With the end of the school year fast approaching, many students are deciding what to do next.
For some it will be completing their HSC, others will choose a university pathway and for an increasing number of students the choice will be an apprenticeship.
For Callum Riordan the choice was simple. He couldn’t wait to get started on his career in carpentry but he knew he needed the skills to secure an apprenticeship.
“I finished Year 10 last year and knew I wanted to get an apprenticeship in Carpentry,” said Mr Riordan.
“The best choice for me was the pre-apprenticeship course at Hornsby Campus.”
As part of the course, students construct outdoor learning shelters with a slab and colour bond roof onsite at local primary schools across the North Shore. The project becomes a working site, giving them an invaluable understanding of industry norms and expectations.
This semester Pymble Public School will be the recipient of two new shelters to complement those already built by the students in previous years. Staff take advantage of the shelters as dynamic spaces to hold their classes and for their own students to thrive in an outdoor learning environment.
Carpentry teacher and course facilitator Rob Brown believes that the strength of the course is the real experience students receive and Northern Sydney Institute’s long established connections with industry, that leads to apprenticeships.
“Our pre-apprenticeship course merges hands-on work experience with TAFE based learning principles. We take a holistic approach knowing that it is important for students to get the onsite experience with the theoretical knowledge,” said Rob Brown, Carpentry Teacher and course facilitator.
“From an employer’s point of view our graduates are not raw recruits, they have the experience and foundation skills that make them work ready. We have builders out there who are supportive, who have taken on apprentices before, who come to us willing and able to take on apprentices,” said Mr Brown.
The skills students learn include safe work practices, reading plans, preparing for construction stages and are transferrable into further study, not only construction, they also receive a Certificate II qualification on completion.
For Callum Riordan his involvement in the course has marked a new beginning.
“I have learnt what it is like to be onsite and to create something. For the first time in a long time I have enjoyed learning and this experience. I know I have made the right choice for my future.”
Build your own future, visit the Northern Sydney Institute or call 131 674 to find out more.