Career Start

What is Career Start? 

Career Start provides subsidised training to help individuals start their careers or progress into skilled or full-time employment, through the completion of Certificate III qualifications. Career Start offers two distinct pathways to achieving a Certificate III qualification:

General Training Pathway:

For students who wish to enrol directly into a Certificate III qualification without going through an apprenticeship or traineeship.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathway:

For students who wish to be employed while they study, allowing them to complete qualifications as apprentices or trainees under an approved training contract.

Career Start Eligibility Criteria

General Training Pathway Eligibility Criteria:

• Be 15 years or older.
• Not be enrolled as a school student.
• Permanently reside in Queensland.
• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, eligible visa holder, or a New Zealand citizen.
• Not have completed a certificate III or higher within the last 10 years (school qualifications and foundation skills qualifications do not count).
• Not be enrolled in another qualification (excluding foundation skills).

Apprenticeships/Traineeships Eligibility Criteria:

In addition to the General Training Pathway criteria listed above, to be eligible to receive subsidized training, the prospective apprentice/trainee must also:

• have entered into a Contract (training contract) and be registered on DTET’s training database and
• not have already completed two apprenticeship/traineeship qualifications (including School based apprenticeships /traineeships) within the last 10 years.

Eligible Training Combinations under Career Start

Under Career Start, students may access subsidised training for up to two qualifications, depending on the pathway chosen. The eligible training combinations are:

• Eligible Training Combination One:
  A student may undertake one Certificate III qualification through the General Training Pathway using Career Start funding.
• Eligible Training Combination Two:
  A student may undertake one Certificate III qualification through the General Training Pathway, followed by one apprenticeship or traineeship using Career Start funding.
• Eligible Training Combination Three:
  A student may undertake two apprenticeships or traineeships at Certificate II or III level (one after the other) using Career Start funding.
• Additional Skill Set Access:
  A student may also access one introductory-level skill set under Career Start funding, in addition to the combinations above.

What is a Co-Contribution Fee?

Under Career Start, the Queensland Government covers most of the training cost, but students pay a co-contribution fee as a sign of commitment to their study. These fees may differ based on a student’s concessional status. 

For traineeships and apprenticeships, co-contribution fees are calculated based on the nominal hours for each unit of competency within the qualification at a Government fixed rate.

When do I pay my Co-Contribution Fee?

 

To meet our government funding program requirements, ISS Training only charge a student a maximum of 30% of their co-contribution fee on enrollment. ISS Training manages this by invoicing students in two (2) instalments. The first instalment is for approximately (but not more than) 30% of the co-contribution fee and is payable before training commences. The second instalment is for the balance of the co-contribution fees and will be due approximately 8 weeks after enrolment. Payment of the second invoice is required to remain enrolled. 

See the fee schedule below for the specific co-contribution fee for each course.