TAFE Courses in Melbourne

As the second biggest city in Australia, Melbourne is a favourite among students from across Australia and around the world. It is home to some of the best universities in the country, such as the University of Melbourne and Monash University, as well as some of the best TAFE institutes, such as the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT). Schools such as these provide courses in Melbourne that compete with the best of the best anywhere else in the world. Your opportunities to study in Melbourne aren’t limited to these schools, however, so be sure to do your research before you make your final decision.

There aren’t any rules about choosing a school or course provider. If you’re struggling to decide where to study in Melbourne, start with the internet. Browse the TAFE institute’s or university’s website. Take a look at the courses that interest you, as well as all the related courses because you never know what else might inspire you. Check out their facilities and amenities, especially the library and sports programs. You might even want to research their background to find out how their students have excelled in the past. Email a couple of staff to get more details. If possible, visit the campus and talk to some of the students, especially students who are taking the courses you are interested in. Some lecturers don’t mind if prospective students sit in on a lecture, but make sure you ask first.

These higher education institutions offer everything from photography short courses to undergraduate and postgraduate IT degrees. From bricklayers to interior designers, there really is something for everyone.

As befits a city of Melbourne’s status, the quality of its education is very high. It has some of the best universities in the world, let alone Australia, and its TAFE system is respected internationally. Most of the TAFE institutes in Victoria have campuses in Melbourne, so students have plenty of options.

What else does Melbourne have to offer students TAFE-wise?

Popular TAFE Courses in Melbourne

• • Diploma of Counselling
  • Certificate in MYOB 19
  • Certificate III in Education Support (Teacher’s Aide)
  • Certificate III in Aged Care
  • Certificate IV in Bookkeeping
  • Diploma of Share Trading and Investment
  • Certificate II in Nail Technology
  • Certificate IV in Small Business Management
  • Diploma of Events
  • Certificate III in Disability

What TAFE Study Options are Available to me in Melbourne?

With the sheer number of TAFE institutes that call Melbourne home, all of the study options are available to local and international students. This means that you can do anything from pre-apprenticeship courses to undergraduate degrees. Businesses are able to approach TAFE institutes for customised on-site training programs. Online, classroom-based, correspondence, and blended learning courses are available, and students can choose to complete their studies full-time or part-time. Essentially, no matter what your needs, existing education level, background, even your financial status, you’ll find something that will help you meet your study goals.

Semester courses

Most of the TAFE courses in Melbourne, including some of the short courses, are only available on a semester basis – there are no rolling registrations. The course programs are designed to follow a certain order, so you need to determine your exact needs and plan your schedule accordingly.

Remember that the courses recognise prior learning, so you don’t necessarily have to start right at the beginning (Certificate I). In fact, you could find that you only have to enter the program at Certificate III or even IV. If you’re not sure where exactly you stand, the TAFE institutes have assessment programs and counsellors to help you determine where you slot in.

Short courses

A variety of nationally accredited short courses are available for personal and professional edification. There are also unaccredited courses, which are primarily for those interested in developing their hobbies and personal interests. If you want to add to your professional credentials, or lay the foundation for further learning, then you should make sure that the short courses you choose are accredited by the Melbourne TAFE authorities and that you get a proper Statement of Attainment.

Online courses

Don’t fret if, for whatever reason, you can’t or don’t want to attend classes. Modern education systems provide all manner of correspondence or distance learning options. It’s important to note that not all courses can be offered on a purely correspondence basis. In this case, TAFE institutes often provide hybrid or blended courses. This means that courses have face-to-face and online learning requirements.

Melbourne TAFE Institutions

There are a lot of TAFE institutes in Victoria, and most of them have at least one campus or centre in Melbourne.

Box Hill Institute of TAFE

Box Hill Institute of TAFE has five campuses and one VET learning centre in Melbourne. Box Hill TAFE has campuses in, Lilydale, Box Hill, Lilydale Lakeside campus and City campus.

Study areas include:

• Animal Studies
• Art, design and writing
• Aviation
• Business and management
• Community and children’s services
• Culinary arts and hospitality
• English language skills
• Hair, beauty and floristry
• Horticulture and land science
• ICT and Information technology
• Music, musical theatre and production
• Nursing and health programs
• Quarrying and extractive services
• Science and biosecurity
• Sports and fitness
• Trades
• Training and assessment

Chisholm Institute of TAFE

Chisholm Institute of TAFE has nine locations, most of which are in Melbourne. It has some satellite centres, as well as options for online learning and workplace training. It boasts several high-tech simulated manufacturing environments and specialist industry learning centres, as well as real-world training opportunities at several hair and beauty salons and restaurants in the city. It’s campus locations can be found in Dandenong, Frankston, Melbourne city, Berwick, Cranbourne, Chisolm@311, Bass Coast and Mornington peninsula.

Its courses suit many career fields, some of which include:

• Aged Care, Disability Services & Youth Work
• Beauty Services
• Building & Construction
• Business Administration & Management
• Children’s & Community Services
• Computer Engineering, IT & Web Design
• Horticulture, Conservation & Land Management
• Engineering
• Finance
• Graphic Design & Visual Arts
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Marketing
• Nursing, Health & Community Care
• Occupational Health & Safety
• Retail & Service
• Sport, Recreation & Fitness
• Writing, Editing & Publishing

Holmesglen Institute of TAFE

Holmesglen Institute of TAFE provides most of its TAFE courses from campuses in south-east Melbourne, with one City campus. It also contains the Holmesglen Language Centre, Holmesglen Vocational College, and the Holmesglen Flexible Training Centre, which specialises in Occupational Health & Safety training programs.

