- Queensland has recorded the highest levels of students in vocational education and training in over 10 years.
- Record numbers of apprentices are in training for Queensland’s Big Build of housing, hospitals, infrastructure, and clean energy.
- Over 90,000 Queenslanders have benefitred from Free TAFE.
- New $2 million Set for Success initiative to help vulnerable students complete their training.
The new Miles Labor Government has overseen the highest level of skills and training activity since 2012, with 244,000 students funded in VET during 2023-24, including a record 55,500 apprentices.
Qualifications to become an aged care or disability support worker led Queensland’s training system in 2023-24 with over 13,000 students, followed by early childhood educators and those looking to kickstart their careers in business.
Future electricians, carpenters, engineers, and those looking to get in on Queensland’s Big Build with a Certificate II in Electrotechnology (Career Start) being one of the State’s most popular qualifications.
Qualifications in healthcare and the Free Diploma of Nursing have increased in popularity statewide, providing vital employment support to the Queensland health sector.
In 2023-34, the state’s largest VET provider, TAFE Queensland, recorded an incredible over 20% increase in government-funded students to more than 111,000, with the Miles Labor Government making more than 200 qualifications and skill sets accessible at no cost.
In recognition of what matters for Queenslanders, a new $2 million Set for Success initiative will support vulnerable Queenslanders who face barriers to completing their training, including new parents, those with medical conditions, displaced individuals, or Queenslanders struggling with national cost of living pressures.
Under the new fund, applicants will be encouraged to partner with employers, peak bodies, industry associations or specialist service providers in developing projects that will enable people to get the skills as a pathway to good, local jobs.
As stated by Minister for Training and Skills Development Lance McCallum:
“I’m incredibly proud to see a record number of Queenslanders getting skilled up – this is a major win for our state, especially considering how far backwards training went under the LNP.
“Programs like Labor’s Free TAFE are transforming lives, removing financial barriers, and setting Queenslanders on the path to success.
“With record numbers of Queenslanders getting skilled up thanks to our new Skills Strategy that delivers one million training places, the future is bright for our booming workforce, with Queenslanders getting the skills they need for good jobs we are creating.
“Unlike the LNP – who slashed our publicly owned TAFE’s funding, sacked it’s workers, and closed campuses – Labor will always put people before privatisation.”
As stated by Queensland Training Ombudsman Geoff Favell:
“These new figures show the strength of Queensland’s vocational education and training sector and are a credit to the many thousands of Queenslanders who’ve helped build it.
“My research into completions in Queensland is often misquoted – it’s plain and simple – a non-completion does not always equate to a failure, for either the student or the training system.
“This distortion not only undervalues the success of those that have completed, but hurts those that have not, whether through no fault of their own, or because they simply got a job which was the reason for doing the training in the first place.
“This new initiative is a welcome approach to assisting those Queenslanders that need the greatest support when it comes to getting through their training and into employment.”
As stated by TAFE Queensland CEO John Tucker:
“While the completion of a qualification is an important outcome for students, a broader consideration of what constitutes training success is needed across Australia’s VET sector.
“In terms of apprenticeship completions, our experience is that there are many reasons for an apprentice to withdraw from training outside the control of any training provider.
“For example, a young apprentice may start an apprenticeship in one trade area but soon realise another trade area is more suited, so they withdraw and recommence.
“These occurrences are often measured as a non-completion, ignoring the fact that the apprentice recommenced in another, potentially more suitable, trade qualification.”
Additional information on Set for Success:
Set for Success is a new initiative under the recently released Queensland Skills Strategy.
The pilot will operate for a 12-month period with funding applications opening 1 August 2024 with the application window remaining open for one month.
