TASMANIA – User Choice Funding

What is User Choice?

The User Choice program provides training subsidies to Skills Tasmania endorsed RTO’s to help cover the cost of providing training and assessment services for nationally recognised qualifications to Tasmanian apprentices and trainees.

RTOs must ensure that qualifications they are seeking subsidies for are on their scope of registration and that the qualifications are subsidised by Skills Tasmania. The Tasmanian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Listing identifies which qualifications are subsidised.

There are two streams of User Choice funding which are New workers and/or Existing Workers.

Who is eligible?

Eligible learners can be new workers, existing employees, year 10, 11 and 12 school students and previously qualified apprentices and trainees.

How do I know which User Choice Program I am eligible for?

The definition for each program is as follows:

User Choice New Workers:

You are a new worker if you have been employed as either an apprentice or trainee for less than 3 months full time or 12 months part time or casual.
If you’re an employee and have had a break (including apprentice or trainee) for 6 months or more from your employer then you will be deemed as a new employee.
For more information please visit: 2016 User Choice Guidelines

User Choice Existing Workers:

You are Deemed as an Existing worker if you have been employed for more than 3 months full time or 12 months part time or casual with the employer you are entering into a training contract with. For more information please visit: 2016 User Choice Guidelines

What if I’m a previously qualified apprentice or trainee?

If you have a qualification already you can access funding to study again however; you must:

Not be enrolling into a qualification that is the same or lower level in a related field that has been publicly subsidised within the past 5 years (either whole or in part).
Have received subsidised training within the last 5 years for a qualification that has undergone significant changes or additions to become the industry benchmark of essential skills.
Have received subsidised training within the last 5 years for a qualification that has undergone significant changes to the industry such as major changes to technology, the industry or government, as opposed to individual employers, specifies that staff are required to update/refresh their qualifications.
Ensure that the training subsidies sought after is in an unrelated field to any previous training.