When Erika Salmon enrolled in university to study arts and IT, she fulfilled her parents’ wishes. This, they thought, was her best chance to find employment.
But the 21-year-old from Croydon Park challenged that perception when, after two years, she dropped out to take up a TAFE course in cybersecurity. She’s never looked back.
Erika Salmon left university for ‘more practical’ studies at TAFE.CREDIT:STEVEN SIEWART
Ms Salmon’s parents are delighted with how happy she is studying IT network security and data infrastructure engineering at TAFE NSW and her employment prospects are strong.
“With uni, it was a lot more theoretical with little practical application, whereas TAFE is a good balance between theory and practical,” she said. “It gives you the skills you need for the workplace, instead of just textbooks.
“My parents pushed me to go to uni because they thought a degree was the best way to get a job. But they can see how happy I am and how successful I’ve been at TAFE. So they have definitely changed their minds.”
A federal government review of Australia’s vocational education system has found that many students end up in a vocational career after completing an unnecessary university degree.
The review by Steven Joyce found that university has become the default post-school pathway despite a wide array of sometimes lucrative careers available through vocational education and training (VET).
Ms Salmon has a part-time job with a software company and hopes to work in cybersecurity or the internet of things when she has completed her four-year course.
“This course has led to real job opportunities,” she says.
Industry groups have raised concerns that school teachers and career counsellors rarely had personal experience of the VET sector and were pushing all capable students towards higher education. Many schools had treated VET as a “second-rate” option for low-performing students instead of recommending it as a viable alternative pathway.
“Stakeholders were concerned that students who would otherwise thrive in VET careers are being directed towards higher education options where they may not succeed,” the report says.
“They pointed to the significant drop-out rate of certain cohorts of first-year university students, and felt that some Australians end up taking up a vocational career after completing a possibly unnecessary university degree.”
The report said school students struggle to find clear and accurate information about the VET sector.
“When prospective students are unable to find the information they need, they are less likely to make good choices about post-secondary study options, including which course and which provider,” the report says.
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) says there is a lack of information available for prospective vocational students to make decisions about their future.
“This starts in schools with career counselling and the information we give young people, but is even more prevalent for adults in the labour force or looking for work, who struggle to find relevant and helpful information,” the BCA says.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry recommended a national communications strategy to promote apprenticeships and traineeships and the VET sector overall. The Minerals Council of Australia also supports the campaign and reforms addressing weaknesses in the current VET system.
Blake Stewart also made the switch from university to TAFE.
Blake Stewart, 25, enrolled in a bachelor of arts at university before leaving 18 months later to study a TAFE NSW Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Care.
He graduated from a four-year degree in 2017 and is now working as an early childhood teacher and director of a preschool.
“Originally I just wanted to get into that and transfer into primary teaching. But as I started getting into it – it was a lot more personal and I was happy doing preschool teaching,” he said. “It was much more practical doing a TAFE course.”
Mr Stewart is now studying for a Masters of Education degree majoring in early childhood leadership which will take two years to complete part-time.
Shelley Mallett, professorial fellow in social policy at the University of Melbourne and director of research and policy Centre at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, said many parents and young people had little knowledge of the VET sector and saw it as a poor second choice.
“There is a real inadequacy in careers advice and vocational planning,” she said. “The conversation needs to start early from year 7 in school and with young people and their parents and they need to have the conversation multiple times in their school career.”
A rare breakout of peace between public and private school has changed the election outlook and shifted the campaign focus from schools to skills and training, where the choice will be between a business-based system or one focused on public TAFEs.
The spectacular $4.6 billion funding injection by the government into Catholic schools in September silenced the education sector’s most powerful lobby group, and defused a long running conflict between state and independent schools.
Jennifer Buckingham said the country is at a point where there is no sector war between private and public schools. Lauren Shay
“We’ve reached a point where this no sector war going on,” said senior research fellow at the Centre for Independent studies, Jennifer Buckingham.
