Ms Winters is a victim of the latest collapse of a private training college, Careers Australia, which went into voluntary administration this week.

She says she is not only down nearly $30,000 in fees but she is also not able to obtain credit for the study she has completed at another institution, despite being a week away from finishing her diploma.

Federal funding cuts pushed Careers Australia, one of the country's largest private training colleges with campuses in five states, into voluntary administration affecting 15,000 students and 1000 staff.

Ms Winters was more than halfway through the final essay required to qualify her for a Diploma of Nursing when she was notified of the collapse, like all other students, via a short text message.

The Central Coast resident said she had developed a dream of working as an enrolled nurse in recent years while working in a respite centre for elderly clients. "I love the elderly. I enjoy bringing a smile to their face. I believe that's where the true nursing happens."

But Ms Winters says NSW TAFE told her this week that none of the 26 units she has completed will be recognised for credit elsewhere in the NSW vocational education system.

The state opposition says the government should ensure Ms Winters and other students can find a way to finish their studies.

"The government has a responsibility," said Prue Car, the shadow minister for skills. "[They] created an environment that has encouraged these dodgy private providers to thrive."

A spokesman for the NSW Department of Industry said that the state government had cancelled Careers Australia's contract to deliver state government subsidised training last year.

About 3000 training organisations operate in NSW, the spokesman said, but only about 440 are contracted to deliver state government subsidised training. Only contracted training providers are subject to regulatory controls and quality checks, the spokesman said.

The NSW vocational education sector has been hit by years of turmoil following major state government reforms that allowed private providers to compete for a greater proportion of government funding for the sector.

But a spokesman for the Skills Minister, John Barilaro, said the previous Labor government had provided more money for private training organisations in 2010 than it had last year.

Careers Australia was six weeks ago stripped of federal funding due to dismal completion rates and aggressive recruitment practices.

It earned more than $264 million in taxpayer funding between 2013 and 2015. But just 14.7 per cent of students graduated.

The ACCC won a court case forcing the college to forgive $44 million in debt for students who had been signed up to courses they believed were free or who had been lured with inducements such as "free" iPads.

Christine Layte, another nursing diploma candidate said the experience had curtailed her ambitions for study.

"I have a debt but nothing else," she said. "I don't think I can ever do this again".