Costs of apprenticeships and traineeships

The biggest cost in your apprenticeship or traineeship will be paying for training.

Tuition fees

You will need to talk to your training organisation about the tuition fees. They set these fees, so prices vary, and it pays to shop around. Read our training consumer tips.

Some training organisations receive state government (user choice) funding, as a contribution to the cost of delivering training for priority apprenticeship and traineeship qualifications.

Note: You can only access a maximum of 2 government contributions under the user choice program.

The Queensland Skills Gateway allows you to search for funded courses (qualifications) and training organisations.

Search for a course (e.g. 'plumbing' or 'Certificate III in Plumbing') and:

  • view providers (training organisations) for your course, and check if they are funded – listed as yes or no under the 'Funded' column
  • view details under each course listing – the 'Funded under' section tells you how the course is funded and where to go for more information
  • refine your search options to select all subsidised programs, or only those courses funded under a specific program like User Choice.

You and your employer can work with one of these training organisations or you can choose to pay the full fee for training from another training organisation. In some cases, your employer may pay for your training.

Student contribution fees

Regardless of the training organisation you choose, you may have to pay student contribution fees. These are different to tuition fees.

Note: School-based apprentices and trainees are exempt from paying student contribution fees.

Other training costs

Other training costs may include:

  • uniforms and equipment
  • textbooks, printing and other study materials
  • parking or transport costs (to attend work or training)
  • transport costs and/or accommodation (if you have to attend training far from home).

Financial help

Find out what financial help is available to help pay for your apprenticeship or traineeship.