Centre for Adult Education

What Centre for Adult Education does

The Centre for Adult Education (CAE) is a Melbourne-based adult education institution operating since 1947 (originally established as the Council of Adult Education in 1946). Since 2006, CAE has been wholly owned and operated by Box Hill Institute, a vocational and higher education provider (RTO: 4687; CRICOS: 02411J; IHE: PRV12117). CAE functions as the short-course consumer brand of its parent, delivering fee-for-service programs across five Melbourne campuses: Flinders Lane (CBD), Degraves Street (CBD), Lilydale Lakeside, Box Hill Institute, and the Ola Cohn Centre in East Melbourne.

CAE's portfolio comprises eight product lines: Short Courses (arts, business, technology, fitness, health, craft, photography, writing, walking tours, etc.), Languages (14 languages including Arabic, Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and others), VCE preparation, Transition & Pathway (pre-accredited) courses, Workforce Training for organizations, Book Groups, Room Hire for venues, and Gift Vouchers. Courses are priced individually in the $185–$275 range with concession pricing for eligible card holders, and revenue is generated primarily via direct-to-consumer one-time fees plus a B2B workforce training stream.

CAE's go-to-market is predominantly direct-to-consumer: self-service enrollment through cae.edu.au, customer service phone support (03 9652 0611), and an email newsletter ("Short Courses eNews"), supported by organic social presence on Facebook and Instagram. The B2B workforce training arm runs on a direct enterprise sales motion. There is no disclosed technology platform or AI/automation capability — service delivery is built around in-person, instructor-led short courses at the five physical campuses, with no mobile app, public API, or proprietary software product referenced.

Name

Centre for Adult Education

Legal name

Centre for Adult Education

Website

https://cae.edu.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Centre for Adult Education (CAE) is a Melbourne-based adult education institution owned by Box Hill Institute, delivering short courses, language instruction, VCE prep, workforce training, and community programs across five campuses since 1947.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Short course fees: Fee-for-service recreational and skills-based short courses offered to adult learners. CAE offers hundreds of programs across categories including arts, business, computers, languages, fitness, health, and more.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Centre for Adult Education (CAE) delivers fee-for-service short courses and adult education programs across diverse categories including arts, business, technology, languages, fitness, health, and creative skills. Programs are offered to individual adult learners and corporate clients, including language instruction in 13+ languages, VCE preparation, transition/pathway courses, workforce training, and book groups, delivered at five physical campuses in Melbourne.

Product overview

Centre for Adult Education (CAE) is an educational institution operated by Box Hill Institute, offering a diverse portfolio of short courses and training programs primarily in Melbourne, Victoria. The organization provides short courses across categories including arts, business, technology, languages, fitness, health, and creative skills. Programs include language instruction in 13 languages, VCE preparation, workforce training for organizations, transition and pathway courses, and community book groups. Courses are delivered at five campuses across Melbourne CBD (Flinders Lane and Degraves Street), Lilydale Lakeside, Box Hill Institute, and East Melbourne (Ola Cohn Centre).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Short Courses Hundreds of short courses covering diverse subjects including arts, business, technology, languages, fitness, health, and creative skills, held at CAE city and suburban campuses. Designed for adult learners seeking personal enrichment, hobby skills, or professional development.
• Languages Language instruction programs covering 13+ languages including Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Includes Language Skills Assessment.
• VCE Courses Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) preparation courses for secondary school students.
• Transition & Pathway Courses Pre-accredited courses designed to help students transition into further education or employment pathways.
• Workforce Training Programs Customized training programs for organizations to develop and nurture learners, offered at CAE locations and partner sites across Melbourne. Targeted at workforce development, professional development, and team building.
• Book Groups Community book clubs and reading groups for literature enthusiasts.
• Room Hire Venues and meeting spaces available for hire at CAE campuses for events and functions.
• Gift Vouchers Gift certificates available for purchase to give the gift of learning to others.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Box Hill InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAE is owned and operated by Box Hill Institute. Box Hill Institute is a leading vocational and higher education provider known for collaborative and creative approach to education in Australia and overseas. CAE operates as the short course brand of Box Hill Institute, offering programs at city locations and partnering with organizations across Melbourne to deliver customized training.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• LinkedIn Learning: Global online professional development platform offering thousands of video-based courses; competes with CAE's computer training, business, and professional development categories through on-demand digital delivery.
• Swinburne Open Education: Swinburne University's open education and short course program serves adult learners in Melbourne with a partial overlap in subject matter and target demographic to CAE.

Regional players

• Brisbane Community Education: Queensland-based adult community education provider delivering short courses in similar disciplines to CAE (arts, languages, business, hobby), operating in a different Australian geography.
• Sydney Community College: Sydney-based adult education provider offering short courses in arts, languages, business, and lifestyle, with a similar fee-for-service short course catalog to CAE but serving the Sydney market.
• Canberra Institute of Technology Short Courses: ACT-based TAFE offering short courses to adult learners, comparable in format and audience to CAE but serving the Canberra market.

Broad incumbents

• TAFE Victoria: Victorian government technical and further education provider offering vocational short courses, certificates, and diplomas to adult learners across the same Melbourne/Victoria geography as CAE.
• Melbourne University Centre for Continuing Education: Continuing education arm of the University of Melbourne offering short courses and professional development to adult learners in Melbourne, operating as part of a larger university but serving a directly overlapping market to CAE.
• RMIT Short Courses: RMIT University's short course division delivers professional development and personal interest courses to adult learners in Melbourne, overlapping directly with CAE's Melbourne CBD short course market.

Direct peers

• Workers' Educational Association (WEA): Australian adult education association delivering short courses, lectures, and lifelong learning programs across multiple cities, with a similar community-based, fee-for-service model to CAE.
• U3A Melbourne: University of the Third Age Melbourne offers short, low-cost adult learning courses for older adults, directly comparable to CAE's adult short course model in target demographic and format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CAEMelbourne
• Instagraminstagram.com/cae_melbourne
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cae_2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Adult Education