“At this point we haven’t got public schools squaring off against the catholic and private. That’s been a feature of past campaigns. It’s light-on this time.”
In this election the major parties actually agree on two priorities for school education: lifting teacher performance and using evidence to change classroom practice. They’ve been out bidding each other to establish an evidence institute.
Last week’s surprise NAPLAN improvement in reading standards among year 3 and 5 students was attributed to the feedback teachers are getting in the classroom.
Businessman David Gonski, in his second review of schools, recommended an evidence institute be established and the Coalition made an extra $20 billion it was offering conditional on schools agreeing to ‘‘to drive improvements in teaching practice’’.
Labor said it will spend $280 million on an evidence institute.
In one policy difference on improving teacher performance Labor is planning to restrict entry to university teaching courses to the top 30 per cent of students. It said it will use caps on funding if the sector does not take action quickly enough.
It will also rejuvenate the Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher program and fund extra professional development for teachers.
‘‘Teacher education is really important and it’s the one area where the federal government can act,’’ said Dr Buckingham. ‘‘I’d like to see what the Coalition has in mind. They have talked about boosting teachers in remote locations.
“Teacher education is really important and it’s the one area where the federal government can act.”
— Dr Jennifer Buckingham, Centre for Independent Studies
‘‘We want rigour in terms of teaching courses and in the quality of teaching candidates. We want people going into schools to teach who are bright and able to keep up with research on effective teaching standards.”
The Grattan Institute, which will publish a comparison of school education policy this week, said raising teacher standards and an evidence institute are two of its top three priorities.
Its third priority is getting all schools to a consistent level of funding under the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). This is a reference to state government funding of public schools. Economist and school education fellow at the institute, Julie Sonnemann, said the Commonwealth needs to push state governments to lift their side of the bargain.
The Coalition said under its ‘‘Quality Schools Program’’ which consolidates the reforms of businessman David Gonski’s second review, recurrent funding for schools will grow from $17.5 billion in 2017 to $32.4 billion in 2029.
That will take total funding over a decade to $307 billion, which Labor said it will beat with $322 billion.
Labor said overall in this election it will outspend the government by $10 billion, as it reinstates the ‘‘lost Gonski money’’ from the first Gonski review.
Not only has the sector reached a rare state of peace funding has reached eye-watering levels.
The review announcement by education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek more than a year ago allowed the party to sidestep awkward questions about what it would do with trouble-plagued state-based TAFE systems.
Meanwhile the coalition struggled on for 12 months fighting criticism of falling TAFE enrolments, bad publicity about training providers and the overhang of the VET-Fee Help debacle, until it rushed out the Joyce review late last year.
Labor’s Tanya Plibersek committed the party to a review of post-secondary education if it wins government. Eamon Gallagher
Labor’s proposed review is meant to reset the balance between universities and TAFE which is heavily biased to universities through fee assistance for students; stabilise the erratic contribution of the states to skills training, and turn around enrolments which have been falling since 2012.
In the budget the Coalition promised more than half a billion dollars on skills and 80,000 new apprentices.
“There hasn’t been new investment in the vocational education and training sector for 10 years,” the chief executive of TAFE directors Australia, Craig Robertson, said.
“We’ve had major population growth and a restructuring of the economy but we haven’t had a big investment in skilling.”
Labor is promising to inject $1.73 billion into skills, TAFE and apprentices. This would include $200 million to refurbish TAFE campuses plus money for 150,000 apprenticeships and 100,000 free places for TAFE students. The cost would be spread out with $1 billion in the medium term and $730 million over the forward estimates.
Ms Plibersek said she wants TAFE to be an independent system, distinct from the university sector. This disappointed some education reformers who argue the future of the tertiary sector is to bring skills the skills sector and universities closer together especially on funding for students.
Labor’s post-secondary review plans have very little to say about private TAFE providers, which have taken an increasingly important role in service delivery. Private providers are not mentioned once in the review’s terms of reference, although they do more 60 per cent of the teaching.
