By Lisa Hughes

The first time I had thought about joining VET was in Year 10. It came about after helping in Student Services at school regularly. After a while, I gained the trust of staff and they gave me a variety of jobs to do for the school in the office.

In Term 3 an opportunity to join the VET programme came up. I attended an interview with my parents and in Term 4 was accepted into the program. In Year 11, Term 1, I began my Certificate I in Business Services and I was then given my first work placement in a government sector job at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia(DAFWA), where I worked in the finance department.

Semester 2 had arrived and my previous work placement had ended. I had then been given an application form to join Muldoon Tiles Supply and Fix Pty Ltd as a school based trainee. I applied, was interviewed and later I was given the opportunity for the traineeship at Muldoon Tiles as the successful applicant.

When I had started my placement at Muldoon Tiles I began a Certificate II in Business Services through Nationwide Training. I worked two days a week at the work placement and also completed the certificate booklets through Nationwide Training. By the end of Semester 1, I had completed my Certificate II in Business Services.

A new opportunity for interested Year 12 students came up in Term 2 to begin a Certificate IV in Business and Management at the Central Institute of Technology in Perth. Four business students applied and were successful. Recently, Ellen Eriksson, Lynna Cheng, Lucy Pound, and I started our Certificate IV in Business and Management at the TAFE. It is looking like the course will provide a great experience for me, and I hope to complete my certificate by November 2011.

My future goal now includes moving on to a Diploma in Business in 2012 and by 2013, my goal is to start a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Business at Curtin University.