Almost 25,000 students chose to study at TAFE SA in the first three months of this year – a 14.2 per cent rise from 2023 – showing the positive impact of Fee-Free TAFE.

The 14.2 per cent rise equates to 3,105 more students studying at TAFE and is 12 percentage points above the national increase of 2.2 per cent. The rise coincides with the start of the South Australian and Federal Government’s investment in the Fee-Free TAFE initiative.

The National Centre for Vocational Education and Training (NCVER) data released today shows there was a total of 46,295 South Australian government-funded VET students – an increase of 4.7 per cent from last year.

The report also shows there are more program enrolments (up 6 per cent), more subject enrolments (up 6.6 per cent) and more hours of delivery (up 3.6 per cent).

The most popular program enrolments were in construction courses such as electrotechnology electrician, carpentry and engineering (fabrication), early childhood and care and individual support.

Other notable increases for South Australia include VET students:

• Attending secondary school: up by 28.9 per cent to 6,285 – the highest percentage increase in the nation
• Aged 24 years and under: up by 12.6 per cent to 20,030 – the highest percentage increase in the nation
• From regional and remote areas: up by 8.7 per cent to 11,990
• Reporting a disability: up by 7.4 per cent to 3,850
• Identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander: up by 4.9 per cent to 1,940
• Studying Certificate III and above: up by 2.7 per cent to 35,780

Over the next five years, it is predicted that nine out of ten jobs will require post-secondary education, with half requiring vocational training.

The 2024-25 State Budget revealed a record investment in skills funding for South Australians. This included an additional investment of $692.6 million over five years in the vocational education and training sector to lift the total investment, as part of the National Skills Agreement (NSA), to $2.3 billion in partnership with the Commonwealth.

Quotes

Attributable to Blair Boyer

Fee-Free TAFE is an important initiative to break down barriers to education and training and make courses more accessible to people who otherwise would not have had the opportunity.

It has been a gamechanger for South Australians seeking to get the skills they need for a rewarding career.

We promised South Australians we would rebuild TAFE SA and that’s exactly what we are doing with this investment in high-quality training.

Courses offered through Fee-Free TAFE directly align with areas where we need thousands more highly trained workers, including for the huge projects we will be delivering as a State such as AUKUS, three-year-old preschool and the hydrogen plant.