Fee Free Traineeships
Fee Free Traineeships
Kickstart Your Career with a Fee-Free Traineeship in NSW
Traineeships offer a direct path to well-paid jobs across a variety of industries. In NSW, new entrant traineeships are fee-free until 30 December 2025, making now the perfect time to start your journey.
Existing worker trainees is not fee-free. METS is required to charge a fee to cover the cost of training.
The Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System aims to help fill skill shortages in areas of industry that need it most. Trainees and Employers may be eligible for hiring incentive.
For more information, visit: https://mets.edu.au/employer-guide/
Who is Eligible for Fee-Free Training?
To qualify for a fee-free traineeship, you must:
- Be a NSW trainee, including school-based trainees
- Enrol in a course funded under the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled Program
- Begin your training before 30 June 2025
If you started a Smart and Skilled traineeship before 1 January 2020 and are returning before 30 December 2025, you may still qualify for fee-free training. Each student can commence up to three fee-free traineeships under this initiative.
For more information, visit: https://education.nsw.gov.au/skills-nsw/apprentices-and-trainees/low-cost-and-free-training-options/fee-free-traineeships
Not eligible for Fee Free Traineeships? Find out if you’re eligible for Smart and Skilled?
Unique Student Identifier (USI)
Everyone undertaking a nationally-recognised vocational education and training (VET) qualification in Australia needs a Unique Student Identifier (USI). Anyone who is thinking about doing a VET course can also get a USI.
A USI is like an account number with 10 numbers and letters. It looks something like this: 3AW88YH9U5.
It allows you to access a transcript of records for all the vocational education and training qualifications that you achieve from 1 January 2015 onwards. This is useful if you’re asked to provide your training records when applying for a job or enrolling in other courses.
You only need one USI, and it’s yours for life.
Under Smart and Skilled, you will need to give your USI to us when you enrol in your Smart and Skilled course.
We will also ask for your consent to give State Training Services (STS) access to your USI. This enables STS to view your training profile to validate your eligibility for Smart and Skilled training and your fees. You will have to go to your USI account at the USI Registry to do this.
If you do not already have a USI when you enrol into training with METS, we will assist you by applying for a USI on your behalf!
