the WA government’s Lower Fees, Local Skills program you won’t have to worry about the cost of your certificate or diploma. With 55 campuses across WA, and more than 1,000 courses and 180 half-price qualifications available, your career dreams are within reach at TAFE.

There are even a bunch of short courses you can do – some are free – which provide a launch-pad to upskill for new jobs or get on the path to a full qualification.

Right now, TAFE is more affordable and accessible than ever, so you can boost your skills and be job ready sooner than you think. That’s why Certificate IV in Community Services student Maddison Kidd decided this was the best time to start studying and kick off her career in community service and youth work.

"I’ve spent the last six years working in aged care and my partner was working on his career. Now my kids are going to be starting school next year so it’s definitely my time," she tells Student Edge.

"Even though I love doing aged care I just felt like there was more for me in the community service part, like I could do more."

TAFEs in WA have had their course fees reduced by up to 72 per cent for priority qualifications, and the maximum annual fee a student will pay is also capped at $400 for concession students, those aged 15 – 24 or students of any age looking for work.

As a parent of two, Maddison was worried about the cost of her courses, but the Lower Fees, Local Skills program gave her the confidence to persue her studies without having to worry about finances.

"I originally had to drop hours at work to study and I was stressing about day care fees and having to having to pay $200 a fortnight for my fees," she says.

"Once the fees were slashed I didn’t have to stress about that."

Initially wanting to work for the Department of Child Protection, Maddison started studying a Certificate IV in Community Services but later changed her mind after finding a passion for youth mentoring and plans to study a Certificate IV in Youth Work next year.

"You can go and study one thing one semester and if that’s not your thing you could definitely go try another one and just keep trying until you find what you want to do," She says.

There is such a wide variety of courses at TAFEs all over WA from traditional trades like construction, automotive and engineering, through to business, nursing, aged care, disability support, hospitality, logistics and cybersecurity.

TAFE was the obvious choice for Maddison as it gave her the courses she wanted, the flexibility she needed and a heap of invaluable support services.

"It’s an adult learning environment; you can do it at a pace that you feel comfortable; they offer full time or part time, so if you can go in straight doing full time that’s great but obviously if you have other commitments there’s part time, there’s online," she says.

"They’re really flexible, my lecturers are on hand if you need something; you email them, and they’ll get straight back to you. They have student services there, so if you need extra help; extra time tutoring then they’re there to support you through that."

If you think now is also the best time for you to upskill or kickstart a new career contact your local TAFE or Jobs and Skills Centre on 13 64 64.

You can find course and eligibility information on your local TAFE’s website, via jobsandskills.wa.gov.au/TAFE

Header Image: Jacob Ammentorp Lund via Getty Images