Labor’s $1.73 billion goes almost entirely on the public providers. It will rely on the TAFE system to do the lifting whereas the Joyce review of training, released by the Coalition on budget night, relies on industry to take the lead.
Mr Joyce said training development and qualifications should be reshaped with input from business and a new National Skills Commission should co-ordinate the different interests of Canberra and the states.
TAFE gets all of Labor’s promised $1.75 billion, but the private sector accounts for 60 per cent of students. Rob Homer
Apart from $525 million to finance new apprenticeships the Coalition has not put money on the table for the skills sector.
The Australian Council for Private Education and Training said only $54 million of the $525 million is actually new money, which it found “very disappointing”. The rest is re purposed from the Skilling Australians Fund.
Chairman of the Council Alexis Watt said Mr Joyce had a “better vision” for the sector and said Labor’s 100,000 free TAFE places spread over four years was not a lot given 4 million people were enrolled in a training course last year.
On universities Labor is promising to outspend the Coalition. Tanya Plibersek has made an explicit promise to reinstate the demand-driven system to the value of $10 billion over 10 years.
The Coalition froze funding for new students in 2017 to save more than $2 billion for the federal budget. It said when the freeze ended new funding would be based on a performance driven system.
The probable new mechanism (it was due to be announced in June) would measure student attrition rates, graduate outcomes and socio-economic enrolments to set a new rate for commonwealth support. But the baseline for increases would be population growth which is running at just over 1 per cent.
Labor would return the demand-driven system to inflation indexation which the higher education program director at the Grattan Institute, Andrew Norton, predicted would give the universities 4 or 5 per cent more money for students than the coalition’s performance-related cap.
There was no fundamental disagreement on the demand driven system, only on the rate of increase and how it was achieved.
“The coalition is putting fiscal concerns ahead of higher education. Labor puts higher education ahead.” The Grattan Insitute’s Andrew Norton. Eamon Gallagher
“Under the Coalition the unis will get the lower of what they would get under Labor, but they will get something. The Coalition is putting fiscal concerns ahead of higher education. Labor puts higher education ahead.”
“Higher education has had a good run in the last decade. Total revenues have been strong,”
He said income from overseas students was an important contributor.
“I think any spending priorities will be around TAFE. Universities are in a stable period after a good run.”
Universities’ biggest criticism of the Coalition is on cuts to research funding.
On budget night the Coalition finally killed the promise of a $3.9 billion research infrastructure fund which has been dangling in front of the universities since 2013.
Universities say that’s on top of a Coalition cut of more than $328 million in Research Block Grants last year and falling government spending on R&D, which is now just 0.5 per cent of GDP.
Labor has promised a review of research funding and a prime minister’s science and innovation council, although Leader Bill Shorten did not put a cost on these.
Labor will spend $300 million on a university infrastructure fund.
Mr Norton said both major parties are relying on the fact research funding from the private sector is going up.
Apart from differences on the skills the big election difference is in early education.
The Australian Early Childhood Development census 2018 reported that one in five children is starting school developmentally behind their peers.
The Labor Party said it will introduce preschool education for three and four-year-olds and will fund it with $1.75 billion over four years. By contrast, the Coalition renewed funding for four-year-olds only, for one year, at a cost of $453 million.
In the weeks before the election the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia initiated a campaign to lobby for 15 hours a week of education for three and four-year-olds, fully subsidised.
The campaign was launched by the director of the Gonski Institute for Education at the University of New South Wales, Adrian Piccoli, a former education minister and National Party deputy leader.
Mr Piccoli told The Australian Financial Review two years of early childhood education should be on the election agenda.
“It’s an issue of cost. It’s significant for families in the 25 to 40-year age group.”
“Pre-school is subsidised for children from disadvantaged families. But not for middle-income families. I would have thought there were some marginal seats in Sydney and Melbourne where cost is an issue, especially for women swinging voters.”
