SMART AND SKILLED INFORMATION  

NSW Smart and Skilled Funded Training Program Smart and Skilled is a NSW Government program that offers subsidised training for courses on the NSW Skills List, which identifies industry areas that need more qualified workers. Equinim College is an approved Smart and Skilled training provider. Individuals and Employers can undertake training at a reduced cost through NSW Government Funded Smart and Skilled Training Programs, such as Targeted Priority Full Qualification Program, Apprenticeship and Traineeship Program and the NSW Fee Free Program.  Equinim College is approved to deliver the ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology under the Smart and Skilled Priority Industry Full Qualification Program.  NSW Fee-Free Training  The NSW and Commonwealth Government have funded a joint initiative to provide fee free places in courses that support NSW businesses and industries experiencing a skills and labour shortage. The ICT50220 Diploma of Information Technology is a NSW Fee-Free Course in the 2023 year.  All eligible Smart and Skilled students enrolling and commencing in 2023 will have their tuition fee completely subsidised by the NSW Government when undertaking a NSW Fee-Free course.  NSW fee-free courses are available for people who enrol after 1 December 2022 and commence their course between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. Eligibility requirements are below. 

Smart and Skilled Funding Eligibility You are eligible for Skills NSW funding if you meet the following criteria:
·     15 years old or over
·     No longer at secondary school (except for registered home school students)
·     Living or working in NSW (or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person living in specific defined interstate NSW border areas)
·     An Australian citizen, permanent resident, humanitarian visa holder or New Zealand citizen.  

Are there any other eligibility conditions?  Your eligibility is not affected if you have completed a vocational education and training (VET) course,including a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship, as part of your high school education.There are some exceptions to the eligibility conditions described above, such as for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who do not live or work in NSW but live in specific defined interstate NSW border areas. For more information, please contact the College. You can use the Skills Compare search to find a course and check your eligibility. More information on Smart and Skilled For more information on the Smart and Skilled Program, you may visit the Smart and Skilled website.

‍SMART AND SKILLED GENERAL INFORMATION AND POLICIES 
Enrolment information and documentation 
On application for enrolment, you will be required to provide the following evidence for eligibility:  
·     Your Unique Student Identifier (USI) number
·     Evidence of living or working in NSW
·     Evidence of your Australian or New Zealand citizenship, permanent residency or humanitarian visa (if applicable).
·     TCID number (for trainees only)
·     Year 10 completion or equivalent (if you are under the age of 17). (Approval is required from the College if you will be under the age of 18 at the time of enrolment.) Additional evidence may be required for circumstances suchas enrolment under the age of 18 or where you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person living in a defined interstate border area with NSW. Contact us to find out more about requirements.  

Notification of Enrolment Process  
On successful provision of all enrolment information and documentation, you will be enrolled in the course and receive a Notification of Enrolment (NoE).  You will be required to sign a consent form for the Department’s use of your information in order for the College to issue your Notification of Enrolment with the Department. The consent form will be provided to you by the College. If you do not provide consent, we will not proceed with enrolment. You will be required to declare that the information you provide with regard to eligibility Is true, accurate, complete and not misleading.  

‍Information on your Unique Student Identifier Number (USI Number)  “USI” stands for Unique Student Identifier number. If you are doing study in Australia, you will need a USI. A USI is made up of letters and numbers. It allows you to access your VET training record for any training completed since 1 January 2015. All new and continuing students undertaking nationally recognised training require a USI to receive your qualification or statement of attainment. You are required to provide your US Inumber before completion of your enrolment. If you have not yet created a USI, you may create a USI here.

For a step by step guide on how to create your USI, you may refer to our ‘How to Create a USI Number Guide’, downloadable on the policies page of our website.  Qualification Fact Sheet The following information can be found on the Qualification Fact Sheet, provided to you on enrolment and downloadable on our website:
·      Information on RPL and Credit Transfer. Any award of Credit Transfer is made in accordance with the College’s Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and Procedure, available on the policies page of our website.
·      Information on deferring or discontinuing yourstudies, including how to go about actioning this. Further information ondeferring or discontinuing your studies can be found in the Student Deferral Procedure and Student Withdrawal Procedure, downloadable on the policies page of our website.
·      Contact details for the various support services available with the College. Further information can be found in the Student Support Procedure, downloadable on the policies page of our website.