Why SWTAFE?

Take a look at the benefits of TAFE

TAFE students can earn more

• If you have a certificate or diploma from TAFE, you could start your career with a full time wage of $56,000 compared with $54,000 if you have a bachelor degree from university.
• If you have no formal qualifications you could expect to earn hundreds of dollars less each week than those with two or more qualifications.

TAFE students can access more jobs

• 9 of the top 10 occupations predicted to have the most job growth in the next five years are in TAFE trained jobs.
• During 2015–16, the biggest work shortages were in technical and trade areas.
• More than one third of job vacancies in the construction, food production and automotive trades went unfilled in 2015-16.

TAFE students can get employed sooner

• 88.6 per cent of SWTAFE students, compared to an average of 70 per cent of university graduates were employed after training.
• More than 90 per cent of trade apprentices have jobs after finishing training.

TAFE students can have less debt

• You will pay between $2,500 - $10,000 for the average TAFE course, while a university degree will cost you approximately $19,000 - $31,000, or even more for specialist courses.
• Government-funded places are available at South West TAFE. Fees have been cut an average of more than 30 per cent across 29 certificate courses, making your TAFE course even cheaper.

TAFE graduates are ready to go

• You can gain practical ‘real-life’ skills at TAFE so you are totally job-ready when you graduate.
• Courses at TAFE are designed to replicate actual work situations and are structured around what employers are looking for.
• Teachers have extensive industry experience and strong connections with those industries.

TAFE can be your first step to university

• You may use your TAFE qualifications to gain credits for future study at university - reducing the length of your university course, and saving money along the way.
• You can progress from a certificate to a diploma at TAFE, then to a bachelor degree at university.

Sources: Graduate Careers Australia, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)*, Skilling Australia Foundation, McCrindle Research, Australian Federal Government.

*2016 Student Outcomes Report NCVER