Onsite, VET and TAFE 2017

After three weeks of the school year, the Onsite, work placement and TAFE students have settled into their programmes.

Eleven students in Senior School have opted for a VET-in-Schools certificate course at TAFE, where they attend one or two days each week.  The areas of interest of the students are events co-ordination, technical engineering and aeroskills, but there are a number of diverse courses available for students to choose.  These certificate courses lead to further study at TAFE beyond Holy Cross College.

Eight students in Year 11 and 12 have started in Onsite, with two continuing from 2016. Most of the students are in a Specialist programme, which involves attending TAFE and doing work placements during the holidays.  In fact, the students started at TAFE during January before starting school, ensuring that they have started to gain the knowledge and skills required to begin their programmes.

Onsite Specialist is a great opportunity for our students, as this programme with its associated certificate course acts as a Pre-apprenticeship, giving them an advantage when looking for an apprenticeship.  Our students are currently studying and working in automotive, electrical and furniture, but hairdressing, childcare and early education, and construction pathways are also available.

Onsite General, which has no certificate attached, is also available, providing the opportunity for students to try one or more work placements to gain an insight into an area that might suit them as a job. One student has taken up this opportunity to work as a butcher, and he is enjoying the experience so far.

As an alternative to Onsite, two students have organised their own work placements through the College. If a student has a contact that is prepared to mentor them for one day a week, he or she needs only to see Mr Wilson to apply for the placement.

The Onsite and College work placement students will complete a logbook detailing their hour in the workplace and the skills they have developed.  They will also complete two skills journals, where their reflections about their placement are recorded. This information is recorded and passed to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority, where it is counted towards WACE Graduation for the student.  Effectively, the work placement counts as one course of two units in Year 11 and/or Year 12.

Hopefully more students in Senior School will take up these wonderful opportunities when offers for 2018 are released around August this year.