Our Students

GTEC accepts students who have completed year 10 of their secondary education and who aspire to take up a trade. Our program is ideally suited to those who already have a clear idea of which career they wish to pursue, and who have had some work experience in that field. They will be learners keen to engage in practical work, able to solve problems and driven to succeed. They will want their schooling to be relevant to their trade and able to reinforce the skills they have already begun to demonstrate. GTEC students need to be able to show the maturity required to perform in an adult environment. That means being self-motivated, able to accept responsibility for doing the required work and to be accountable for their behaviours. In turn, they will be treated with respect, as young adults, and offered every support to enable them to become the best they can be.

Our program offers VCAL (the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) which is heavily centred on practical problem solving. Every subject is oriented to the appropriate trade training which means Literacy is relevant to a project, Numeracy involves calculations about dimensions and costs relevant to a project - and other subjects such as Work Related Skills and Personal Development are focusedon providing work readiness. Some VCE subjects are included as a support for particular trades. For example, General and Further Maths are offered for Electrotechnology students whose work requires additional Mathematics, and Business Studies units are included to prepare apprentices for the demands of establishing their own businesses in the future.

Hands-on practical work is a must for every apprentice. GTEC workshops provide the introductory training that is developed at trade school, ensuring students understand safe workshop practice and develop their hand skills together with knowledge of, and familiarity with, different tools and their applications. GTEC students recognise that while they complete their Senior Secondary qualifications, they are no longer in a secondary school. They also recognise that while they are engaged in Technical and Further Education, they are not the same as other TAFE trainees or apprentices. Theirs is a unique pathway between the two, one that allows for the completion of a school certificate while simultaneously providing them with a trade certificate. Benefits therefore exist for both apprentice and employer.

One of the teams at Breamlea; our COGG                 Staff and students heading out on GTEC community project .                                                         building site tour.

       

At work on the new GTEC building site                     Participants on the high ropes course