Victoria’s vocational sector continues to flourish, with a week of dedicated events celebrating all things training and skills, backed by the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney today officially announced the addition of literacy and numeracy support that will be available through the Free TAFE program.
The support can be delivered alongside a VET course, so learners can gain essential reading and writing skills to help them succeed in their training and set them up for the workplace.
The announcement comes as National Skills Week kicks off across the country, celebrating the many opportunities that vocational education and training can offer, including the chance to start a fulfilling career in a broad range of industries where vocational skills are in high demand.
Many Victorian trainees and apprentices are also celebrating this week, following their successes at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships which wrapped up in Docklands on Sunday night.
WorldSkills is the nation’s largest trades and skills competition, giving hundreds of apprentices, trainees and students the chance to showcase their talent across more than 55 disciplines.
The national championships, sponsored by Apprenticeships Victoria, welcomed more than 20,000 visitors, who watched the skills competitions and discovered training opportunities through the Victorian Careers and Employment Expo.
Victorian competitors came out on top in 16 categories scoring over a third of the medals, including Floristry, Landscape Construction, Visual Merchandising and Plastering. Across the state, 19 Victorians took home gold, including Mechatronics duo Magnus Andersson and Will Vestergaard who won the Tjerk Dusseldorp Best in Nation award.
RMIT engineering student Gervase Voss won Gold in Additive Manufacturing by showcasing his prowess in designing and producing 3D parts for machines, the first time the skill has been hosted at the National Championships.
Selected medallists will now be invited to join Australia’s Skillaroos team, which will train for the 2024 International WorldSkills competition in Lyon, France.
Quote attributable to Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney
"Victoria celebrates skills every week through our world-class vocational education and training sector, and I encourage anyone considering a new direction to consider a vocational skills course.”
“Congratulations to our Victorian WorldSkills competitors for demonstrating the best of Victoria on the national stage – you have made us all proud.”
Quote attributable to WorldSkills Australia CEO Trevor Schwenke
“Congratulations to our winners and all the competitors, mentors and judges who made this year’s event our biggest yet. Victoria was a fantastic city to host the Nationals and I thank everyone who visited and discovered exciting career pathways.”
Reviewed 24 August 2023