St Patrick’s Technical College students have begun 2018 on the right foot, with a handful of students working over the school holidays to secure themselves a School-based Apprenticeship or Traineeship (SbAT) by the time classes started this week.
Three students have signed on for a SbAT during the school holidays and another student will soon begin his trade career.
College Principal Danny Deptula said the students’ commitment to gaining an apprenticeship or traineeship set the tone for the 2018 school year.
“Here at StPatsTech, we strive to help our students develop their own unique gifts and talents and prepare them for the world of work,’’ Mr Deptula said.
“If our students show they have the right attitude and are committed to their chosen trade, they will be afforded amazing opportunities that can set them onto a lifetime of success.
“We are not a traditional school where ATAR scores are given high priority. We focus on employability skills which means developing the person, fostering the right attitude, learning resilience and building confidence.”
One student who has taken the initiative is 17-year-old Cristian Neve. Cristian, from Angle Vale, has begun a Certificate III in Concreting through MEGT with Burton-based Xtreme Concrete Construction
. He will spend 40 weeks this year with his employer and six weeks at school completing his SACE.
This will mean Cristian will graduate Year 12 in November 2018 with the first year of his traineeship completed and his Year 12 certificate.
“It’s very important to me to get my SACE because in the future you don’t know what will happen and it’s a good thing to have under your belt,’’ Cristian said.
Cristian did work experience with Xtreme Concrete Construction last year as part of the extensive StPatsTech Year 11 work experience program before moving into a part-time labouring role with the company. He signed his traineeship on January 11.
Mr Deptula congratulated Cristian on his traineeship and said Cristian and the College’s other SbATs were on the pathway to success in life.
“For example a student in an apprenticeship at 17 years old can expect to earn about $250,000 in wages by the age of 24. With no HECS debt like their 24-year-old university graduate peers, the tradesperson would be able to afford to buy their first home. By the age of 35, the tradesperson could have paid off their first mortgage and be financially secure into the future,” Mr Deptula said.