ECEC lands in top 3 for most popular courses for nationwide Free TAFE

Freya Lucas

Jan 21, 2025

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The Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care was named as the second most popular choice for enrolment at a national level under the Federal Government’s popular Free TAFE initiative.

More than 110,000 Free TAFE courses have been completed nationally, new data has revealed, with the latest figures from states and territories summarising activity that took place between January 2023 and September 2024.

The top 5 courses by enrolment nationally were:

Certificate III in Individual Support
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Diploma of Nursing
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping

A student studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care in South Australia can save up to $4,419, while a student studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care in the Northern Territory can save up to $4,395.

Recent research from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) found that students who complete a Vocational Education and Training (VET) course are more likely to be employed and earn more in the year following their graduation.

JSA’s report Strong and Responsive VET Pathways – 2019-20 graduate outcomes found graduates have a median income increase of $11,800 in the year following the completion of their course.

The same report found that 84 per cent of VET graduates were employed after completing their qualification, a 15 per cent increase from before enrolment.

“Free TAFE is helping Australians get better jobs with higher wages. By removing the financial barriers to study it is giving opportunities to so many Australians who would otherwise miss out,” Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles said.

Read Strong and Responsive VET Pathways – 2019-20 graduate outcomes here.

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