Vocational Education and Training Vocational Education and Training (VET) is a national extension program to normal timetabled lessons at school. The intention is for students with a particular interest or skill set to further develop their areas of expertise, or to explore possible career paths to enable informed decisions to be made in the future.
MIKE HALPIN
VET Coordinator
VET provides an opportunity for students to enter the workplace and experience what it is like to be a normal employee in a particular industry or occupation. The students must meet the expectations of the employer with regard to punctuality, appearance, interest, enthusiasm, reliability, trustworthiness, initiative and operating as a member of a team. For many students, this may well be the first time that they have ventured into the world of work, away from the sheltered environment of school.
VET at TSS includes the work experience program and the schoolbased traineeship/apprenticeship scheme. Work experience is shortterm placement within a business or enterprise, whereby the student is placed within the different sections of the operation to experience how the business/enterprise actually works. It is intended that the student would come away from the four or five sessions in the workplace with some questions answered and his eyes open to the
opportunities that lie before him, should he choose this career path after school.
The school-based traineeship/ apprenticeship scheme provides students with paid employment over the course of their traineeship or apprenticeship. There are two aspects to both schemes, which are equally important: the on-thejob training done in the workplace and the off-job theory, which mirrors the experiences gained at work, delivered by a Registered Training Organisation.
When the trainee reaches set competency standards in both areas of endeavour he is signed off and is awarded a nationally recognised qualification issued under the Australian Qualifications Framework. This may well provide a springboard into further qualifications in that field, or direct employment. An added bonus of the school-based traineeship scheme to a Rank score student is that completion of a Certificate III traineeship guarantees a minimum rank score of 68, which is equivalent to an OP 15 for tertiary entrance. This is a handy safety net for students who may be struggling with their academic subjects at school. In addition, valuable contacts are made at work and the extra knowledge and skills transfer to life after school and makes these students more employable.
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL SOUTHPORTONIAN 2015
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