Six TAFE courses that give you in-demand skills and experience

Six TAFE courses that give you in-demand skills and experience

Studying any TAFE course will give you the skillset and experience to secure a job, but there are some skills that employers are currently looking for now more than ever.

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TAFE, also known as vocational education, is a tertiary study option that can lead to a huge variety of professional roles and industries, from accounting to trades. 

As a study option, TAFE gives you the foundational knowledge, confidence and skills to pursue a career in a technical or specialist area.  

While all TAFE courses will elevate your résumé, there are some skillsets that employers are specifically looking for in new hires. 

RMIT staff and students looking at 3D printed items in a workshop

Why choose TAFE?

A TAFE qualification is versatile – it can be the foundation upon which you build your career, or it can round out your CV with specialised skills. It’s also the perfect option for those looking to enter the workforce soon. 

Some TAFE courses can be completed in as little as six months of full-time study. This means you’ll end up job-ready more quickly. For those concerned about the cost of study, there is a selection of Free TAFE programs available that have no or lower fees. 

Another benefit of vocational education is that it can act as a pathway to higher education, such as a bachelor or honours degree program. These pathways are especially useful for those looking to build a robust résumé full of industry-specific qualifications. 

Three RMIT business students working on a group project using sticky notes to share ideas

#1. Diploma of Business

Refine your business knowledge with the Diploma of Business. It’s a fantastic way to develop transferable business skills in communication, project planning, and professional risk management. 

With this qualification, you’ll be ready to work in a number of industries, in roles ranging from project management to marketing coordination.  

This diploma is broadly applicable to many sectors and includes many sought-after skills. Communication, even in the age of AI, is lauded as a critical skillset for professionals in almost any role. According to CSIRO research, employers have been increasingly searching for employees with strong interpersonal skills like communication and collaboration in recent years1. Another example is the project management skills that you’ll develop in this course. According to Seek’s job market data, existing project manager roles are expected to grow by almost 10% by 20302. 

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 1 year 

Skills: Team effectiveness, communication with customers, business continuity for sustainability and risk, and business success through planning. 

Project Manager2

Average annual salary: $145,000 

Industry outlook: 9.3% total position growth by 2030 

#2. Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping 

This course is an excellent way to develop a strong foundation in corporate accounting. The certificate can be completed in as little as six months, and it’s another study option that opens the door to many different industries.  

After completing this certificate, you will have met the educational requirements for registration as a BAS (business activity statements) agent within Australia. This program is designed by industry professionals and includes assessments in simulated environments, so you’ll be more than ready for work once you graduate.  

Once you complete the course, you’ll find yourself at the beginning of a fruitful career. The Australia Jobs and Skills database shows that the median weekly earnings of bookkeepers is $1,5013. Additionally, the same database shows that there is a growing need for accountants, with an expected employment growth of 4,400 per year4. 

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 6 months

Skills: Computerised accounting, financial reporting, salary calculations, business documentation organisation, and budget tracking.

Accountant

Average annual salary: $85,0005

Industry outlook: Expected employment growth of 4,400 per year4 

Two RMIT nursing students doing a simulation of patient care in a medical lab

#3. Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance

With the Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance, you’ll have all you need to become an assistant trained to work alongside health professionals. This twelve-month course gives you the experience needed to land an in-demand job in the health sector. Not only are the skills sought after, but you’ll also make a positive impact on the lives of others through your work. 

As a graduate, you’ll be qualified to work in any number of health and care facilities. In addition to hospitals, you may find opportunities in aged care facilities, community healthcare, rehabilitation centres, or schools. 

Health care and social assistance is one of the fastest-growing workforces in Victoria, with an expected growth of 335,000 new workers over the next 10 years6. Opportunities abound for those with the qualification and the skills – now is the perfect time to take advantage of this surge. 

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 1 year

Skills: Patient assistance, foundational health practice skills, group sessions experience, health, general care, therapy, and medical expert assistance. 

Allied Health Assistant7

Average annual salary: $65,000

Industry outlook: 15.5% total position growth by 2030 

#4. Diploma of Engineering – Technical (Mechanical)

Over the course of this twelve-month diploma, you’ll develop a host of mechanical and engineering skills. After graduating, you’ll be ready to operate specialised machinery, work with fabrication technology and much more. 

You’ll be learning with the latest equipment in real-world and simulated situations where you’ll gain the experience needed to become an engineering technician, lab technician, engineering assistant or computer-aided design (CAD) drafter. These roles are perfect entry-level engineering positions if you’re looking to enter the workforce as soon as possible. 

Due to the large-scale sustainability and infrastructure projects underway across the country, Engineering Australia reported that the demand for engineers, especially those in the electrical sector, will keep rising until at least 20308. Completing the Diploma of Engineering – Technical (Mechanical) gives you a means to ride that wave of demand. 

