Publicly-funded training colleges are to offer potential students 17 per cent more places this year, building on solid increases in the past two years.
Minister for Training and Workforce Development, Peter Collier said 12,903 students received first-round offers for study in semester one this year, compared to 10,985 last year and 9,870 in 2008.
“This steady increase during the past three years shows that more Western Australians realise the importance of a vocational education and training qualification,” Mr Collier said.
Proving popular with students
“The State Government introduced a number of initiatives last year to boost training in WA, including course fee exemptions for unemployed people wanting to learn in publicly- subsidised training.”
He said the program had been successfully implemented with 1,400 students receiving course fee exemptions as at the end of October 2009.
Mr Collier said of the 15,411 applications received by the Department of Training and Workforce Development’s TAFE admissions for semester one, 84 per cent received an offer of a place in a training course and 92 per cent of these were offered their first choice.
He said more than 40 per cent were lodged by school leavers.
Eighty-two per cent of total applications were lodged electronically, which was the highest rate ever achieved and contrasts with a rate of only seven per cent in 2004.
Mr Collier said the most popular areas of study included mining, engineering, building, construction, business, computing and information technology, community services, health, education, arts and entertainment.
The Minister said it was important that WA had a skilled workforce to meet the State’s growing employment opportunities.
“TAFE colleges have been given the opportunity to increase their autonomy to be more competitive in Australia and overseas,” he said.
“It will also allow them to be more responsive to a rapidly growing and changing population and workforce.”
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