Enrolments boom at Fed TAFE

FEDERATION TAFE is seeing a boom in enrolment numbers, with twice the number of applications to attend the institution compared to this time last year.

Deputy vice-chancellor and Fed TAFE CEO Liam Sloan said it is important for the facility to continue moving forward despite the challenges higher education providers experienced in recent years.

“We’ve gone through three years of difficult times for not only the TAFE sector, but the tertiary sector all in all,” he said.

“We’re now at the point where I feel really optimistic about what the future holds.

“By Christmas we will have 1000 students probably enrolled in TAFE and normally TAFE doesn’t enrol to January and February.”

Based on data from the Victorian Skills Authority, Federation TAFE is the number one provider in Victoria for improved employment outcomes.

For high demand courses like early childhood care, Mr Sloan said most students are being offered employment on the first placement.

Federation University is currently working under a co-operative education model and Mr Sloan said this is one of the reasons why students are transitioning well into the workplace.

“It means that we’ve got this really unique opportunity to work tirelessly to ensure that out gradates not only get not only the work ready skills, but at the same time they have those world-ready skills so they can pivot off opportunities.

“They can develop those employable skills.”

Learning from the pandemic, which saw problems for higher education institutions who relied on international students, Mr Sloan said they have made significant changes.

“We’ve looked at our portfolio and looked at where we needed to diversify and the fact that your over reliant on the international cohort has led to some businesses going bust,” he said.

“We’ve developed a number of initiatives like going to wholly online products so now you can study a number of Federation University courses online.

“We’ve also identified a number of niches or areas we would like to be experts in, and renewables is one.”

The State Government’s funding for fee-free TAFE courses has also contributed to a spike in enrolments, with the organisation’s 10 most popular courses all being part of the scheme.

Mr Sloan said he hopes future governments will see the value in this funding and continue the program.

“To take away free TAFE, I think what it would do is potentially mean that students go back to their original areas of aspiration rather than being influenced by the dollar,” he said.

“We’d probably start to see a move from areas which are currently well aligned to the skills needs.”

Despite this growth in numbers, particularly in fee-free TAFE courses, there are some low demand areas where Federation TAFE is having to cut back.

Students completing an apprenticeship in painting and decorating have seen their classes for the second half of the year cancelled.

Mr Sloan said this is not the norm and they are looking at bringing in a provider to continue the course.

“Our intention is to stop delivering painting and decorating and we are working with a partner institute to see where we would pick up that delivery from,” he said.

“It’s not common and I hate cancelling classes.

“We’re not abandoning it, it’s about transitioning those students who are studying that apprenticeship into another provider.”