The State Government's record investment in TAFEs - which includes a range of free and low-fee courses - is driving a surge of enrolments at Central Regional TAFE's Geraldton campus.
Visiting Central Regional TAFE's Geraldton campus today, Simone McGurk, Training and Workforce Development Minister, said strong take-up of affordable training opportunities will lead directly to highly-skilled workers for the Mid West region.
Central Regional TAFE's Geraldton campus has delivered just over 3,820 publicly funded course enrolments to the end of October 2024, compared to 3,198 in the same period in 2020 - an increase of 19 per cent.
Of these enrolments, 1,136 have been in Fee-Free qualifications and skill sets, with another 1,133 recorded in the reduced-fee Lower Fees, Local Skills initiative. Both of these affordable training opportunities are State Government initiatives to support training for priority areas of Western Australia's workforce.
As at the end of October, the most popular Fee-Free qualification at Central Regional TAFE's Geraldton campus in 2024 is the Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety.
This key qualification is vital for preparing the local workforce for jobs spanning a range of priority sectors, including building and construction.
Rounding out the top five Fee-Free qualifications are the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment; Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care; Certificate IV in Information Technology; and Certificate III in Individual Support.
The State Government announced an $8 million top-up in the 2024-25 State Budget to continue to meet high demand for the successful Fee-Free TAFE initiative in 2025.
The State Government recently announced it will use an additional $8.56 million in Commonwealth funding to deliver over 2,000 additional Fee-Free training places from 2025.
Seven building and construction pre-apprenticeships will be added to the Fee-Free course list for 2025, bringing the total number of fee-free building and construction courses and skill sets on offer in WA to 17.
Building and construction qualifications feature strongly in the top five Lower Fees, Local Skills qualifications at Central Regional TAFE's Geraldton campus in 2024, which includes the Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician; Certificate III in Civil Construction Plant Operations; Certificate III in Carpentry; and Certificate III in Engineering - Fabrication Trade.
The State Government has also delivered the largest TAFE capital works program in the State's history, with 15 projects to upgrade essential infrastructure at TAFE colleges across the State thanks to a $250 million investment. A further $25 million has been invested in modernising equipment at TAFEs across WA.
Central Regional TAFE has received major upgrades to three of its campuses, including a new Visual Arts and Creative Industries Hub and a maritime training vessel upgrade at Geraldton campus, which enables more people in the regions to be trained locally.
Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk said, "These promising results for the Mid West region follow Western Australia achieving the highest vocational course enrolments on record in 2023, up 10 per cent on 2022, driven by our investment in affordable training, and supported by new facilities and equipment across the WA TAFE network.
"Our record investment in infrastructure upgrades, modern equipment and affordable training at WA TAFE colleges is a game changer, especially for regional students and industries.
"I am proud to say that the majority of these projects are in regional areas, as we know how important it is to ensure people can train and work close to home."
Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton added, "It's great to see so many students taking up Fee-Free and low-fee training opportunities in the Mid West.
"In Geraldton, we are seeing very quickly how the Cook Government's investment is supporting local students to be job ready and better equipped to take up local employment opportunities in priority industries."
