Warrnambool’s 19 year old Indi Morrison is in her first year of studies at South West TAFE studying a Certificate IV in Tourism and Events and is flourishing under the guidance of her teachers while learning about the industry she is passionate about. Indi hopes to one day become a travel agent, but for now she is enjoying studying the various tourism and events units and is on track to gaining a nationally recognised qualification through the real life training South West TAFE provides.

“Tourism and events was something I wanted to do.  I didn’t really want to go to university. There was nothing that I really wanted to do at university and I just didn’t think I was ready for it,” Indi said. “I thought studying a Certificate IV in Tourism and Events was a good idea to further my education and give me more career options”. “I probably work harder this year because it’s something I enjoy doing,” Indi said. She said the South West TAFE teaching staff were approachable and friendly, and she was looking forward to going on trips to Melbourne and interstate this year as part of the certificate. “We’re always doing something and getting out of the classroom a bit which is good. We go to Melbourne next term and then we go to Sydney later in the year so it’s really good”.

Katrina Barnes South West TAFE’s Tourism Teacher says ‘Indi is a valuable member of the Certificate IV in Tourism & Events group, Indi is motivated to successfully complete her studies and contributes to class discussions.  Indi is punctual and all her assignments are submitted on time and are of a very high quality’.

The adult learning environment, teaching style and the amount of contact hours suit Indi and based on her positive experience she recommends the course to others. “I love it, it’s great,” she enthused. Staying in Warrnambool has enabled Indi to save money and she said it was less stressful than moving to a new city to complete her further education. Studying locally has also meant she can play netball and remain close to friends.
Indi plans to study a Diploma of Tourism at South West TAFE next year and is looking forward to working in the industry in the future.

At only 22 years of age, Emma O’Keeffe began her own remedial massage business and has not looked back, with her career providing her with the flexibility to pursue her other love, netball. Massage was a logical choice for the young woman who was interested in anatomy and physiology.  Emma studied a Certificate IV and a Diploma of Remedial Massage at South West TAFE’s Warrnambool campus because she said it was the best quality course.

"I was after a career that was hands-on, flexible, provided a good income and also provided me with an opportunity to start my own business.”
Emma said the course included a good mix of theory and practical units, and the experienced teachers taught relevant skills and techniques for clients’ varying needs.
Emma, 25, now uses the sports, pregnancy, elderly and corporate massage techniques regularly in her business.

Massage Therapy Teacher Jenny Lo Ricco said ‘Emma was very committed to her studies and always put in 100% to her assessments. Emma had developed a sound clientele before she completed her diploma and has continued to maintain a solid business in the area’.  Most importantly the course has taught Emma how to run her business.
"The training in business and basic accounting played a large role in my ability to set up my own business. That and previously working in finance gave me the tools and skills I needed to start the business," Emma said.

Self-employed for the past three years, Emma is growing her business after identifying gaps in the Warrnambool market. 
She is excited about the future and diversifying her business, by introducing yoga to improve clients’ strength and flexibility. Emma is also qualified to teach pre and postnatal yoga which will be integrated into the business soon.
"Massage is a great career choice and if you are motivated and genuinely dedicated to helping your clients, you will be successful.”

​Anything is possible, just ask teenager Melanie Finnigan who is on her way to a promising career as a dental assistant.
The bright and bubbly 18 year old loves her new job at Portland Laser Dentistry and Orthodontics, and said the various skills she learned through South West TAFE’s VCAL program were a big factor in her gaining employment.

Melanie studied VCAL at South West TAFE’s Portland campus and the skills and confidence she gained while studying at TAFE, enabled her to apply for and secure a full-time dental assistant traineeship.

“It’s great. It’s really hands on, which I love,” Melanie said.

She is now completing a Certificate III in Dental Assisting through her employer, and hopes to upskill in years to come.

“I love what I’m doing now. It’s definitely a career choice. Whether or not I could become a hygienist or dentist even, that’s much further into the future. I’m happy with what I’m doing at the moment,” she said proudly.

Her happiness and satisfaction are a far cry from where Melanie found herself about two years ago, disillusioned and unmotivated to complete her VCE at secondary school.

