Joining them will be year 11 student and School-Based Apprentice Oskar Tanner.

Students across the south-west are busy picking subjects for next year.

South West Local Learning Employment Network’s Lyn Lanman said subject selection for secondary school students could be a challenging and intense time.  “Young people in years nine and 10 will be making choices that direct their path not only for the next few years of their schooling but potentially for some years after school as well,” she said.

The Standard spoke to Georgia, Chloe and Oskar, all aged 16, about how they fared with the subject selection process and what influenced their decisions.

They are among the region’s pupils who are choosing to incorporate vocational education subjects and associated work placements into their senior school certificates  – the Victorian Certificate of Education or Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning.

Brauer College careers co-ordinator Iain Jackson said the sometimes negative view of vocational education needed to change, and it was a viable option for all students attending secondary school. 

Mr Jackson said he was a “really big advocate for VET (Vocational Education and Training) and VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning)”.

“The overall retention of students through to year 12 is certainly a positive thing, but I don’t think the take-up into VCAL or VET has necessarily increased as much as it possibly could,” he said. “We now have more students finishing year 12 whose outcomes may have been improved by including vocational education subjects among their choices.

“I feel that some students that might have otherwise left at year 10 or 11 in previous times to jobs have stayed on into VCE without including in their programs subjects that skill them for greater choice in the job market when leaving school.

“Sometimes they struggle and they get their way to the end of year 12 with VCE and that’s OK, but at the same time, those students may have been more suited, in my view, to get a bit of work experience, to get a certificate and then they leave school more prepared to move into the workforce. I think VCAL and VET suffer from a bit of a second-option view and that is something that needs to be tackled.” 

Mr Jackson said subject selection began at year eight at Brauer. “As they move their way through there is more and more choice,” he said. “At year 10 quite a few students will now start VCE subjects or a VET subject.”

He said students generally had a bigger say over their subject choices than parents. His advice was for students to pick subjects they enjoyed or were a strength.

“You can overemphasise choosing subjects for pathways,” he said. “A big part of it needs to be choosing subjects around what you like and what is going to keep you engaged. Then you might explore the options for careers in those areas. Essentially the subjects you enjoy, you do better at. Picking chemistry or Japanese for example, if you are not any good at it, you won’t do well in your final results and it won’t gain the intended advantages.”

He said work experience provided a good taste of employment for students.

“The students need to be able to express what they are interested in, where they have found their enjoyment so far, and they might have had a good experience on work experience, so it has shaped their ideas to begin their future career,” he said.

Georgia is studying the VCE with a VET subject in allied health and said she chose to do allied health because she had enjoyed placement at Lyndoch Living.

“I want to be an allied health assistant, so the Certificate III (as part of her current VET studies) will get me the second highest level,” Georgia said. “If I go back to TAFE after year 12 for one year I will get my Certificate IV.” She completed a block of training at Lyndoch during the school holidays, which led to further workplace experience.

“They were really impressed with me and I asked if I could go back every second week and they said they would work something out to get me back there,” she said.

Chloe is studying a year 11 VCE/VCAL combination, with a Certificate III in Children’s Services as a school-based apprentice through Westvic Staffing Solutions.

“I did work experience in child care and I loved it,” she said. “I’m doing VCE Maths and Health, Business, English and a work-related subject, as well as work placement on Wednesdays at Central Kindergarten. I feel like I made the right choice going this way.”

Mrs Lanman said one of the key features of the VCAL and VET program was the ability for students, on completion of a Certificate III and year 12, to work straight away.

“They have had hands on experience working in their chosen industry to consolidate their decision making,” she said. 

Oskar picked trade subjects and is completing a school-based apprenticeship as a fitter and turner.

“I went on work experience a few times and went to Warrnambool Cheese and Butter three times,” he said.

“I’m out there now one day a week with my school-based apprenticeship and I get a bit of extra experience during the holidays. I go to trade school four times a year.” He is hoping to get a full-time apprenticeship next year.