What is Adult and Community Education (ACE)?

The Adult and Community Education (ACE) Program has been designed to support to those who are disadvantaged and who need additional skills and knowledge to move into further study and/or gain employment.

The program will also offer support to small business owners and their staff by providing fully subsidised accredited and non accredited training in targeted courses in information technology, business services or foundation skills. This stream is referred to as Tech Savvy for Small Business (TSB) - see Tech Savvy for Small Business funding page.

Eligibility for ACE

You must be:

a) an Australian citizen, permanent resident or humanitarian visa holder, or a New Zealand citizen, and
b) be aged 15 years or older, and
c) live or work in NSW, and
d) no longer be at school or equivalent.

AND

Live in a COVID lockdown LGA and been affected by the lockdown eg lost work hours, lost employment, not having ongoing work and needing to transition to another industry, or experiencing other challenges as a result of the lockdowns (verified by proof of address and completion of application form)

OR, if you have not been affected by the COVID lockdown, one of the following:

• an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• someone with a disability or is the dependent child, spouse or partner of someone with a disability
• a recipient of an Applicable Benefit, or is dependent child, spouse or partner of a recipient of an Applicable Benefit (see the table below for a list of Applicable Benefits); or
• someone who is experiencing significant hardship as verified by a government agency, medical professional or support agency,
• someone who has English as an additional language and who is unable to effectively participate in the community or in employment

AND

experiencing one of the following barriers to participation in training under a Smart and Skilled Entitlement Program or other Smart and Skilled Program:

• low literacy, language and/or numeracy skills
• limited employability skills where students require additional support
• persistent and ongoing personal issues impacting on educational achievement; and
• significant educational disadvantage impacting upon student’s ability to succeed in training,

Applicable Benefits

• Age Pension
• Austudy
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension
• Farm Household Allowance
• Family Tax Benefit Part A (maximum rate)
• Jobseeker Payment
• Parenting Payment (Single)
• Special Benefit
• Veterans' Children Education Scheme
• Veterans' Affairs Pensions
• Widow Allowance
• Youth Allowance

(Note: The Carer Payment is a specific benefit paid by the Commonwealth; this category does not include the Carer Allowance or Carer Adjustment Pay Step)

Courses Available

The College is currently offering a range of short courses designed to help improve your work skills. These include:

The focus of the ACE funding is to provide short courses to eligible applicants, however if barriers to attending an entitlement course up to and including Certificate III qualifications exist, limited full qualifications may be available.

Student Fees

No course fee for eligible students.

What Next?

For more information please contact Susan Wilkinson on 9970 1000 or email vet@nbmc.nsw.edu.au. We can assess your eligibility and your training needs to work out an individual training plan (which may include more than one course) to provide a pathway to further training and/or improved employment opportunities.

This training is subsidised by the NSW Government – for more information on Smart & Skilled go to The Smart and Skilled Website

_Northern Beaches & Mosman College
Registered Training Organisation – National ID 90113