TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education. It’s a vocational training provider run by each state government in Australia. Vocational education and training is study that offers you the opportunity to learn specific and practical job skills.
TAFE is just one part of the VET (Vocational Education and Training) sector in Australia. There are also other private providers.
TAFE provides education in vocational areas, like beauty, design, childcare, accounting, business, recruitment, IT, and many more. With a focus on specific skills for a particular workplace, a TAFE course is typically a combination of theory and practical skills training.
Traditionally, the primary difference between TAFE and university was that TAFE provided education and training for trade courses like electricians or hairdressers, while universities provide degrees and higher education for professional career choices like law and medicine.
But things are changing and there is more crossover with the types of courses on offer at both TAFE and university.
University courses usually take 3 or 4 years to complete (and sometimes longer) and most TAFE courses can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years to complete depending on the course.
In the past University was the only path to complete a degree and TAFE offered a certificate or diploma qualification only – this has also changed. You can now earn associate and bachelor's degrees for certain professions through TAFE.