The Allan Labor Government’s investment in new Free TAFE short courses is making it easier and faster for plumbers to get the licences they need to join Victoria’s construction workforce.
The TAFE Network, the Victorian Skills Authority and our next generation of plumbers have today launched National Skills Week at the refurbished Plumbing and Mechanical Services Training Facility at the Holmesglen TAFE Chadstone campus.
Now in its 15th year, National Skills Week highlights the importance of vocational training in Australia and how it leads to quality jobs.
The Labor Government is supporting the training sector and industry to work together to develop nationally recognised, flexible short courses called ‘skill sets’, which rapidly respond to emerging or evolving skills needs.
In 2025, seven plumbing skill sets were added to the list of Victoria’s Free TAFE courses to help qualified workers meet the licensing or regulatory requirements they need for their job, without doing another full qualification. The courses are available across Victoria, including in Warrnambool, Morwell, Geelong and Bendigo.
Each skill set contains units from the Certificate IV in Plumbing and Services and is aligned to the Victorian Building Authority’s plumbing licensing requirements. They are designed for people who have completed the Certificate III in Plumbing apprenticeship and who want to become licensed plumbers.
From January to June this year, there were almost 350 commencements in the plumbing skill sets.
More than 212,600 students have benefitted from Victoria’s Free TAFE since it began in 2019, saving them on average $3,000 per course.