“I lost all motivation. I could do the work if I wanted to, but I lost all motivation to do any of it. I didn’t want to do VCE anymore because I knew I wasn’t going to go to uni. I thought I want to do VCAL, it’s a lot easier and I don’t need my VCE,” she said.

Melanie didn’t know which career path she wanted to follow, all she knew was that she needed an alternative to mainstream school. The then 16 year old was finding the classwork challenging and the learning environment didn’t suit her.

At the recommendation of her cousin, Melanie looked into VCAL through South West TAFE. The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program is for young people who have left school, and want to learn skills to continue their education and training, or learn skills necessary to pursue a career.

Ready to learn, she enrolled in VCAL intermediate subjects (equivalent to a year 11 school year level) at the Portland campus and flourished under the direction of her teachers. Melanie said her VCAL teachers encouraged her to reach her potential and knowing she was a capable student, they were supportive and helped her to achieve her best.

Melanie said one of the best things about studying at TAFE was the adult learning environment, which had transferred to her current position and enabled her to better liaise with staff and patients at the clinic.

“I think I’m a lot more mature than people my age and that environment really helped me. I got on much easier in the workplace because of that maturity,” Melanie said.

“TAFE did make me more confident, because there’s not a lot of people in the class, you’re getting a lot more one-on-one time with the teacher and you’re speaking up a lot more. I’m in a similar situation here in the workplace, it’s a smaller group and I can speak up,” Melanie said.
She liked how the handful of relevant VCAL subjects, such as literacy, numeracy and work related skills, were taught for a large period of time, rather than in secondary school where lots of different subjects are “squeezed” into the day.

“At TAFE, you have a good amount of subjects and you spend a good amount of time on each one, so you’re not trying to keep up with ten different subjects,” Melanie said.

Also beneficial to her learning, was making new friends and learning in a supportive environment.

“It was much more of an adult environment which I liked. It was much more mature (than school),” Melanie said.

She also enjoyed volunteering within her local community as part of her TAFE VCAL studies.

“TAFE gets you involved a lot more with community projects. We did murals for the Hub, Clean Up Australia Day and International Women’s Day, whereas at secondary you wouldn’t do any of that sort of thing,” Melanie said.

Melanie is unsure of what her future would have held, had she not made the move to South West TAFE.
 “I think I would have dropped out of school or maybe stayed in school because Mum would have made me, but I would have failed and wouldn’t had the opportunities that I’ve had through VCAL,” she said.

Melanie said she would “absolutely” recommend studying VCAL to other young people in a similar situation
“I’ve been very lucky. It’s been great, going to TAFE and finding a good job out of the skills I got from TAFE,” Melanie said.

“The one thing I had was the determination to succeed,” says Mandy Brasher, winner of the MINTRAC Meat Industry Vocational Student of the Year Award.

Having recently completed a Certificate IV in Meat Processing (Meat Safety) with South West TAFE’s Meat Training Australia (MTA), Mandy was recognised at the MINTRAC Training Awards on April 10, 2013. According to Mandy’s teacher, Lilly Hope “This is the award in the meat industry – it doesn’t get any bigger!”

In being presented with her award, Mandy was praised for her commitment to the meat industry, her dedication towards her studies and her inspiring attitude.

The 44 year old, mum of two says “It’s never too late. I left school at 15 and worked a few jobs then got married and had two children. The only education I had was in the ‘University of Life’. But as a solo parent, I was determined to get back into the workforce to make life easier for myself and my children.”

And so, with the support of her employer, M. C. Herd, Mandy took “a giant leap of faith” and enrolled in the Certificate IV with South West TAFE’s MTA .

Before long Mandy began to see where all the hard work was going, “It all started to click into place, I realised I had trained eyes and saw things differently.”

“Above all, Mandy wanted to learn,” says Lilly Hope, “she wanted to prove to herself that she could achieve her goals. Mandy was a role model to the rest of the students.”

Mandy now plans to develop her employment at M. C. Herd focusing on animal welfare and would like to supplement her skills and knowledge with more training. She commented that “Training with Meat Training Australia at South West TAFE, hasn’t just opened doors it has put them into reach. There are just so many things I do now I would never have thought possible.”

Congratulations Mandy on achieving this prestigious award!

