Community College - Australia

Australia

Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults enhance their numeracy and literacy skills. Today, courses are designed for personal development of an individual and/or for employment outcomes. The educational program covers a variety of topics such as arts, languages, business and lifestyle; and are usually timetabled to be conducted in the evenings or weekends to accommodate people working full-time. Funding for community colleges may come from government grants and course fees; and most community colleges are not-for-profit organisations. There are community colleges located in metropolitan, regional and rural locations of Australia.

Learning offered by community colleges has changed over the years. By the 1980s many colleges had recognised a community need for computer training and since then thousands of people have been up-skilled through IT courses. The majority of colleges by the late 20th century had also become Registered Training Organisations; recognising the need to offer individuals a nurturing, non-traditional education venue to gain skills that would better prepare them for the workplace and potential job openings. Qualifications such as undergraduate degrees and higher are not offered at community colleges, though some community colleges do offer certificate courses I to IV.