The Federal and ACT Governments will deliver 3,600 more Fee-Free TAFE places at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) over the next three years from 2024.

Fee Free TAFE, a jointly funded initiative of the Commonwealth and ACT Governments, provides tuition-free vocational education and training to ACT students wanting to train, retrain, or upskill. (Students need to pay for textbooks or other equipment required for the course.)

More than 2,500 fee-free training places were announced under the program in January; 23 more courses were added in May.

Nationally, the federal government will commit a further $414.1 million to deliver an additional 300,000 places beginning next year, Brendan O’Connor, Federal Minister for Skills and Training, said.

Chris Steel, ACT Minister for Skills, said the program has been a huge success in the ACT.

“Fee-Free TAFE and the National Skills Agreement are a central part of our plan to create 300,000 jobs by 2030 or sooner,” Mr Steel said.

“Cyber security was in the top two courses taken up under tranche 1 of the program, which is a key growth industry in the ACT, and shows that these places are going where they’re needed. This was just behind early childhood education and care, which is a sector growing as we roll out universal access to three-year-old preschool next year.

“With the support of the Albanese Labor Government, we can deliver more training places in areas of skills needs by removing the financial barrier for students to taking-up training.

“It’s an exciting time to be a student in the ACT with a variety of courses on offer that will give everyone in our community the opportunities they need to develop skills that are in high demand.”

The new Fee-Free TAFE places come off the back of the first National Skills Agreement in a decade, and are a key promise out of the National Jobs and Skills Summit.

The National Skills Agreement will provide more than $24 million in matched ACT-Commonwealth funding for TAFE Centres of Excellence, with a focus in the ACT on priorities such as the transition to a net zero economy; $6.5 million in matched funding for Closing the Gap initiatives to support training for First Nations Canberrans; $14 million in matched funding to improve VET and apprentice completion rates, with a focus on groups such as First Nations students, women and other vulnerable cohorts; $13 million in matched funding to foster collaboration between CIT and other public training providers and to enhance quality and capability in the VET workforce and sector; and close to $1.5 million to improve access to foundation skills and learning.

Expressions of interest for Fee-Free TAFE in 2024 can be accessed through the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) website now. Enrolments open on 13 November.

Some courses on offer include:

• Diploma of Building and Construction (Building)
• Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
• Diploma of Travel and Tourism
• Certificate IV in Cyber Security
• Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety
• Certificate III in Business
• Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing)
• Certificate II in Electronics
• Health Starter
• Introduction to Cyber Security Awareness