The Australian Financial Review Higher Education Summit, 2019 is in Brisbane on August 27 and 28, www.afrhighered.com.au. The Australia Financial Review and UniSuper are hosting the fifth annual AFR Higher Education Awards on August 27 at the Hilton Brisbane. Entries are now open www.afrhighered.com.au
Scott Morrison has fired up the party faithful with a focus on jobs for young people as the election campaign made its first stop in the crucial battleground of Queensland.
AC/DC’s Back In Black – to remind voters of the government’s forecast surplus – blared over the speakers as the prime minister entered a campaign rally in Brisbane.
About 150 LNP members chanted “ScoMo!” before he preached to the converted in a shed at Brisbane’s showgrounds.
“Friends, we have a big fight ahead of us, a very big fight ahead of us but I can tell you, my team all around the country, we are up for this,” Mr Morrison said.
Earlier, the prime minister met with success stories from a government program to help people get skills and work experience which has come under heavy fire from Labor for being ineffective and exploitative.
Mr Morrison championed the PaTH program after promising to create a quarter of a million jobs for people aged 15 to 24 over five years.
The government on Sunday also released the location of 10 training hubs it announced in the budget earlier in the month.
The training centres – in both marginal and safe electorates – will work with local schools and employers to identify skills demands and encourage students to sign up for vocational training.
After leaving a Redcliffe cafe – and his breakfast behind – Mr Morrison hit the markets outside with local MP Luke Howarth who holds the seat of Petrie by a slender margin of 1.7 per cent.
Queensland is a key state, with the coalition facing a tough battle to retain its 21 of the state’s 30 seats. Labor has almost 10 LNP-held marginal scalps in its sights.
Mr Morrison made the most of the sunny autumn day, meeting children and patting a dog called Mouse, a 68kg Saint Bernard which timidly dealt with the spotlight’s glare as he walked through a local markets.
The prime minister’s wife Jenny joined him on the campaign trail for the second day in a row.
One man urged Mr Morrison to ensure there was stability in government.
“That’s what has to f***ing change,” he said before apologising and cracking the prime minister up.
Margaret, 69, who is no fan of Bill Shorten, took the chance to question Labor’s electric vehicle policy.
“What are they going to plug it into, a bloody gum tree?” she asked Mr Morrison.
IMAGEWhile it might feel like a burden, taking on debt to study often pays off in the long run. But it’s important to understand the nature of the debt.(ABC Life: Luke Tribe)
So, buckle up: we’re going to go deep into world of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), which some of you might know by its former name, HECS. We’ll cover vocational education and training (VET) student loans too, which are part of the HELP program.
If you’ve been putting this off for a while, here’s your opportunity to tick off some life admin.
How student debt works in Australia
If you’re an eligible student in an eligible university course or vocational training program, you can access the Higher Education Loan Program (if you’re at university) or the VET student loan program (if you’re at TAFE or another vocational training provider).
When it comes to eligibility, there are a number of rules, but generally speaking you need to be an Australian citizen, hold a New Zealand special category visa or hold a permanent humanitarian visa. The StudyAssist website has a handy tool if you’re not sure whether you qualify.
HELP works like this:
Your tuition fees will be charged to your student debt immediately after the census date: a point in the study term when enrolments are finalised. (For university courses, it’s usually a few weeks into the semester.) If you’re enrolled in subject or course after the census date, you’ll rack up a debt for it — even if you don’t finish it (say you withdraw) or get your qualification.
You’re required to start paying back your debt once you earn above a certain amount. (For this year, it’s $51,957 before tax.) The more you earn, the more you’re required to pay back. You can also make voluntary repayments at any time. We’ll expand on this in detail soon.
When you earn enough to make repayments, they’ll be made through the tax system. If you’re an employee, some of your pay will be withheld by your employer to cover your repayments. (You don’t actually pay anything off until you file your tax return.) If you’re self-employed, you pay once you’ve filed your tax return.
On top of that, there are two factors that make HELP debt more attractive than other loans. The first is that, unlike a loan for a car or a house, HELP debt doesn’t attract interest.