Its study areas include:

• Arts & Design
• Building & Construction
• Business & Finance
• Community & Health Sciences
• Education & Languages
• Electrical & IT
• Fitness & Wellbeing
• Furnishing & Decoration
• Horticulture & Environment
• Hospitality & Tourism

Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE

Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) offers everything from VET in Schools (VETiS) to Bachelor Degrees. It has several campuses and training centres in and around Melbourne, most of which specialise in certain TAFE courses and study areas.

1) Fairfield Campus, which is close to Melbourne’s CBD, specialises in Horticulture, Creative Arts, and Performing Arts TAFE courses.

2) Preston Campus, which is 9km north of Melbourne’s CBD, specialises in hospitality & tourism, visual arts, IT, electrotechnology, design & drafting, health & community studies, office administration, work education, language studies, and commerce TAFE courses. It includes St Georges Restaurant, which is used as a training facility for cooking, catering and hospitality students.

3) Heidelberg Campus, which his 15 minutes north-east of the CBD, specialises in building trades, electronics, and engineering TAFE courses. It contains a high-tech robotics simulation facility, AutoCAD training centre, and the Technical Education Centre (TEC), which offers VCAL courses.

4) Epping Campus specialises in agriculture, aquaculture, meat processing, viticulture & winemaking, and welding and forklift driving TAFE courses, although its range extends to finance, IT, arts, and electrotechnology courses.

5) Northern Lodge Campus, which is 40km north of Melbourne, specialises in thoroughbred racing and viticulture-related TAFE courses. It also includes Yan Yean farm, where students get hands-on with sheep and cattle farming.

6) Greensborough Campus, which is 25km north-east of Melbourne, specialises in commerce, design & drafting, IT & computer systems, office administration, visual arts & liberal arts, music, horticulture, and aged care TAFE courses.

7) Kyneton Park Campus specialises in viticulture, agriculture, horticulture, and equine-related TAFE courses.

8) Ararat Campus specialises in viticulture and winemaking TAFE courses, as well as agriculture and equine studies.

9) Broadmeadows AMEP Centre specialises in courses for migrants.

Prahan Campus is the result of a partnership between NMIT and Swinburne University of Technology. It’s new and will only really get going in 2014. It will offer a range of courses, including Certificate I in Work Education, Certificate II in Nail Technology, Certificate III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery), and Certificate IV in Design, Diploma of Hospitality, Advanced Diploma of Events, Associate Degree of Business, and Bachelor of Information Technology.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT TAFE)

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has been providing for Melbourne’s higher education needs in one form or another for over 120 years. In addition to its campuses in Melbourne, it has several research institutes and centres. These include the Design Research Institute, Global Cities Research Institute, Health Innovations Research Institute, Platform Technologies Research Institute, and the Centre for Business Education Research, Water: Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Centre, Centre for Advanced Electronics and Sensors, Centre for Applied Social Research, and the Centre for Molecular and Nanoscale Physics, among others.

Study areas include:

• Architecture & Building
• Art & Design
• Business
• Communication & Digital Media
• Community Services & Social Sciences
• Computing & IT
• Education & Training
• Engineering
• Environment & Planning
• Health & Medical Sciences
• Justice & Legal
• Science

Swinburne TAFE

Swinburne TAFE’s four campuses are all east of Melbourne’s CBD – to varying degrees. It provides students with several different study options, including on-campus, day/evening/weekend classes, online courses, and consolidated blocks of learning – intensive workshops.

Study areas include:

• Arts & Social Sciences
• Aviation
• Business, Commerce & Management
• Design
• Digital Media
• Engineering
• English Language & Study Skills
• Environment & Land Management
• Film & Television
• Health Sciences
• Information & Communication Technologies
• Media & Communications
• Performing & Creative Arts
• Psychology
• Science

Victoria University (VIC TAFE)

Victoria University covers the full spectrum of higher education, from vocational and TAFE courses to doctorates. It’s a one-stop education shop if you will. It also boasts several institutes and research centres which play an important role in the university’s TAFE education programs. These include Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living, Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Centre for Cultural Diversity and Wellbeing, Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engineering, and the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, among others.

Study areas include:

• Accounting & Finance
• Building & Construction
• Business & Management
• Culture & Arts
• Education & Transition
• Engineering
• Health Sciences
• Hospitality, Tourism & Event Management
• Information Systems & Computing
• Law & Legal Services
• Marketing & Communications
• Science
• Social Sciences & Community Services
• Sport & Exercise Science
• Supply Chain, Logistics & Transport

William Angliss Institute of TAFE

William Angliss Institute of TAFE calls itself Australia’s largest specialist hospitality training provider. Its methods of delivery include on-the-job, off-the-job, online, self-paced, and blended courses. It offers a variety of short courses (lifestyle, compliance training, professional development, and teambuilding courses), as well as TAFE certificates and diplomas at its Melbourne campus.

Study areas include:

• Baking
• Business
• Confectionary Manufacturing
• Cookery
• Patisserie
• Events
• Entertainment Operations
• Food Science & Technology
• Hospitality
• Meat Processing (Butchery)
• Resort Management
• Tourism
• Travel

Melbourne for Students

Melbourne consistently makes the ‘best of …’ lists when it comes to an enviable lifestyle and quality education. It’s one of best university cities in the world because it offers students such a variety of outstanding higher education options and because it offers them so many affordable accommodation and entertainment options. Reliable public transport and a healthy attitude towards cyclists also count in Melbourne’s favour.

With its beaches, markets, shopping centres, restaurants, galleries, museums, parks, and gardens it’s got something for everyone.