Do You Want to Study at TAFE? Here’s 5 Reasons Why You Should Reconsider

If you want to study to further your employment or career prospects and are looking at TAFE, stop.

Well, not entirely, but don’t just make your mind up without at least considering the alternatives. And by alternatives, I mean Private Training Providers.

Your education is an investment. Not only does it help to ensure the future of your career success and prepare you for the challenges you’ll face in the workforce; but it also gives you a stamp of approval, a way for an employer to see you’ve put in the hard yards and that you’re prepared for what lies ahead.

Given that, it’s easy to assume that all educators provide you with similar options and are equal in quality. But, that’s rarely the case. This article is going to help show you that. One thing you’ll notice, TAFE isn’t all as it’s cracked up to be, and despite being the most well-known brand in education; that doesn’t make it the best when it comes to VET study.

When it comes to assessing your study options, most students will consider the two biggest in Australia: TAFE and University. But in reality, we have so much more choice than just choosing one or the other. Private colleges in Australia, or Private Training Providers as they’re offically called; are in fact the biggest educator, and an option a lot don’t consider.

A Private College is a Private Training Provider other than TAFE, University and community educators. They, like other providers, deliver Vocational education and Higher education to students across Australia.

TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education. TAFE is a Government-run system of education that focuses on vocational courses– Certification and Diplomas and trains for workplace skills

For Vocational Education and Training, or VET study; TAFE is the most well-known, but also is wrapped up in a bit of stigma when it comes to graduate outcomes. The reason why? The TAFE name is often plagued with complaints of overcrowded classrooms, poor educational content and greedy providers. Strangely enough, a lot of people assume that the name TAFE refers to all study at this level, but it’s actually not.

TAFE, put very simply, is the public, government-funded portion of the Vocational sector. The Private portion, is the 5,000+ Private Providers dotted throughout the country. One thing to make very clear, is that TAFE isn’t the only option when it comes to government-funded courses, quite the opposite actually.

By now, most of us have heard that Vic TAFE made 50+ courses ‘free’ and that TAFE NSW followed suit with a similar budget pledge, but one thing that’s worth noting is that the publicity they received by doing so was ultimately the goal. There are a few shifty elements to the Free TAFE initiative. First, eligibility is harder than you might think. For instance, when TAFE NSW announced that they were making ‘all’ apprenticeships free from July 1st this year, what they really meant, was that apprentices that had enrolled since the month prior were eligible, not current apprentices. Another worthy mention with the VIC Free TAFE Scheme– it’s only available for 30,000 students statewide and with over 150,000 TAFE students in Victoria, that is a very small proportion.

So, what funding courses can Private Providers offer you?

Most Private educators have government-subsidised training options for the majority of their courses. The Victorian Government, for instance, under the Skills First initiative, provides subsidies on over 1,500 courses, where you can have thousands of dollars wiped off the cost of a course. And unlike the ‘Free’ TAFE initiative, Government-funding is available in every state and territory and across virtually every subject area.

There’s no point going to the effort of studying if it doesn’t help you in your employment or career goals. After all, that is essentially the point of education. You wouldn’t make an investment in something that you know isn’t going to result in much, and your education shouldn’t be any different.

When it comes to employment outcomes after study, Private Education Providers are winning the race. They rate higher than even University at delivering employable skills in their graduates and helping them land a job.

When it comes to employment outcomes after study, Private Education Providers are winning the race. They rate higher than even University at delivering employable skills in their graduates and helping them land a job.

One of the best indicators of quality when it comes to education, is the average salaries seen by graduates. Plenty of evidence suggest that your salary can be dependant on the reputation of the institute you attend.

There is no greater indicator of the quality of an educator, than the feedback received by past students. After all, who better to rely on than people who have gone through the same course you’re planning on? An interesting finding by the NCVER Student Outcome Survey, was just how different responses were between Private Providers and TAFE students.

Some of the feedback was around areas of satisfaction with training, whether they would recommend this training to others and whether they would recommend their providers. Based on these three areas, graduates from Private Providers came out better in all three outcomes.

While it doesn’t seem like much, it does give an indication of the quality of education you can expect from these two very different VET educators. And if anything, it just further demonstrates that Private Providers are even better for graduates than TAFE. So when it comes to your decision to pursue study, TAFE should not be the only avenue you consider.

Understanding the motivations of students looking to study through either TAFE or a Private Colleges is really important in determining what you can expect from your study. The NCVER Student Outcome Survey reveals that the highest reason to study at both institutes is to get a job. While this is a pretty predictable reason, what is interesting, is that those that want to use VET study to get into Higher Education choose Private Educators much more frequently than TAFE.

*Further study refers to returning to study at a level above the current qualification, usually at Higher Education institutes such as University.

This could be based on a myraid of reasons, from smaller class sizes, more time spent with tutors or a more personalised learning experience. What’s even more interesting, is that for graduates who are motivated to study to use this as a pathway to University; 67% of graduates from Private Providers go on to do so; compared to only 48% who study at TAFE.

Additionally, for those looking for personal development, 71.4% graduate from Private Providers, while only 54.5% do so through TAFE. Overall, Private Providers have shown through the NCVER data to have higher rates of graduates motivated to study to:

Private Educators have proven to outperform in areas of funding, employment, graduate outcomes, satisfaction and reasons for study. So what’s stopping you from considering these quality educators when it comes to your study? Browse courses today and experience the quality for yourself.