Skip to Content

TAFE - School of Social Sciences

School of Social Sciences  

About the School of Social Sciences

The TAFE School of Social Sciences within Swinburne University of Technology is committed to providing quality Vocational Education and Training in a supportive communicative environment.

The School offers courses in community services, children's services, health, recreation, sport and supported learning, and provides life long learning opportunities through its bridging and preparatory programs. The School also offers workplace training and develops training resources.

There are four departments within the School:

Child, Family & Community Services

  • The Department of Child and Community Services offers a range of courses at both the Prahran and Croydon Campuses. Courses offered are: the Certificate II in Community Services Work (Children's Services Stream), the Certificate III in Children's Services, the Diploma of Children's Services, the Diploma of Out of School Hours, the Advanced Diploma of Children's Services, the Graduate Certificate in Social Science (Prenatal and Postnatal Family Support), the Course in Parent Education Leadership Training.

Foundation Studies

  • The Foundation Studies department operates on all campuses and delivers a large range of adult basic education and English as a Second Language courses, both to Swinburne students and for external organisations. The department also provides study support skills in written and verbal English, maths and other areas to Swinburne enrolled TAFE and Higher Education students.

Health, Recreation & Human Services Department

  • The Department of Health, Recreation and Human Services (HRHS) provides courses across the Croydon, Wantirna, Hawthorn, Prahran, Lilydale and Healesville campuses with considerable workplace delivery especially in outdoor recreation through the Outdoor Education Group at the Eildon township

Industry Partnerships & Workforce Skills Development

  • The Department of Industry Partnerships and Workforce Skills Development delivers fee for service (FFS) programs in the areas of community services, welfare and housing and is oriented vocationally towards students gaining qualifications suitable for work in the community based sector.
  • It also offers customised training programs that integrate language, literacy and/or numeracy (LLN) development with units of competency from accredited industry Training Packages. Non-accredited training focusing on specific LLN needs can also be arranged. Both types of programs are delivered in the workplace.
  • The Department also develops training resources that meet the needs of employees with language, literacy and numeracy needs. These resources incorporate the principles of plain English and include strategies to actively engage the learner.