Page 23 - PR Mag Oct18

SCHOOLIES SKILL UP

as One Hundred and Sixty TAFE Courses go
Free!

The State Government has announced it will cover the costs of training for Queensland year
twelve graduates who start a high priority qualification at TAFE.

If you are getting ready to graduate Year twelve in 2018 or finished school in 2017, you can kick-start your career by getting the skills
employers want without the fees!
The one hundred and sixty high priority qualification courses available under the free TAFE program range from Construction and
Aviation, through to Childcare and Tourism.
“This will change the lives of many eighteen year olds in Bancroft,” said Chris Whiting MP.
“Queensland’s tourism and hospitality industry continues to grow with projects like Queen’s Wharf and the Brisbane Airport Second
runway.
“It is forecast that tourism and hospitality alone will need over twenty thousand more people in jobs by 2020.
“Free TAFE courses will give our kids the best opportunity to get these future jobs, as well as job in other growth industries.
“Free TAFE is a practical measure from the Palaszczuk government that signals to kids that higher education is not out of reach
for them.
“It will encourage them to believe that further education is a right available to all.
“With only thirteen per cent of students in the Moreton Bay region going on to University, compared to more than fifty per cent in
inner Brisbane, this measure will change the futures of participants,” said Chris Whiting.
To be eligible for free TAFE, you must:
• Have completed Year twelve in Queensland and hold a Senior Statement issued by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment
Authority or equivalent certification
• Enrol and start an apprenticeship, traineeship or training with an approved training provider in a high priority qualification by
31 December the year after graduating (e.g. 2017 graduates have to start by 31 December 2018)
• Permanently reside in Queensland
Eligibi lity rules also apply.
For more information on the Free TAFE program, including eligibility, and a full course list visit:
www.training.qld.gov.au/freetafe

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