For many years, SuniTAFE has been giving secondary school students a chance to get a jump on their career through the VET Delivered to Secondary Students (VETDSS) program. 

Offered to students in years 10 and 11, the two-year VETDSS program gives students an opportunity to gain skills and experience in an industry of their choice, whilst still contributing to their Victorian Certificate of Education or Victorian Pathways Certificate results. 

This year, SuniTAFE has welcomed 297 new VETDSS students, bringing the total number of students enrolled in the program to 413. 

These students come from almost every school across the Swan Hill and Mildura areas, and some students from as far away as Manangatang and Balranald. 

In most cases, the students will attend a SuniTAFE campus every Friday to do a full day class. They will work through different units, and finish the program with either a partial or full qualification. 

In other cases, the teachers will go to the students. Currently, SuniTAFE teachers run nine VET classes at Mildura Senior College. The students are able to gain their VET qualification while in the comfort of their own school environment. 

For Robinvale College, the VETDSS program has been adapted. Rather than offering full or partial qualifications, a Swan Hill teacher from SuniTAFE travels to Robinvale each week to deliver individual units across a range of departments. 

Called ‘VET Tradies,’ this alternative VET offering allows students to get a taste of a range of course areas, which all contribute to their final study results, without having to travel.
 
SuniTAFE Skills and Jobs Centre School Coordinator, Lorene Dunstan has seen firsthand the positive impact this program has on students. 

“The VETDSS program is a great option for students who aren’t looking at going to university. They’ll finish year 12 with the workplace skills to go straight into a job. As a result of the program, many of our students last year had jobs to go straight into if they didn’t want to continue with school.”

“The students do a mixture of theory and practical lessons. This means that they finish the VETDSS program with the hands-on skills for their trade, as well as things like safety knowledge that applies to a wide range of industries. They also get to learn this from teachers who have trained and worked in their fields, it is very beneficial,” Lorene said. 

Click here to learn more about the VETDSS program, and how you can get enrolled at SuniTAFE.