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 1 year

Skills: Technical and theoretical skills working with mechanical manufacturing processes. Machine operations, equipment testing, and foundational skills in engineering mathematics, fluid and thermodynamics, and materials engineering. 

Engineering Technician

Average annual salary: $85,0009

Industry outlook: Demand is expected to keep rising until at least 20308  

RMIT student using a piece of surveying equipment in the field

#5. Certificate IV in Surveying and Spatial Information Services 

Learn how to capture, process, and understand spatial information, and how those spatial insights can be applied to real-world situations such as planning construction site layouts. 

This 6-month certificate can also be completed as a traineeship. No matter how you complete this course, you’ll get hands-on experience during your study. As part of the coursework for this certificate, you’ll take part in surveying activities at our Bundoora field station, where you’ll experience spatial science simulations.  

As a graduate, you’ll be qualified to work as an engineering surveyor, a land surveying technician, or a geographic information system officer, just to name a few. Within the construction industry, there is a growing need for professionals with surveying experience, thanks to the major construction projects across the state. A recent Victorian Labour Market report notes that ‘surveying technician’ is one of the roles that will see the most growth in the next 10 years10.

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 1 year

Skills: Capturing, processing, and presenting electronic surveying data, collecting and interpreting spatial data, and operating surveying equipment. Foundational survey planning, applying GIS software to spatial problems, and designing and producing maps.

Survey Technician11

Average annual salary: $95,000

Industry outlook: 11.9% total position growth by 2030

#6. Diploma of Information Technology 

In the Diploma of Information Technology you’ll learn how to create web-based solutions for clients, develop mobile apps and expand your understanding of software systems, all with a focus to launching your career in tech.  

Graduates of this diploma may find work in IT project management, software development, web development, and more. If you study this course and are over 16, you’re also eligible for associate membership of the Australian Computer Society (ACS). 

Technology has become such an important part of our professional lives that, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum, ‘technology literacy’ is listed as one of the core skills that employers value in their employees12. So even if you aren’t looking for a role in the tech sector, this diploma will still be a boon to your résumé. For those that are looking for a tech career, Seek projects that in the next five years the available number of software developer roles will increase by up to 27% in Australia13. 

Course details and outlook

Course duration: 1 year

Skills: Web-based solutions, mobile app development, IT project management, web development, designing user experience solutions, designing and integrating databases, and cybersecurity best practices.

Software Developer13

Average annual salary: $100,000

Industry outlook: 27% total position growth by 2030

You are now ready to take advantage of the most in-demand TAFE programs at RMIT. The next step in your journey is choosing the course that most inspires you and hitting apply!

 

Story: Jacob Johnston

 

References

1Madeleine Clarke. ‘Data shows soaring demand for people skills in Aussie post-pandemic jobs market’. CSIRO. https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/news/2024/january/data-shows-soaring-demand-for-people-skills-in-aussie-post-pandemic-jobs-market. Published January 2024.  

2Seek. ‘Career insights: Project Managers’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/project-manager. Accessed September 2025.  

3Australian Government. ‘Jobs and Skills Australia: Bookkeepers’. https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/5512-bookkeepers. Accessed September 2025. 

4Australian Government. ‘Jobs and Skills Australia: Accountants’. https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/2211-accountants. Accessed September 2025.  

5Seek. ‘Career insights: Accountant’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/accountant. Accessed September 2025. 

6Victorian Government. ‘Health care and social assistance and construction are expected to have the most workforce growth’. https://www.vic.gov.au/state-victorian-labour-market-report-2024-publication/4-around-392000-new-workers-are-expected-enter-victorian-labour-market-2027/health-care-and-social-assistance-and-construction-are-expected-have-most-workforce-growth. Published November 2024. 

7Seek. ‘Career insights: Allied Health Assistant’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/allied-health-assistant. Accessed September 2025. 

8Institution of Engineers Australia. ‘The Australian Engineering Labour Market Overview’. https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/The-Engineering-Labour-Market-Overview-August-24.pdf. Published August 2024. 

9Seek. ‘Career insights: Engineering Technician’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/engineering-technician. Accessed September 2025. 

10Victorian Skills Authority. ‘State of the Victorian Labour Market: Victorian Skills Plan for 2024 into 2025’. https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-11/2024-State-of-the-Victorian-Labour-Market-report.pdf. Published November 2024. 

11Seek. ‘Career Insights: Survey Technician’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/survey-technician. Accessed September 2025. 

12World Economic Forum. ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2025’. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/. Published January 2025. 

13Seek. ‘Career insights: Software Developer’. https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/software-developer. Accessed September 2025. 

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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