Tuesday July 23, 2019

St Pat's gets ready for State training awards

Schools

St Patrick’s Technical College is celebrating the announcement that it has three finalists in this year’s prestigious SA Training Awards.

Lindy McNamara

Tuesday July 23, 2019

Tuesday July 23, 2019 Comments

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Leading the way, the Edinburgh North college has itself been named as a finalist in the inaugural VET Innovation in Schools category.

Joining the college as finalists are Year 12 Metals and Engineering student Tayla Carll and Class of 2018 Hair and Beauty graduate Sarah Mills.

Tayla Carll

Tayla, who is nominated in the School-based Apprentice of the Year category, is the first female Metals and Engineering apprentice taken on by Stratco and has broken new ground in terms of women in traditionally male-dominated trade areas. She has been able to use StPatsTech’s contextualised, hands-on educational structure to overcome some learning challenges. By combining her vocational education and training studies with her SACE subjects, Tayla is on track to complete Year 12 and the first year of her apprenticeship by the end of the year.

Sarah Mills

Old scholar Sarah, who is a finalist in the Trainee of the Year category, has recently completed her beauty therapist traineeship at Brazilian Beauty in North Adelaide. She has overcome issues with low self-esteem and self-image and used her experiences in her work. As a beauty therapist Sarah said she aims to make people ‘feel confident in their own skin’ and has a particular focus on helping young people deal with acne to build their self-esteem. She hopes one day to become a dermatologist.

St PatsTech principal Danny Deptula said the college was delighted to be represented by two different, but equally impressive young women.

“Sarah and Tayla’s inclusion in the short list of finalists in the SA Training Awards is fantastic. We are immensely proud of both young women and the pathways they represent for other girls coming up behind them.”

Mr Deptula said the college was also honoured to be selected as a finalist.

“What we do here at StPatsTech is truly unique in every sense. Since opening our doors in 2007 we have been innovators in delivering senior secondary education within a vocational education and training context.

“For us, VET is not an optional program offered separate to a student’s main subjects. It is the main subject offered to our students and it complements their SACE studies. We are delighted to be recognised by the SA Skills and Training Commission.”

The SA Training Award winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on September 6.