Vocational Training Courses

AMES offers a broad range of vocational courses to help you with your pathway to employment and your settlement into the Australian way of life.

• Courses to develop your English communication skills for the workplace
• Courses that provide life skills
• Accredited training courses for jobs in specific industries

Workplace Skills Courses

Clients who have low levels of English can do Workplace Skills courses that prepare them for entry level jobs  for example, in the hospitality industry,  as kitchen hands, cleaning or room attendant services. The focus of these courses will be on practical hands-on training. At the same time you will be learning more English, including vocabulary (and how to talk to your workmates). In some cases bilingual support is available. See the full list of Workplace Skills Courses for more information.

Vocational Education Training Courses

VET courses are designed to train clients for specific job types - from Food Handling or Cleaning to Aged Care or a trade in Construction. There is a wide range of VET courses available to choose from, and new courses are being developed all the time to meet the needs of our clients and reflect industry trends. This training is delivered with funding from Skills Victoria under the Victorian Training Guarantee (refer to eligibility criteria below).

All AMES VET courses combine English language support with vocational skills training.

VET courses vary in length and are available from a number of different locations.  See the full list of accredited training courses for more information.

Eligibility for a Victorian Training Guarantee Government Subsidy

To be eligible for a government subsidised place in an AMES VET course you must:

• be an Australian citizen, or
• have permanent residency, or
• be a holder of a Special Category Visa (sub-class 444), or
• be an East Timorese asylum seeker, or
• be a holder of a Temporary Protection Visa.

Please note that courses are open to anyone, subject to a fee.

Course Fees

The tuition fees will vary depending on which level of course you do. As well as tuition fees there will be some additional costs to cover educational materials. For more details please see information regarding the appropriate course.

Some AMES courses are also Austudy eligible. Check with you local AMES centre about which courses involve Austudy benefits or fee reductions.

Study Exemptions

AMES offers study exemptions based on the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and/or Credit Transfer. RPL is an assessment of your life, work and training experience to determine whether full or partial study exemptions should be granted.

Students need to apply for RPL or Credit Transfer through the centre where they are studying.