Smart and Skilled offers government-subsidised vocational education and training to people who meet certain criteria. It's helping people in NSW get the skills they need to find a job and advance their careers.

Registered home schooled students that meet the following Smart and Skilled eligibility criteria below will be eligible to undertake Smart and Skilled training that commences on or after 1 January 2017.

Other Smart and Skilled eligibility criteria:

• aged 15 years or older
• live in New South Wales
• an Australian citizen, permanent resident, humanitarian visa holder or New Zealand citizen.

Note: Your training provider must advise you of the training product(s) most appropriate for your needs taking into account your existing skills and competencies. The provider may assess you or require you to produce evidence.

Find a course and training provider

It’s easy to find a course and a training provider approved to deliver that course under Smart and Skilled. Search for a course at your preferred location using the Skills Compare tool.

Training providers approved to deliver Smart and Skilled government subsidised courses include community and private providers and TAFE NSW.

What you pay to do the course

Under Smart and Skilled the NSW government will pay a portion of the cost of the course you undertake to your training provider. This is called the subsidy. You will also pay a portion of the cost. This is called the student fee.

When using Skills Compare to find a course, you can estimate your fee by answering some questions in the “Am I eligible - Estimate my fee” section of the course finder. To use the eligibility checker/fee estimator, you should tick the box that “you have left school”.

When you contact your selected training provider, make sure to tell them that you are a registered home schooled student so that your provider can confirm the fee you will pay and ensure that all the necessary information is captured when you enrol.

Fee exemptions

Fee exemptions are available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students that meet the Smart and Skilled disability criteria.

Fee-Free Scholarships

Students that are undertaking courses up to and including Certificate IV and meet one of the criteria below are eligible to a fee-free scholarship, which means they do not pay a fee.

Criteria:

• are the dependants of a recipient of Smart and Skilled specified Australian Government welfare benefits or allowances; or
• have been or are in out of home care; or
• have experienced or are experiencing domestic and family violence.

Note: Fee-free scholarships are not available to students undertaking Diploma or Advanced Diploma qualifications. Students that are the dependants of a recipient of Smart and Skilled specified Australian Government welfare benefits or allowances are eligible to pay a concession fee. Find out more.

Documentation

When enrolling, you will be asked by your training provider to provide a copy of your current certificate of home schooling registration, and, if you are seeking a fee exemption or to pay a concession fee, evidence to confirm your fee status.

Your training provider:

• may also ask to see documentation that proves you meet the other Smart and Skilled eligibility criteria
• may ask to see this documentation when you enrol, or at some point after you start the course
• will advise you of the type of documentation you will need to provide.

Job Guides

Not sure which course to do? Check out our Job Guides to find a job you’re interested in. The job guide will tell you more about the job, how much you can earn and the course you need to do the job.

For more information:

Ring 13 28 11 to be directed to your nearest Training Services NSW office.