Seeing a video of a former student flying around WA inspired Elmerillea Jacobs (Elle) to pursue a school based traineeship rather than study for her ATAR, and she hasn’t looked back since.
“Oh my gosh, I've gloated about it so much every day. It's just such a good experience! You're getting life experiences and making important life decisions.”
A Year 11 student at Southern River College, Elle spends 2 days each week in the Aboriginal Liaison Office at Armadale Health Service in Mt Nasura.
It can be challenging to balance her schoolwork with her role at the health service, but the support of her family, her teachers and her work colleagues means Elle never feels overburdened.
“You get behind sometimes but it's easy to catch up again, because everyone is there to help you.”
And she’s keen for parents to know more about the benefits school based traineeships offer students who are interested in different pathways from school.
“I think they should be more aware that there are other ways to get into uni. It's okay if your child doesn't want to do ATAR and they want to do a different pathway if they think it’s best for them.
“Your child's going to learn life skills, not just books and pens. And if you're learning while you're having fun, it's better!”
