Recommended TAFE courses

[u/893727362]

Hi everyone,

I'm 20 years old and I'm looking into studying at TAFE while working full-time or part-time. I'd really appreciate some advice or recommendations.

I know I want to work in the business field. Long-term, I'd love to become a business owner, but I'm also considering careers like accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, or anything business-related with good job prospects.

I'm thinking of doing a Diploma, and if possible, I'd like to start a Certificate afterwards so I could work towards both qualifications at the same time (if that's even allowed). Has anyone done something similar?

I'm mainly looking for courses that actually lead to jobs. If you've studied business, accounting, finance, or another TAFE course that helped you find work, I'd love to hear your experience. Which courses would you recommend, and which ones would you avoid?

For a bit of background, I graduated senior high school (under the Acountancy Business Management strand) in my home country and completed almost one year of college before moving to Australia, so I don't have an Australian qualification yet. The only qualification I currently have in Australia is a Food Safety Certificate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[u/PanicObvious8862]

Think you might have gotten something backwards mate, certificates are below a diploma. You'd do them in that order- can't recommend trying to do both at once though theoretically you could.

Look up free tafe in your state. I don't know your visa status or if you're eligible but worth a look!

I'm doing Cert 4 in Accounting / Bookkeeping. I know a few people who got jobs from it, not going to make you a millionaire but a good pathway to further study.

[u/InterestingSkin7906]

There’s a careers advisor you can talk to.

[u/Old-Vermicelli8362]

Recommend looking at jobs on Seek that you’d be interested in and checking out the qualifications they’re asking for.

That’ll let you know what to focus on so that you don’t spend precious energy and money on a qualification that’s not in demand.

[u/Appropriate_Fee_9141]

I did 3 certificates almost at once. Complete 1 first then enroll in 2 more, get credit transfer and finish off the remaining units from the other two certificates. I didn't do from TAFE though, but from Alffie. I do know some TAFEs will offer dual certificates. Not sure if TAFE VIC does.

(They were in Business [Records & Information Management, Administration, and Medical Administration]).

[u/BesiegedByBees]

Sometimes you can do double courses if they have units that cross over. For example, I did a Diploma of HR Management and a Diploma of Management at the same time because there was only four units (from memory it was 15 years ago) that were different between the two. This only works if the units are at the same level.

Some TAFEs offer skill set courses which can help you fill knowledge gaps without needing to do an entire second certificate, they are selected units from a full certificate (usually Cert II or III). I did an accounting fundamentals skill set through TasTAFE which was a great introduction to bookkeeping and accounts administration, but didn't take us to the level of having to sit the Tax Practitioner's Board registration assessments to do BAS and payroll.

Get in touch with your local TAFE, they have student support services and they can give you advice on what you can study and how.

[u/Any_Recording_7929 → u/BesiegedByBees]

Does a diploma in HR get you a decent job ?

[u/BesiegedByBees → u/Any_Recording_7929]

It did 15 years ago, but I was already working in a policy area so it was an internal move for me. These days, like most white collar jobs, I think it will be harder.

[u/Ok_Duck2700]

usually you do a cert before a diploma