Year 11 and 12 students at Kennedy have the opportunity to enhance their education by engaging in Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses while still at school. VET students do off-campus studies in training organisations such as TAFE and some are required to do work placements. In this issue, we feature Jasmine was selected to complete a Certificate II in Automotive Servicing Technology (pre-apprenticeship) at South Metro TAFE.
Jasmine first got interested in auto mechanics when she and her mates first opened up the bonnet of a car in Year 9. According to Jasmine, the whole structure of the engine with all its chaotic beauty fascinated her, so when she had the opportunity to do a VET course in automotive vocational preparation in Year 11, she jumped right into it. It wasn’t long before her lecturers saw her potential and towards the end of her course, Jasmine was part of a select few who were chosen to continue their automotive training as pre-apprentices. Now in Year 12, Jasmine is completing her Certificate II in Automotive Servicing (Pre-Apprenticeship) which requires her to complete 180 hours of work placement at an auto service centre.
“I just rang up Melville Hyundai and they were willing to let me have a go. It is really great working at the workshop because you get a lot of opportunities to work on different aspects of car mechanics and the crew looks after you.”
When asked about the most challenging part of the course, Jasmine was at a loss for words, “I’m really enjoying the course, especially the work placement because I can apply what I’m learning at TAFE. The oil and grime don’t really bother me, but maybe a bit of heavy lifting can be annoying… but we do have the tools and equipment.”
So how does Jasmine juggle her studies and TAFE commitments? According to Jasmine, making full use of her allocated study classes are a good way to catch up with academic work, ”but you do have to be responsible enough to manage your time.”
Jasmine’s positive work ethic, skill, and interest in the vocation have not gone unnoticed, as she has recently been offered an apprenticeship at Melville Hyundai. Congratulations Jasmine!
