Frequently asked questions

Transcription

1 Frequently asked questions What is Future Skills WA? Future Skills WA is the way the State Government prioritises and funds training in Western Australia. Future Skills WA guarantees that training will be subsidised in State priority courses for eligible students where a training place is available. Under Future Skills WA students can enrol in over 600 State priority training courses. These include: all apprenticeships and many traineeships; over 130 priority industry qualifications; and two priority foundation skills courses. The State Government continues to subsidise many other general industry training courses, but as these are not identified as the highest priority, students aren t guaranteed a subsidy and places may be limited. Different fees and subsidy rates also apply. What does the guarantee mean? The guarantee means that for courses categorised as State priority courses, the Government will not limit the number of training places available. Under Future Skills WA, students will be guaranteed that their training will be subsidised if: the course has been identified as a State priority course; a State Training Provider (formerly TAFE) or a preferred private training provider has a training place available; and the student meets the normal course entrance requirements. Who s eligible for a guaranteed training place? You are eligible for a guaranteed training place if you have left school, your primary place of residence is in Western Australia and you are: an Australian citizen; a permanent visa holder; a holder of visa subclass 309, 310, 820, 826 or 851; or a spouse or dependant of the primary holder of a visa subclass 457. Page 1

2 How are the priority industry qualifications identified? The Department works with many industry stakeholders, including training councils to gather information. This is put together with market intelligence, economic indicators and projections of occupational employment growth and used to develop a State priority occupation list. From this list, the Department identifies the list of priority industry qualifications for Western Australia. The 2015 Priority industry qualifications list is available here. More information on the process and methodology is contained in the State priority occupation list information paper and the 2015 Priority industry qualifications list methodology fact sheet. What are transitional qualifications? Priority industry qualifications that no longer align to the highest priority jobs in the State are called transitional qualifications. These transitional qualifications will remain a priority for at least one additional year and are highlighted in the list. Importantly, transitional qualifications may be reclassified as general industry training in 2016 and attract a higher fee. Which training providers offer training under Future Skills WA? Courses funded under Future Skills WA are offered by State Training Providers (formerly TAFE colleges) and by preferred private training providers who have been contracted by the State Government. Information on what training courses are available, including a list of all training providers is available on the Future Skills WA website. How do I apply for a training course under Future Skills WA? To find out more details about a chosen training course and to apply you will need to contact a State Training Provider or a preferred private training provider directly. Applications for full time courses at many of the State Training Providers can be made through State Training Admissions. Page 2

3 What are the course fees under Future Skills WA? Specific information on course fees is available directly from your chosen training provider. Training providers may charge three types of fees: course fees; resource fees (for example training materials); and other fees (for example parking and security passes). All training providers of Future Skills WA training will charge the same course fees per hour (as set out in the course fees rates page ), however overall course fees may differ between training providers depending on the course content. Training providers may also charge different resource and other fees. The Department s VET Fees and Charges Policy 2015 provides information on all of the conditions and eligibility criteria for government subsidised training, including concession and fee cap information. It also includes the schedule of student course fees and charges. What help is available to assist in paying course fees? There are several ways that students can receive assistance with the cost of their course fees. Eligible students can apply to: pay their course fees by instalment; receive a concession rate (50%) on their fees for training up to certificate IV level; and/or access loans through the Australian Government s VET FEE-HELP scheme. Concessions do not apply for foundation skills and equity courses, as these courses already have very low fees. Concessions also do not apply for Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses as these students have access to VET FEE- HELP. However, concessions do apply for the five Certificate IV courses that are eligible for VET FEE-HELP. Who is eligible for fee concessions? Students who are eligible for fee concessions in 2015 are: holders (and their dependants) of either a pensioner concession card, repatriation health benefits card or health care card; recipients (and their dependants) of AUSTUDY, ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance; inmates of a custodial institution; and students born on or after 1 July 1997 who are at least 15 years of age. Page 3

4 Is there a limit to the amount of fees that I will pay? There are annual upper limits which apply to course fees for some courses in This means that in 2015: There will be a cap of $410 per year for students born on or after 1 July 1997, who are at least 15 years old. The cap applies irrespective of the number of courses a student is enrolled in. Course fees for Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses will not exceed $7700 per course per year. The course fee cap for courses up to Certificate IV that was introduced in 2014 does not apply in These limits apply to priority industry qualifications, general industry training, apprenticeships and traineeships, foundation skills and equity courses. The course fee limits apply to both concessional and non-concessional students. For concessional students, course fees are calculated at the concessional rate of 50% until the student reaches the fee cap. These limits do not apply to fees for recognition of prior learning services, which are determined by individual training providers. I received fee maintenance in 2014, will this continue in 2015? No. The fee maintenance scheme that was introduced for students who were enrolled in training prior to 22 August 2013 does not apply in How does a registered training organisation become a preferred private training provider under Future Skills WA? Under Future Skills WA, contracting arrangements have been streamlined and strengthened to support greater quality training provision. The focus is on more efficient and effective selection and management of contracted private registered training organisations (RTOs). All RTOs seeking a contract to deliver publicly funded training under Future Skills WA, will need to achieve preferred provider status for apprenticeships and traineeships, priority industry qualifications or priority foundation skills. To do this, an RTO will need to demonstrate they have the organisational (governance and financial) and operational capacity to meet training needs of students and industry. Further information on contracting arrangements and the requirements to achieve preferred provider status are available on the Future Skills WA website. What are the training subsidy rates paid to preferred private training providers? Information on the subsidy rates that are paid to preferred private training providers for the delivery of Government subsidised training is available by ing futureskillswa@dtwd.wa.gov.au The Department's VET Fees and Charges Policy 2015 provides information on all of the conditions and eligibility criteria for government subsidised training, including concession and fee cap information. It includes the schedule of student course fees and charges. Page 4

5 How does a registered training organisation become registered to provide VET FEE- HELP? The VET FEE-HELP loan scheme is available to assist eligible students studying higher level vocational education and training qualifications to pay their tuition fees. Higher level VET qualifications are at the Diploma level and above. For a trial period, VET FEE-HELP will also be available for a limited number of Certificate IV qualifications. Registered training organisations may apply to the Australian Government to start offering VET FEE-HELP to students. Information on how to become a VET FEE-HELP provider is available on the Australian Government website, including eligibility, application information and requirements. Specific eligibility criteria applies to those RTOs seeking to offer VET FEE-HELP to students undertaking the Certificate IV qualifications under the trial arrangements. Page 5