A steady enrolment week culminated in a bustling open day at TAFE NSW Tamworth campus on Friday.
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There’s been, particularly over the last 18 months, a real appetite for cultural knowledge.
- Shaun Allen
Hairdressing demonstrations, construction and plumbing workshops, and fitness demonstrations were among the many TAFE-related skills showcased.
Trainers and support staff were also on hand to help continuing and prospective students choose their courses for the coming TAFE year.
Customer services director Shawn Leary said the next few weeks would be “peak period” for enrolments.
“Potential students [had] an opportunity to come and talk to staff about any courses they might be interested in and also take advantage of some of our careers counsellors, who have been on site here to help them with their choice,” Mr Leary said.
Visitors to the enrolment day – most of whom turned up early in the afternoon to beat the heat – were also treated to live music, woodfired pizzas and mocktails.
New this year
One of the new offerings for students in the region this year is Certificate II in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts.
TAFE NSW Aboriginal Learning Circle manager and course co-ordinator, Shaun Allen, said the course would be available in Tamworth, Armidale and “wherever we get demand”.
The course looks at the different ways Aboriginal people use or used arts such as painting, drawing, dance, performance, artefacts and weaving to express their beliefs and traditions.
It has been specifically created to focus on the culture and arts of people from the west region.
“It has been run previously in Moree for about four or five years,” he said.
“There’s been, particularly over the last 18 months, a real appetite for cultural knowledge.
“There have been activities happening in … towns here and there, and that has grown a bit of interest in being able to turn what they’re getting in an informal setting, into something in a more formal setting from an educational perspective.”
Mr Allen said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders would help with the course by teaching and passing on their knowledge.
Assistant Skills Minister Adam Marshall said students at TAFE NSW’s 120 campuses had “exciting vocational education and training options available to them”.