In other words, you don’t pay the government for the privilege of borrowing — which is a very good thing, says chartered accountant and independent financial adviser Stephanie O’Connor.
The second reason HELP debt is better than regular debt is that there’s no deadline to repay it. While you can’t avoid paying it once you earn enough money, you’re not forced to pay off the balance in a rush.
“If you owe the tax office money, you certainly don’t get those terms. The tax office will charge you interest, and they’ll want to collect the debt very quickly.”
How much will you repay?
The amount you have to repay is calculated as a portion of your income before tax. Here’s the repayment rates for the year to June 30, 2019.
To support Year 12 graduates into work, the Queensland Government is offering free TAFE in “high priority areas” including early childhood education and care (ECEC).
Queensland Minister for Training and Skills Development Shannon Fentiman “We want to make sure our young Queenslanders have access to the best training for the jobs of the future.”
The state government has categorised childcare as a high priority area, with three qualifications included in the free TAFE offer:
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care – Traineeship
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care – Apprenticeship.
Eligible applicants must:
be a permanent resident of Queensland;
have completed Year 12 in Queensland and hold a Senior Statement issued by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority or equivalent certification; and,
enrol to start an apprenticeship or traineeship within 12 months of graduating.
At a visit to Rockhampton TAFE in Central Queensland, Member for Keppel Brittany Lauga highlighted the importance of vocational education and training for Queenslanders to find work in existing and emerging industries.
“Vocational education and training is vital to so many jobs and launches people into rewarding careers.
“And more than half of all jobs by 2020 will require a VET qualification.
The Free TAFE for Year 12 graduates program will cover the full cost of training in high priority qualifications and aims to assist local employers to recruit apprentices and trainees.
More information about the eligibility criteria is available on the QLD Department of Employment, Small Business and Training website. SourceAAP:https://thesector.com.au
Supplied video obtained Tuesday, April 4, 2019 of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten delivering his budget reply at Canberra’s Parliament House. Mr Shorten pledges to uncap university places and spend $200 million renovating TAFE campuses. Mr Shorten says Labor will pay the up-front fees for 100,000 TAFE students “to get more Australians training in high priority courses”. Mr Shorten says Labor will guarantee universal access to preschool or kindergarten for every three-year-old and every four-year-old in Australia in line with global best practice. (AAP Video/Supplied/ParlView) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten. Picture: AAP
Federal Labor has announced a $1 billion investment into reviving the ailing TAFE sector and encouraging uptake of apprenticeships in areas of significant skills shortages in a bid to “supercharge” the economy.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has used his budget reply to highlight the chasm between the two major parties on the issue of skills and apprenticeships, unveiling a detailed package of measures designed to reverse the decline in the TAFE sector.
They include $334 million to incentivise an additional 150,000 apprentices, $200m to rebuild and upgrade TAFE campuses across the country, and a waiver of upfront TAFE fees for up to 100,000 people.
“A Shorten Labor Government will supercharge the skills economy by reversing the decline in apprentices and restoring TAFE as the centrepiece of Australian vocational education,” Mr Shorten said.
“Under the Liberals, more than $3bn has been cut from TAFE, skills and apprentices, and Australia now has 150,000 fewer apprentices and trainees than when Labor left government in 2013.”
Mr Shorten, who has previously promised to call a national inquiry into Australia’s post-secondary education system within the first 100 days in the event he is elected in May, also hit out at Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s claim on Tuesday that he was increasing vocational education funding as “nothing more than a cynical and desperate exercise to cover their cuts”.
The budget featured a $525m skills package that promised to create an additional 80,000 apprenticeships in industries with skills shortages by doubling incentive payments to employers and providing a $2000 payment to apprentices.
However, Treasury department officials confirmed that just $55m of that was new funding, the rest was rebadged funding that had previously been promised to Victoria and Queensland.
Mr Shorten said the 80,000 additional apprentices represented a downwards revision of the 300,000 places projected by the government two years ago.
