March 13, 2014
A local employment agency is urging job seekers to carefully investigate the long-term costs of apparently free training schemes.
“If an offer seems too good to be true, there’s often a hidden cost down the track,” the agency spokesperson said.
Courses may appear free upfront but in reality fees are levied through VET FEE-HELP, a student loan scheme funded by the Federal Government.
Like a HECS debt, the loans must be paid back once the student earns more than a set amount per year.
southburnett.com.au has heard reports of jobseekers being urged to sign up for courses after being approached on the footpath outside Centrelink offices in Kingaroy and Gympie.
The employment agency spokesperson said there appeared to be several companies offering the training courses.
Her concern was that deals were being pitched at the most vulnerable members of the community – who have often participated in free government-sponsored training courses in the past – who this time could end up with considerable debts.
She had heard of one case where a student had ended up with a $12,000 debt.
A brochure shown to southburnett.com.au today described Diploma courses in various management skills, all offered online.
However, the jobseeker who was handed the brochure was actually seeking training in earthmoving. The training company representative allegedly urged him to come along to an information session anyway as he could still be eligible for a free laptop “as the government is giving them away”.
“We are advising jobseekers to be very, very careful about what they are signing and to be very wary before they hand over their Tax File Number to anyone,” the employment agency spokesperson said.
“We also suggest people receiving benefits go back to Centrelink and discuss with them their options before signing up for anything.”
southburnett.com.au is not alleging the training companies involved or their staff members are acting illegally.