Click here to find out more about Meat Training Australia

A passion for carpentry, exposure to the building industry from a young age and great training have led to Lee Mugavin being named Master Builders Association’s western region Apprentice of the Year.

Lee, a fourth year carpentry apprentice at South West TAFE, was presented with the regional Apprentice of the Year award in Warrnambool on March 20, and is now in the running to be named Victorian Apprentice of the Year at an award ceremony in Melbourne in May.
The 22 year old said while he set himself some goals at the beginning of the year, winning the coveted Master Builders’ award wasn’t one of them.

“I never set out to be Apprentice of the Year and to win it has been a big bonus to me and my career in the industry,” Lee said.
Lee was commended for his commitment, skill and diligence to his trade and was chosen from a field of high calibre nominees.
Lee said it was good to be recognised for the hours of hard work he had put in during his apprenticeship.

Master Builders’ careers manager Jarrod Flanigan led the panel of judges and said Lee was a multi-skilled apprentice who had an eye for detail.

Lee credits South West TAFE, where he is completing Certificate III in Carpentry (Apprenticeship), for teaching him all the necessary industry skills, providing practical experience and on-the-job training.

South West TAFE carpentry teacher Chris Greene described Lee as an excellent student who took his training seriously and showed leadership qualities early in his apprenticeship.

“It comes as no surprise to the building staff that Lee would do well because he applied himself to the tasks and worked hard to achieve the very best in his training,” Mr Greene said.

Lee said he chose South West TAFE because the training facilities were the best he had seen. “The course offered everything I needed to successfully complete my apprenticeship.

“South West TAFE was an excellent environment to work and learn in. All the teachers were easy to get along with and they were very knowledgeable on the course and the industry,” Lee said.

He recommended South West TAFE’s practical training to prospective students thinking about pursuing a trade.
“It may start off hard but if you ask lots of questions, and put 100 per cent into your work, you will achieve your goals.”

Lee is excited about the opportunities the award win has provided, including access to the Master Builders Association mentoring program and advice from some of the best tradespeople in the industry Australia-wide.

The passionate apprentice carpenter hopes his involvement in the mentoring program, as well as the skills he has already learnt, will help him to achieve his goal of becoming a registered domestic builder.

One day, Lee hopes to own his own business and follow the example set by his father Barry Mugavin, who owns Mugavin Homes where Lee currently works.

Lee thanked the South West TAFE teaching staff and the Master Builders Association for their role in his award win, and for recognising his commitment to the building industry with the prestigious award.

Mr Greene is confident Lee, who is due to complete his apprenticeship in August, will achieve whatever he sets his mind to.
“We wish him well for the future and have no doubt given his attitude, he will do well as his career unfolds,” Mr Greene said.

In only six short years, motor mechanic Michael Merrett has gone from knowing very little about the trade, to being fully qualified, and owning his own business all with the help of the skills and knowledge gained through his training at South West TAFE.

The passionate 24-year-old sometimes finds it hard to believe he is running his own business and is excited about what the future holds for him. “It’s strange to think I’m 24, and paying off my own house and have started my own business. It’s sort of a big achievement”, he said.

Michael opened Portland Motor Mechanics five months ago and hasn’t looked back.

 “I wanted to give it a go. If I never tried it, I’d never really know. I thought’ I’ve got all the skills I need to start and run my own business so I thought I may as well give it a go.
“It’s very exciting, but scary at the same time,” he said.

Michael’s enthusiasm for the industry was evident to his South West TAFE teachers early on in his studies, and he was rewarded for his hard work with a swag of prestigious awards. He was a recipient of a South West TAFE Outstanding Automotive Apprentice of the Year Award each year of his apprenticeship.

Michael’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn saw him make the most of the practical training offered at South West TAFE. He first got a taste for the Automotive industry through the Vet In School Program(VETiS). He then went on to complete his VCAL at South West TAFE in 2006, before commencing his apprenticeship in 2007. Michael completed a Certificate III in Automotive Mechanical Technology - Automotive Mechanic Light Vehicle and dedicated himself to the tasks and activities set in the classes at the Warrnambool campus.

Michael completed his apprenticeship and continued to work at Seaport Motors where he was a mechanic for almost six years, until late last year. This valuable experience also provided him with the skills and confidence to go out on his own.