“The reality is the government has done absolutely nothing to address the decline in apprenticeships or the 24.5 per cent drop in TAFE enrolments on their watch,” he said.
As part of Labor’s skills plan, support will be provided for 10,000 young people to do a pre-apprentice program, as well as support for 20,000 older workers to retrain through an advanced adult apprenticeship. Eligible workers will be given credit for their existing skills and training will be catered to filling gaps in their skill sets.
Labor will also guarantee that at least two-out-of-three dollars of public funding goes to public TAFE and will require at least 10 per cent of jobs on all major infrastructure and defence projects be filled by an apprentice.
The offer of free TAFE courses resembles a similar initiative in Victoria announced in last year’s state budget.
From January 1 2019, eligible students are no longer required to pay tuition fees for more than 30 TAFE courses in in-demand areas such as aged care, disability and trades, including concreting, plumbing, building and construction.
A range of pre-apprenticeship courses also offer free tuition, including furniture making, glazing, automotive body repair technology and signage and graphics.
A national inquiry into the post-secondary education system will consider ways to encourage students to consider TAFE in the same attractive light as university.
A new Building TAFE for the Future Fund will seek to re-establish facilities in regional communities that have lost campuses and develop new ones in regions and suburbs where the population is growing and industry is changing or expanding.
Mr Shorten said Labor would fund its promises by “making multinationals pay their fair shares and closing tax loopholes sued by the top end of town”.
Labor has promised to cover all upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE places in its very first term.
In its Budget reply the Federal Opposition has promised $1 billion to rebuild TAFE and create 150,000 apprenticeships.
Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, said these places would go to high priority sectors such as engineering and plumbing.
Its a big increase on the government’s $525 million commitment to Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector which includes 80,000 additional apprenticeships over five years.
It is also proof that both sides of politics are committed to addressing Australia’s worsening skills crisis.
Shorten said instead of looking overseas to source skills or relying on temporary visas, employers will have a local workforce that is skilled and ready to go.
“We would expect at least half of these opportunities to go to the women of Australia,” he said.
“We’ll get jobs like carpenters, cooks and bricklayers off the national skills shortages list, and we will keep them off.”
As well as creating 200,000 more university places, Labor wants to spend $200 million on rebuilding TAFE campuses and workshops across Australia.
Labor’s $200m building Tafe for the future fund will be used to re-establish Tafe facilities in regional communities that have lost campuses or courses, build new facilities in growing areas, provide new equipment and expand course offerings.
“Labor’s plan for training is crystal clear: we will stop the slide to dodgy private providers and back public TAFE all the way,” Shorten said.
“We will ensure that two out of every three training dollars goes to TAFE and we’ll invest in programs to retrain older workers.
“The government’s federal budget still cuts money from our universities – and it contains a sneaky new $270 million cut to TAFE.”
Shorten said the budget was a “cynical pea and thimble trick” which had cut TAFE skills and apprenticeship programs despite the fact Australia has 150,000 fewer apprentices and trainees than when Labor left government in 2013.
Labor’s total $1bn commitment to vocational education includes funding for policies it has already announced:
10,000 young Australians to do a pre-apprentice program
20,000 older workers to retrain through an advanced adult apprenticeship
One in 10 jobs on all major infrastructure and defence projects to be filled by an apprentice or trainee; and
A guarantee that at least two out of three dollars of public funding goes to public TAFE
An apprenticeship advocate to support skills development
Shorten also renewed Labor’s pledge to tackle climate change by shifting to 50 per cent renewables by 2030, a 45 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 and zero net pollution by 2050.
From trades to arts, passionate students across a range of qualifications were recognised at the South West TAFE graduation.
SW TAFE chief executive Mark Fidge said the awards night was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate its students’ success.
He said it was particularly pleasing to congratulate and reward all of the outstanding student award winners for 2018.
He said students were nominated by their teachers and then interviewed by a panel to decide winners across six categories.
“It is such a huge honour for these students who have all excelled in their studies and have all gone on to be working in their fields and doing amazing things in the community.”
