TAFE offers new gold-star options for New Year
Thursday 17th January, 2008
The Director of TAFE NSW-North Coast Institute, Ms Elizabeth McGregor, today encouraged people wanting to make a fresh start in 2008 to consider the many options available through vocational education and training, and emphasised that TAFE NSW-North Coast Institute continues to provide nationally recognised and awarded education and training.
“More than ever, North Coast TAFE offers blue-ribbon opportunities – as judged by the industries we provide training for,” said Ms McGregor.
Ms McGregor referred to several recent ‘third-party’ endorsements of North Coast TAFE’s quality of vocational education and training.
“For example, our construction, electrotechnology and aquaculture programs have all been rated extremely highly by the national industry body, the Institute for Trades Skills Excellence,” said Ms McGregor.
Ms McGregor said that the prestigious three-star rating had been awarded to the Carpentry section at Kingscliff and to Trenayr Campus’ nationally renowned NATFISH aquaculture and seafood programs.
“Additionally, our automotive teacher Jon Slater at Taree developed an automotive parts-interpreting course which won the best Automotive Training Product in 2007 as judged by Automotive Training Australia,” said Ms McGregor.
“So if you’re keen to start – or change – your career, or build your own business, then I’m confident that you’ll find a high quality TAFE course to suit you,” Ms McGregor said.
Ms McGregor also noted that North Coast Institute students were recent winners at state and national levels, and specifically referred to Luke Tener, an electrical apprentice from Port Macquarie, who won the National Electrical & Communications Association’s 2007 National Apprentice of the Year Award in the Commercial and Domestic category.
“And to provide some state examples, Wollongbar’s Automotive Apprentice Heath Palmer won Apprentice of the Year for 2007 in the MTA State Award, and Taree’s Sarsha Woolnough, who completed her Certificate IV in Business Marketing at Taree Campus, was named top trainee in the State last year.”
TAFE NSW-North Coast Institute was also instrumental in training the winner of the first ever School-based Apprentice Award for the State, Rebecca Kenny, who studied at Grafton Campus while attending South Grafton High School.
Ms McGregor said that anyone interested in more information about courses at the North Coast Institute of TAFE NSW should visit www.nci.tafensw.edu.au , call 131 601 or call in to the local campus.
