The State Government has added six courses to the fee-free course list for 2024, including a program to help women make a new start following a break from the workforce.
The Certificate I in New Opportunities for Women (NOW) course has been added to the fee-free list in 2024, as part of the State Government's expanded measures to support increased vocational education and training (VET) and workforce participation for under-represented groups.
The NOW course has been developed specifically to help Western Australian women who have been out of paid employment for a long period, or are considering VET pathways, to refresh and boost their skills to be job ready. The program provides participants with the opportunity to explore various career options, build self-confidence, and gain the necessary foundation skills — such as reading, writing and maths — to progress to other VET courses or take up entry level jobs.
NOW is open to women of all ages and backgrounds and provides full time or part time training options with flexible hours to suit women with family responsibilities. To further support women participating in training and the workforce, special provisions have been made to fully subsidise the resource fees associated with undertaking the course.
Additionally, the new Diploma of Vocational Education and Training and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment have been added to the fee-free list for enrolments in 2024 to help grow the TAFE teaching workforce.
- These qualifications will enable industry leaders, passionate about sharing their knowledge and training others, to pivot or expand their careers into teaching at TAFE.
- Qualified VET teaching staff will also be able to upskill through fee free Assessor, Facilitation and Work Skill Instructor skill sets.
This also complements the State Government's targeted lecturer recruitment campaign to encourage industry experts into a VET teaching career through the TAFE Be More campaign.
The new additions align with the agreed national priorities under the State Government's new $1.34 billion National Skills Agreement with the Commonwealth Government to improve outcomes for under-represented groups and bolster the VET workforce.
To learn more about the NOW program or the new fee-free courses, please visit jobsandskills.wa.gov.au or contact your local Jobs & Skills Centre on 13 64 64.
