Higher Level Skills

The Higher Level Skills program aims to assist individuals to gain the higher-level skills required to secure employment or career advancement in a priority industry, or to transition to university to further their studies.

Am I eligible?

You must:

• be a Queensland resident
• be aged 15 years or over, and no longer at school
• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident (including humanitarian entrants), or a temporary resident with the necessary visa and work permits on the pathway to permanent residency
• not hold, or be enrolled in, a certificate IV level or higher qualification (not including qualifications completed at school and foundation skills training).

How can I participate?

It is important that you take the time to carefully consider your training options and compare different providers and their fees before committing to a course of study.

For information on choosing a training provider, read our training consumer tips.

The Queensland Skills Gateway displays the courses available under the Higher Level Skills program and provides information about what they cover, the careers they can lead to and the training providers approved to deliver them.

For some subsidised courses under the program, the industry and training package requires you to be an existing worker in the industry to be eligible to enrol. These restrictions and/or exemptions are detailed in the Priority skills list.

As a condition of your enrolment, you will be required to complete a student training and employment survey within 3 months of finishing or discontinuing your training.

What level of subsidy is available?

The subsidy represents the level of government contribution for a qualification and varies between qualifications based on a number of factors.

The investment priority or importance of the training influences the size of the government subsidy. Training in vocational areas that aligns with critical industry skills needs and government priorities will receive a higher government subsidy.

A higher subsidy will also be paid to support participation by disadvantaged learners (concessional students). More information on concessional student status is detailed in the Higher Level Skills program policy.

Do I need to contribute to the cost of training?

Given the increased benefits that you can gain from higher-level training, you are required to contribute to the cost of your training through a co-contribution fee.

The amount of your out-of-pocket expense will vary depending on the course you undertake and the training provider you choose.

The fee may be paid on your behalf by an employer or a third party but cannot be paid or waived by the training provider, or any organisation related to the training provider, unless approved by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

More information

• Read the Higher Level Skills – Student fact sheet (PDF, 633KB).
• View more information on Higher levels skills, including program documents.

Related information

• Queensland Skills Gateway
• Student guide
• Certificate 3 Guarantee
• User Choice
• Visa eligibility for funded programs

Last updated 17 August 2020