About 38,000 students have been studying by distance with TAFE NSW – Open Training and Education Network (OTEN) without having to find the time to attend formal classes. OTEN offers an extensive range of courses/qualifications for updating skills for careers, a change in career or for trying out a new direction in life. Subject areas include horticulture, conservation and land management, office administration, business, building and surveying, smarttrain, OH&S, childcare and IT, just to name a few.
OTEN Associate Director, Ron Wright, said that the flexibility of distance education study is ideal for people who because of commitments or circumstances find they benefit from the additional flexibility of not having to attend formal classes.
“We have a wide variety of people who choose to study with us,” he said. “They enjoy the flexibility of being able to study when and where it suits them, and they also enjoy the excellent support and expertise of the OTEN teachers. Our students might be working full time with a family, live far away from an educational institution, have a disability, or others just simply prefer to study at their own pace, at their own place.”
Materials for studying are generally sent by mail to students, who are able to work at their own pace and take advantage of online and telephone support services.Organisations looking for tailored workplace training programs can also make use of OTEN, with flexible training solutions developed to suit specific needs.
OTEN annually enrols about 38,000 students in around 250 courses/qualifications. It is a part of TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute.
For further information, call (02) 9715 8333 or go to www.oten.edu.au
*Copy supplied by TAFE NSW
