Welcome to the Department of Training and Workforce Development
The Department of Training and Workforce Development manages Western Australia's investment in vocational education and training. We work together with individuals, employers, business and industry and training providers to build a skilled workforce for the future.
Exciting news for 2023!
From 1 January 2023, a range of full qualifications and short course Job Ready skill sets across a range of priority industry areas will be FEE-FREE! And we're expanding the eligibility criteria, to make this free training available to more Western Australians.
WA Defence Industry: Opportunities and incentives
A new $20,000 incentive for defence employers and new scholarship programs are now available, to create a pipeline of skilled workers.
Join the TAFE WA team — teach@TAFE!
Would you like to share your knowledge to train skilled workers for your industry? We’re hiring lecturers in a range of industry areas across all five TAFE colleges in metropolitan and regional Western Australia! As a TAFE lecturer you will play an important role in developing and growing WA's skilled workforce, and helping people reach their career goals. You don’t need a teaching qualification to apply — we want people who are experienced in their field and would enjoy teaching people.
Review of training, skills and workforce development
The new Report on the Review of Skills, Training and Workforce Development is now available.
The report sets out a targeted training and skills roadmap for Western Australia's economic recovery. It details a total of 46 recommendations to identify practical and responsive training solutions, developed in consultation with industry, business and other key stakeholders.
Skills Ready: Boost your skills for the future!
A range of free short courses, job ready skill sets and qualifications with half-price course fees are now available under the Skills Ready program.
Skilling Australians
Through the National Partnership on the Skilling Australians Fund, we are working with industry, businesses and employers, training providers and other stakeholders to develop, introduce and support key strategies and VET programs across Western Australia's priority industries to build skills for the occupations that are most in demand – now, and into the future.
Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity
Our Priorities: Sharing Prosperity is the WA Government’s response to the challenge of focusing the capacity of State Government to deliver better outcomes for all Western Australians. Targeted skills development through vocational education and training is a key strategy, as is supporting the creation and growth of jobs and the ongoing development of our workforce. Find out how we are contributing to this exciting initiative.
Jobs and Skills WA
As Western Australia’s economy grows and diversifies, the outlook for jobs is constantly changing. From 2018, Jobs and Skills WA is the way we are prioritising investment in training to focus on courses that support and enable people to take up jobs that are, or will be, in high demand. Many qualifications are subsidised, including apprenticeships and traineeships across a range of industries.
Priority Start policy
The Priority Start policy came into effect in Western Australia on 1 April 2019, replacing the previous Government building training (GBT) policy. The new policy meets the State Government’s Plan for Jobs commitment to maximise opportunities for apprentices and trainees on all major State Government funded building, construction and maintenance contracts.
Training providers and schools
We work with both public and private vocational education and training providers across Western Australia to provide support, information and resources that help to achieve quality outcomes for students and the State’s workforce.
Changes to TAFE in Western Australia
Following a review of the VET sector in Western Australia, the Training sector reform project was undertaken in 2015 to look at where improvements could be made to the State’s public training system; specifically the WA TAFE colleges, to deliver new choices to students, industry and the community.