Among the winners was Youth Student of The Year Adia Quinlivan who is now a head chef, thanks to a move to study the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) in year 10.
Adia completed her Senior VCAL and Certificate III in Hospitality studies last year while also working part-time.
She said it was the best decision she had ever made and led her to her current job and furthered her hospitality industry knowledge.
Adia said she realised she was a hands-on learner and the VCAL style of study really suited her.
She said she never dreamed of being a head chef at such a young age, enjoying the top job at Portland café Bahloo.
Adia said the life skills she received as part of her studies were invaluable.
Adia’s teacher said she took on a leadership role within class, always motivating other students to produce a high standard of work.
Koorie Student of The YearTanya McDonald chose to study a Diploma of Community Services as a way to give back to local services who have provided her with support throughout her life.
Tanya worked as a dairy herd manager, bookkeeper and in administration for Kirrae Health Services before beginning her studies.
She said the community services course appealed to her and she felt that now was her time to give back.
Tanya is the Kirrae Health Services board chairwoman and also spends time mentoring young girls and participating in an Aboriginal dance group.
During her diploma, Tanya completed a Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy, while raising her three children.
Since completing her studies, Tanya has started a role with the Aboriginal Family Violence Legal Service, supporting women with legal issues arising from family violence.
Tanya is now working at South West Healthcare and is in the process completing its Reconciliation Action Plan.
She plans to continue to develop her skills to eventually work at a policy level where she can have a significant impact on her community and beyond.
Tourism student Skye Henry-Litster created an Aboriginal tour of the city’s Indigenous highlights for visitors to Warrnambool while studying.
Skye received a highly commended in the Koorie Student of The Year Award.
She completed her Certificate III in Tourismworking as a trainee at Flagstaff Hill and the Warrnambool Visitor Information Centre last year and has gained continued employment with the city council.
During her traineeship, Skye helped to create a new database and induction sessions for all new volunteers.
Skye said her training had taught her valuable communication and customer service skills that would stand her in good stead for the future.
She said she loved sustainability and wildlife conservation and was looking into further study that could lead to a park ranger or a role with Landcare.
Trainee of The Year Ashlea Bentham studied a Certificate III in Tourism and thought it would be a great step towards a career in the travel industry.
The skills and experience she received during her traineeship led to Ashlea gaining casual employment at Warrnambool’s Surfside Caravan Park.
During her traineeship Ashlea developed a successful social media campaign designed to increase caravan park patronage and social media followers.
She also worked with Warrnambool City Council to develop a new television promotion which was screened in the caravan park reception area.
The video she developed included information and greetings in Chinese for the growing Chinese tourism market.
She said her course had helped her gain life skills that she wouldn’t have otherwise received.
Ashlea said she was enjoying her role at Surfside and was also looking at completing further tourism studies.
Ashlea’s teacher described her as an outstanding trainee who was a respected team member at Surfside Caravan Park.
Apprentice of The Year Elijah McLeod‘s passion for fixing things and solving problems has seen him win a swag of awards including apprentice of the Year at the 2018 South West TAFE Trades Award night.
The Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade student is in the final year of his apprenticeship at Midfield Meats and is considering further study.
Elijah’s studies and work at Midfield have helped to develop his leadership skills with Elijah’s enthusiasm and determination rubbing off on those around him.
His teacher said Elijah took on a mentoring role to the younger students who enjoyed having him in the workshop.
Elijah said he was inspired by his teachers to continue learning and push the boundaries, planning to develop his skills in futuristic engineering.
He said it was extremely rewarding to come up with new ideas and see them put into practice.
Plumbing studentLiam Ryanreceived a highly commended in the Apprentice of The Year category.
Liam completed work experience during high school which gave him an insight into the plumbing industry.
He finished his VCE studies in Portland and was offered an apprenticeship with Finchett’s Plumbing in Hamilton.
Liam completed a Certificate III in Plumbing and said the training he received had helped him in every aspect of his work.
