Taking Advantage of a Free TAFE Course

I have never done any blue collar work but thought it would be cool to do a course, such as learn how to tile a bathroom, but it seems these courses require the person to already be employed as an apprentice.

So are there any courses that normie white collar people can get for free?

I think they will open enrolment soon:

https://www.tafensw.edu.au/fee-free

Comments

  • +1

    "I am not poor, but I would like some of the free stuff given out to poor people please"

    • +5

      Yeah, I'd like to not get ripped off by another scammer tradie. So I will infiltrate in with the enemy to see how new tradies are spawned.

  • https://www.tafensw.edu.au/course-areas/building-and-constru…

    Expand Entry requirements under each course. Then check Fee details for each course you are interested in and qualified for.

    https://www.tafensw.edu.au/study/fees

    Check here for fees and financial support.

    Call 131 601 to speak to an advisor.

    • Thanks.

      Any idea why this course takes 2 years to complete? Seems very overkill.

      https://www.tafensw.edu.au/course-areas/building-and-constru…

      • 20 subjects.

        • +1

          And only on Saturdays.

          This course is currently scheduled on Saturday from 8.00am to 4.00pm.

      • Any idea why this course takes 2 years to complete?

        Because to learn all aspects of tiling or any other trade is time consuming. It also helps in the learning process to do the practical with theory.

  • +4

    blue collar cosplayer

    • Essentially, yes. I walk amongst them, but I am not one of them.

  • In WA they have free courses in AI at TAFE. Learn to be a proompt engineer!

    • I like how this is comparable to a two year course at tafe. Hard to believe that a tiling course could possibly go for 2 years.

      Versus one day.

      • +3

        You’ll find that most trade jobs are easy to attempt,
        However doing them well and up to australian standard is something that takes years of experience and skill.
        The 2 year course is for someone who works in the industry during the week but wants a qualification.
        I’d agree that getting things built in Australia is expensive, however there is a lot of additional factors in a tradies bill that a lot of people wouldn’t consider when looking at the quote. Supply and demand, insurance, warranty, compliance, tax, super, tools, tolls, fuel, plant and equipment, premises, warehousing, labour, the list is endless.

      • Based on your comments I don't believe you are fully aware of what a trained tiler learns. Many tilers out there aren't qualified or fully trained.

      • +1

        I like how this is comparable to a two year course at tafe.

        It's not comparable. Look at the subject matter and expected outcomes - quite different.

        For what you appear to want to do you can probably learn off YouTube. That's what I do with all the practical jobs that fall outside my skill set.

      • Did you read what that course cost and what the expected outcomes were upon completion?

        It's not even free. Discounted was $500 for just one day.

        LOL, I bought a "learn how to do mosaics" kit for $25 from Spotlight that taught me more about tiling than that course says it teaches.

  • +1

    You’ve missed the point of the scheme. It’s subsidised to make it ‘free’ for students with the intent they enter the workforce with the skills and/or trade they acquire during the course. It’s so we have a useful workforce and less unemployment so we have a functioning society and economy. The people who take on apprenticeships do so at great personal cost to get to the endpoint. You are not the intended market for these courses. The government (and people like me via our taxes) doesn’t want to invest in you so you can save money on home renos and gain a sense of personal accomplishment.

  • When one of my brothers retired, he joined some group called Men's Shed.

    Not sure what goes on there, but through his involvement there he learned some home DYI stuff. I think he learned stuff around wood work or carpentry.

    He learned stuff like building things like book cases and coffee tables. How to put a shelf on his wall. Probably more, but that's some stuff I remember him talking about.

    Went from CEO of a big white collar company who never got his hands dirty to hanging out at Bunnings and buying a bunch of new cool toys to do stuff with.

    Might be a place to meet other people who want to pass on the skills they have to you.

  • +1

    I did the Diploma of Building and Construction course at Melbourne Polytechnic for free, but it was useless. The course was structured poorly, and we didn't learn anything, as it was just answering the questions in this Word doc assessment after assessment. As you've said, unless you're already an apprentice or have your own business, it won't help. Only 3 people in my class made use of it; 2 were apprentices, and one had his own business.

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