Victoria will be home to a new TAFE teacher academy dedicated to upskilling and attracting teachers to strengthen the state’s TAFE workforce – and with it tackling one of the biggest barriers to growing the skilled workforce our economy needs.
This new TAFE teacher academy is dedicated to attracting, training and supporting more TAFE teachers.
The Vocational Education and Training (VET) Educator Academy will be a one stop shop.
It will benefit more than 4,000 Victorian TAFE educators, school-based VET educators and future practitioners with professional learning, career development and pathways into the profession.
This initiative is part of a $10 million joint funding package between the Albanese and Allan Labor Governments to strengthen the VET workforce under the National Skills Agreement.
The Academy, led by Chisholm Institute from its Frankston campus, will boost Victoria’s TAFE network and lift the profile of VET teaching as a rewarding career that helps train Victorians for the jobs local communities need.
The VET Educator Academy will promote professional development opportunities so educators can access the latest skills and knowledge to deliver world-class training.
It will also strengthen support for the ongoing professional development and retention of teachers, trainers and assessors.
Under the national Free TAFE program, VET Workforce has been included as an in-demand area.
In Victoria, the Allan Labor Government has prioritised VET education as a career by making the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment a Free TAFE course.
More than 13,000 people have studied this qualification under Victoria’s Free TAFE program since 2019.
Free TAFE originated in Victoria, and has benefited more than 245,400 students across the state in the past seven years, saving them more than $816 million in tuition fees – an average of $3,330 per student.
Since 2023, the Albanese Government has partnered with states and territories to deliver Free TAFE nationally, and in 2025 legislated to lock in ongoing access, ensuring more Australians can benefit from a TAFE qualification.