Liam said he loved the variety and particularly liked the challenge of drainage work and laying sewer mains.
Last year Liam was awarded the best third year plumbing apprentice at the South West TAFE Trades Awards night and he plans to go on to complete further study.
Liam’s teacher said he was very successful in completing his Victorian Building Authority journeyman’s exams and was always helping out his classmates at trade school.
The Vocational Student of The Year was awarded to Rosemary Wilson who has always had a passion for conservation and the natural environment.
She waited until her children had grown up to follow her passion with a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management landing Rosemary her dream job.
She worked in the education and disability sectors while studying and was thrilled to gain a job as a Conservation Volunteers Australia team leader before completing the course.
Rosemary said the best part of her job was that she was able to care for the environment every day.
Rosemary works with volunteers, including people who have found it difficult to find work, older community members and international visitors, encouraging some of them to return to study themselves.
Rosemary is now looking at how she can combine her conservation work with her previous disability work.
She said she was extremely proud of her achievement and had even been inspired to go on to further study.
Community Achiever of The YearSusan Tate swapped years of working overseas and in international business for developing her passion for arts at South West TAFE.
Susan said she had always enjoyed art and textiles and the Diploma of Visual Arts taught her to combine textile manipulation with dyeing, drawing and painting to enhance her work and bring her own voice to the medium.
In 2017, Susan was awarded the emerging artist award in the South West Women’s Art prize and is now working towards her first solo art exhibition later this year.
She said she loved every minute of the course and had immersed herself in the arts communities in Colac, Lavers Hill and Apollo Bay since completing her studies.
Susan volunteers with the Colac arts event CrossXpollination and was instrumental in starting local Remakery spaces in Apollo Bay and Lavers Hill, where people can bring various items to be repaired and help to create community spaces.
Susan is driving an initiative for a community artists’ space in Colac and is a Colac Otway Arts Trail committee member.
She volunteers her time producing a Lavers Hill College community newsletter and with another graduate of South West TAFE’s arts course, she has formed the Lavers Hill Craft group.
Susan said her course had introduced her to a great network of people and had given her a greater understanding of the arts world.
Deakin University Pathways Award winner Rebecca Cameron has always had a passion for nursing and returned to study as a mature-age student.
It was only after recently moving back to Heywood that she decided it was it the right time to follow her dream.
Rebecca completed her Diploma of Nursing last year and is now employed as a graduate at the Western District Health Service.
She said returning to study had been a big change after so many years but it helped to build her confidence to go onto to study a Bachelor of Nursing at Deakin University this year.
Rebecca has plans to complete a Masters in Clinical Nursing and choose a specialty field to work in.
She said nursing was a rewarding profession and she was really excited to have finished her course and be taking the next step at university.
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Creative: Design graduate Sebastian O’Brien’s recent design award led to an internship.
From the sketching pad to design excellence, Caringbah’s Sebastian O’Brien already had a leg up in the industry with his latest project.
The TAFE NSW graduate recently received notable mention in the D&D New Blood Awards for his 3D-printed prosthetic limb concept design for Adidas.
The awards recognise design and advertising excellence in students, grads and aspiring creatives.
Mr O’Brien, 23, is working for a graphic design agency, after cementing his training at TAFE.
“I have always been a visual person,” he said. “I enjoy designing identity and branding systems, publications, exhibitions, websites and posters for cultural and commercial clients from music, to art and fashion.
“At the end of my journey, I was equipped with a new skill set and a new level of determination.
“I secured an internship and learnt a lot about the industry in general. Such as learning how to present work to clients in a professional manner, being given real brand guidelines to stick to within a design task, working on live projects and receiving feedback. This was a practical way for me to learn what couldn’t be taught in the classroom. Not only did it build my portfolio, but it allowed me to make my own industry connections.”
Innovative: Mr O’Brien’s prosthetic leg design.
Impressive: The TAFE graduate won an award for his design for his Adidas brief project.
Labor has promised to cover all upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE places in its very first term.
