The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Education Centre (ANMEC), a service of the ANMF (SA Branch), has been selected to provide fee-free Vocational Education and Training (VET) places for aspiring nurses and care workers.

More than 2000 additional fee-free VET places will now be on offer for South Australians wanting training through non-government Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) such as ANMEC – with health and social care courses receiving the largest number of training places.

ANMEC is being awarded 10 fee-free training places for the Diploma of Nursing and 40 fee-free training places for the Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing and Disability).

The State Government has allocated $8.8m to support non¬-government RTOs to deliver fee-free training places in key sectors for priority groups.

It follows the Federal and State governments signing a landmark 12-month Skills Agreement late last year to address the skills shortage and deliver fee-free TAFE and more VET places for South Australians. The agreement will inject more than $65 million into the South Australian training and skills sector.

An important part of South Australia's negotiation for the agreement was ensuring non-government RTOs were also allocated a portion of the fee-free places in priority areas, which is not the case in some other states.

After a competitive application process, 38 private RTOs including ANMEC will soon be delivering training across a range of courses in areas such as nursing, aged and disability care, health care and childcare, hospitality and tourism, construction, agriculture, defence and manufacturing and education.

The health and social care sector, which includes courses such as nursing, disability, and counselling, is the largest proportion of fee-free places – 53 per cent – to help grow the future health needs of the state.

In the case of a Diploma of Nursing, this scheme will save students up to $10,000 in course fees.

“ANMEC is an award-winning training provider with an enviable reputation for producing quality graduates,’’ ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/ Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM said.

“Most of the education and training is delivered by registered nurses at our purpose-¬built training facility, which provides students with the latest in clinical training facilities and technology.

“We are delighted to be selected as a fee-free training provider in this exciting new initiative.

“Fee-free places will enhance our ability to focus exclusively on health and social care training, and as a result, deliver high-quality workers into the health, aged care, and disability sectors, which are struggling to recruit suitable employees.’’

A list of the training providers, locations and the 30 courses on offer will be available at skills.sa.gov.au in early March 2023.

ANMF SA Branch News Article