SuniTAFE’s Skills and Jobs Centre continued its involvement with Ardoch last month by offering four Learning Through Lunch program sessions to local school children.  

Ardoch is a children’s education charity that strives to provide better educational outcomes for those in disadvantaged communities. 

They work with educational providers such as SuniTAFE, and in this instance the Skills and Jobs Centre, to provide new experiences for students that encourage their enthused participation. 

Ardoch created the Learning Through Lunch program to allow students to try new foods through fine dining, converse with volunteers from a range of industries, and give them the opportunity to imagine what their future career could be. 

This is the second year that SuniTAFE’s Skills and Jobs Centre has been involved in this program. 
Across the four events held this year, SuniTAFE hosted 250 students from seven schools. 

Skills and Jobs Centre Manager, Karen Chynoweth believes it was an easy choice to be involved in the program again after receiving positive feedback last year. 

“The 2022 event was a huge success, with fantastic feedback received from SuniTAFE departments involved in the day, along with the primary schools that attended,” Karen said. 

“The program day was being delivered at the Mildura Campus again in 2023 and after discussing additional opportunities, we were able to extend the offering to include a program day at the SuniTAFE SMART Farm and at the Swan Hill campus.”

The SMART Farm version of the Learning Through Lunch program was a little different to the offerings at the Mildura and Swan Hill campuses. 

Students were given a tour of the farm and nursery, they got to see crops being grown and gain an understanding of how they feed people. They also got to discuss the advanced modern technology that is used in farming nowadays. 

Every Learning Through Lunch event is a highly valuable experience for students. This is something that Karen and her team are passionate about. 

“It is a great opportunity for students to take part in a learning experience different to a regular day at school,” Karen said. 

“They have the opportunity to visit a SuniTAFE campus, see the facilities, and interact with teachers and other students. Some may not ever have an opportunity like this and it provides them with something to think about for their future, post-secondary school.”

SuniTAFE’s Skills and Jobs Centre is excited to see how their involvement with Ardoch can grow in the coming years. 

To learn more about the Skills and Jobs Centre, click here.