Established 1 March 1833 Website www.tafensw.edu.au | Students 400,000+ | |
Affiliations Hunter Institute of TAFEIllawarra Institute of TAFENew England InstituteNorth Coast Institute of TAFENorthern Sydney Institute of TAFERiverina Institute of TAFESouth Western Sydney Institute of TAFESydney Institute of TAFEWestern Sydney InstituteWestern Institute of TAFE | ||
TAFE NSW is Australia's largest vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory body under the TAFE Commission Act 1990.
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Education
TAFE NSW awards qualifications as specified in Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and accredited to the Vocational Education and training (VET). Qualifications awarded can be attributed as partial credit towards bachelor degree-level studies in universities.
Courses
Over 1,200 courses are offered annually. Some courses are available in different study format, such as full-time, part-time, or distance learning (online).
Qualifications Awarded
Institutes
TAFE NSW comprises 130 campuses grouped by geographic area into ten Institutes:
Campus
Each institute has their own main campus, e.g. Newcastle Campus is the main campus of Hunter Institute. In addition to campuses, TAFE NSW provides specialised study spaces and facilities such as Hair Beauty Academy or the Hunter Valley Hotel Academy.
Centres Of Excellence
TAFE NSW is home to many Centres of Excellence, which allow students the ability to learn in industry specific environments. With world-class facilities, simulations, media centres and more.
Nationwide these facilities include:
Governance
The Minister for Regional Development, Skills and Small Business is responsible for TAFE NSW.
Financial and attendance issues
Between 2012 and 2016 attendance at TAFE NSW campuses dropped by 83,000 students. In the same period, fees had increased substantially. In a bid to curb this reduction in attendance, 2016 fees were frozen at their 2015 level.
In September 2015, a leaked document revealed the State government intended to close 27 sites in order to reduce costs and raise funds.
On Thursday 16 June 2016 the NSW Government announced that the EBS4 student management system for TAFE would be scrapped. NSW Skills Minister Mr John Barilaro has directed TAFE NSW to develop a new system in time for the 2018 peak enrolment period. The EBS4 rollout for TAFE NSW resulted in extensive major problems with enrolments, inability to track student financial data and generate testamurs, and a project budget over run of approximately $100m.