Education to Employment Designing a system that works
TAFE
All StudiesCountry
Youth unemployment rate
25.1%
Youth share of long-term unemployed
25%
Driver
About TAFE
Technical and Further Education (TAFE) is Australia’s largest provider of vocational training, offering courses in fields ranging from aromatherapy to aircraft surface finishing. (Some fields of study can also count toward a university degree.) TAFE works closely with business and industry to define and develop appropriate skills; its courses lead to internationally-recognized qualifications.
By the numbers
Trainee education level
Keys to operations
- National standards are well-defined and mandatory, encouraging broad adoption and recognition
- Industry partners are able to “test” students during temporary placements, and sometimes have first pick of graduates—an incentive to support programs and to cooperate on curricular design
- The program has close links with the labor market at the national level through 11 Industry Skills Councils
- Courses are regularly revised
- Government subsidizes tuition
- Skill-based credentials are “stackable,” allowing students to build up their qualifications