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TAFE at School event broadcasts the benefits of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships
TAFE Queensland’s commercial cookery and hospitality students were the talk of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs on Wednesday 9 November, as their skills were put to the test at the launch of the TAFE at School's School-based Apprenticeship and Traineeship (SAT) program.
ABC Southern Queensland Radio were broadcasting live from TAFE Queensland’s Toowoomba’s Futures restaurant, with five lucky listeners who won a ticket to the ABC table, enjoying the opportunity to sample the offerings and services of the talented students.
Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN), Group Training Organisation (GTO) and school representatives attended the breakfast to learn about the integrated approach to school-based apprenticeships and traineeships and to understand how to navigate the complexities of the process, through the newly developed resources.
TAFE at School Manager, Elaine Wallace, presented at the event and spoke with ABC Southern Queensland Radio hosts Belinda Sanders and David Illife about the recently developed resources.
“It can be really daunting for students and their parents, and I thought, there has to be an easier way to explain the process,” Elaine said.
“We came up with the wonderful analogy of a car, and how a school-based apprenticeship is actually a journey. We then started looking at what you need to get going and what you need to pack for a journey, so that’s how these resources were born.”
TAFE Queensland cookery and hospitality student, Juan, was part of the student team who helped prepare breakfast on the morning.
Juan understands first-hand the benefits of working in the industry while studying.
“I’m working under the head chef [at Encores in Toowoomba] and he is very experienced. We’re practicing what we’ve learnt here at TAFE Queensland,” Juan explained to ABC Southern Queensland Radio host David.
“I’m also gaining new skills and knowledge, because not all the kitchens are as big or as good as what they are here at TAFE Queensland. So you need to adapt and learn new techniques to work with the space and the equipment that you have.”
Juan, together with his peers, prepared a delicious two course breakfast for event attendees that started with a layered cherry and mango smoothie, followed by potato hash cakes with smoked mushrooms, avocado salsa, hollandaise sauce, a poached egg and a parsley oil garnish.
The students hand-picked the picked the parsley from the campus’ modular farm at the Toowoomba campus, with the farm-to-table ethos a key component of the cookery course.