Last week a group of Year 10 students participated in the Try A Trade Program where students got exposure to fun, hands-on and practical activities designed to excite their minds and help them consider a career in construction.
On of our students Valentina (SE7), who participated in the program, gave us insight on what they learnt throughout the week.
“Last week, the Pathways to Work students completed many tasks at Skillhire in Forrestfield and gained a great amount of knowledge and lots of experience.
On Monday, we completed our White Card which is a qualification to work safely on construction sites around Australia.
On Tuesday we met our trainer (Blair) and had our first introduction to bricklaying. Blair gave us a quick talk and demonstration and then sent us off to build our own individual brick pillars . We learnt many skills that we will remember forever from making cement, using tools , laying perfect bricks and knowing how to be safe while doing it .
On Wednesday we all started to build a small wall between our pillars and then used our carpentry skills to construct a pergola. Finally on Thursday, we finished our project complete with timber decking. Although it was physically demanding, we felt so happy to see what we could all achieve not only as individuals but as a team. We found that we all worked really well together and all made a great effort to complete our build. During this time, we were also visited by CTF who had a chat with us about apprenticeships and the incentives available.
Overall, these past 4 days were tough but so rewarding for us all . We all came in not knowing what to expect and are now leaving with proud looks on our faces . Blair was an amazing, patient and kind trainer who provided great tips and tricks for us throughout the week but also tried to sit back and let us figure out how to accomplish small things by ourselves which we all thought was great.”
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