Seniors share a cuppa and celebrate diversity with students

Hosted at Futures Restaurant at the Toowoomba campus, the second ‘Diverse-A-Tea’ event for the year was even livelier than the first, with more than 30 members of the Seniors Citizen Club attending.

TAFE Queensland Individual Support Teacher, Tammie Dingle, believes it’s a great opportunity to create intergenerational connections between the students and older adults from the local community.

“What started out as an idea to assist our students gain experience in their studies, has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for us to come together, enjoy each other’s company and learn from each other,” said Ms Dingle.

“The Adult Migration English Program (AMEP) students joined as well, providing a chance for them to practice speaking English with other students and our guests,” she added.

As a provider of the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), TAFE Queensland delivers critical language support to migrants and refugees with limited English language skills. The program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.

The theme for the June ‘Diverse-A-Tea’ was centred on music, with the two groups of students learning to sing the iconic song by The Seekers, ‘I am Australian’, to Senior Citizens Club members.

Guests were served by the talented hospitality students undertaking their training at Futures Restaurant, with a delicious selection of gourmet goodies on offer.

TAFE Queensland AMEP Teacher, Kelly Barron, said the collaboration between the students in preparation for the event enabled the students to share their diverse cultures.

“Our TAFE at School students were taught a line in Ukrainian and Kurdish Kurmanji, while the AMEP students learnt the song in English,” said Ms Barron.

“Some of the AMEP students have recently migrated, while others have been in Australia for several years, and are currently studying at the highest level of English in the AMEP Level 3 Youth class, while completing their studies in areas such as Individual Support, Adult Tertiary Preparation, Automotive and Commercial Cookery,” she said.

“It’s been great to see the students working together to create a very special event, while contributing positively to their study experience.”

The 20 young AMEP students are from countries including Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Thailand and are gaining the confidence and knowledge for life in Australia.

The class of 16 high school students are completing the TAFE at School Certificate II in Health Support Services (HLT23215) course one day at week at the Toowoomba campus, and come from schools across the region, including Wilsonton, Centenary Heights, Clifton, Harristown, Highfields, Pittsworth and Toowoomba State High Schools as well as distance education.

Gaining the skills needed to work in an assistant role in a health, aged or residential care setting throughout the year, ‘Diverse-A-Tea’ further builds on the TAFE at School student’s confidence communicating with older adults, in a relaxed and fun setting.

Australia's aged care sector is growing at an increasingly rapid rate. The country's ageing population, the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and the increased scrutiny due to the Aged Care Royal Commission is driving demand for qualified workers to fill vacancies.

According to Australian Government’s Labour Market Insight website, the demand for aged and disabled carers is set to grow very strongly — an increase of close to 30% to more than 341,800 workers between 2021 and 2026.