Technical and Further Education System

Technical-and-further-education-system or simply TAFE, is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses.

Insights from Australia’s Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system

As UK skills policy takes centre stage, what lessons can we learn from jurisdictions around the globe? Following successful virtual study visits to explore VET in places like South Africa and Singapore, Edge recently visited Australia to learn more about the country’s Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system. Here’s a taste of what we learned.

What is the TAFE system, and how does it work?

Broadly analogous to UK FE Colleges, Australia’s 29 Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions are well-established, public vocational training providers. While an additional 3,000+ privately registered training organisations also receive public funding to deliver national qualifications, Australia’s TAFEs account for the lion’s share of vocational training provision in full qualifications, especially high cost entry such as training of plumbers, electricians and enrolled nurses. The largest institution – TAFE New South Wales (NSW) – supports half a million students. As established institutions, TAFEs are respected by industry and trusted by learners nationwide.

The TAFE funding model is quite complex, varying between states and territories. The majority of funding comes from the commonwealth (or federal) government, however through a national partnership agreement which assigns tax income to individual states. The states and territories then distribute funds to registered training organisations in line with their regional frameworks. The complexity of this system partly led to the foundation of TAFE Directors Australia in 1998. Edge spoke to the peak body’s current CEO, Jenny Dodd.

As a representative body, TAFE Directors Australia supports TAFE directors nationwide. As state/territory employees, the directors require a forum through which they can communicate with the federal government on pressing issues. Jenny advocates for these providers at a federal level, coordinating their networks and providing professional development opportunities for all TAFE staff (including dual universities with TAFE divisions).