TAFE SA

TAFE SA training across the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, in the remote north-west of South Australia, is guided by the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC) and is helping Anangu develop practical skills in sectors such as health and construction which are being used to benefit local communities.

This training can include short courses, skill sets and qualifications, which are delivered at TAFE SA learning centres at Amata, Ernabella, Fregon, Indulkana, Kalka Pipalyatjara and Mimili by lecturers who live in the community.

TAFE SA’s Michael Parker, Education Manager for the APY Lands, says over the past 10 years an employer-led model has been developed where TAFE SA works with organisations to identify skill needs and provide training for their employees or prospective employees.

“This approach delivers training that is pitched at the learners’ capabilities. The content is applied to the employer’s operations and their skills need and is producing excellent outcomes,” he says.

TAFE SA works with key employer Regional Anangu Services Aboriginal Corporation (RASAC) to also offer upskilling and new qualification opportunities for their existing employees.

Current training includes a Certificate I in Access to Vocational Pathways for RASAC’s Municipal Services employees and Community Development Program participants, while the Corporation’s Community Patrol employees are undertaking a Certificate II in Community Services and a Certificate III in Community Safety.

These certificates are also being introduced for employees in other organisations including Nganampa Health, PYEC (Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee) and the NPY Women’s Council Youth Program.

In Semester 2, a Certificate IV in Youth Work is being introduced for employees in RASAC, Nganampa Health, PYEC and the NPY Women’s Council Youth Program.

Another program producing successful outcomes is Pathways to Construction training for workers in the RASAC’s Community Development Program.

Michael Parker says the popular training has enabled workers to extend their range of practical skills which are being applied to projects on the APY Lands.

“This month, our Pathways to Construction participants are starting an exciting project working with the Department for Energy & Mining, Department for Housing and Furnell Building to test and upgrade houses at Indulkana for energy efficiency under the Passive House Strategy RACE 2030,” he says.

“Once the project has been completed at Indulkana, it will be rolled out to other communities in the APY Lands and it’s hard to describe how exciting it is to see these participants have the opportunity to use their newly developed skills in such an interesting project.”

TAFE SA is also delivering construction skills training to APY Land Management Rangers. As part of their training, they’ve designed and built a toilet/shower block in a remote area where they are re-establishing flora and fauna.

Michael says an outside contractor would previously have had to complete the project, but Anangu rangers now have the skills to do it themselves.

The Construction Pathways training has been supported by Maxispan who provided design and steel framing for two smaller-scale homes, giving local workers direct skill development in the primary building materials used on the Lands.

Michael says Pathways to Construction participants are learning transferable skills that can be used to support the local community and highlights a concreting class at Mimili as an example.

“As part of a concreting unit undertaken in Mimili, an apron was built at the community centre to support activities such as changing tyres and an access ramp was added to the arts centre,” he says.

“The participants have gained skills and confidence and they’re now going to upgrade homes in the community with concrete verandas.”

Through the Trade Training Centre at Umuwa, TAFE SA also delivers vocational training for school students in Automotive, Hospitality, Metal Fabrication, Music and Pathways to Construction.

New this year is the Certificate II in Digital Music, which has been developed in partnership with Aboriginal hip hop group, Dem Mob, to provide a musical pathway for young people.

“We’ve had a great response to the digital music course and we’re continuing to look at ways to engage young people with training,” Michael says.