I got a new job! Thanks TAFE!

[fordOwner]

Ever since I left school in 1996 I have worked for Lawnmowing contractors, and even started my own full time round when I was 19. then I scored a job as a grounds keeper for a development company that makes estates which have to be 10% Public open space/parks (to compensate for the small blocks) then from there I scored a job as a grounds Keeper at Edith Cowan University in which the 4 years I was there I studied Cert III in Turf Management at TAFE which is equivilant to a trade certificate and completed it in December last year.

Anyway I went for an Interview for a Green Keepers position at Kings Park (Perths premier Botanical parks and gardens which over looks the city) and I got the job!! 2 months after I completed the course. - Proof what at TAFE qually can get you. The pay is not as good as what the Uni pays me but to have Kings Park in my CV is gold. and they will pay for any further studies I may wish to undertake.

Man am I stoked! I start in a few weeks.

[vandrsxr6]

Congrats mate.
TAFE is certainly not getting as bad a rap as it used too.

[gozza]

Tafe is still just as crap(not knocking your qual mate, I don't think their support is up to scratch)...You should thank yourself fordowner...You did the work

[Kommandant]

TAFE is only crap if you dont put any effort into it.

Also, there are incentives.

TAFE nursing: cert + paid for work pracs, also you get the govt helping you with austudy + paying for course, text books etc.

Uni nursing = Cert, you pay your own rent, then go on pracs and pay rent there too, also your own text books, no help from govt except for austudy which is basically pittance.

TAFE has its advantages.

[castek]

i'm studying at RMIT tafe, and i am at the business campus, building 108. i have access to so many facilities. the classes are run just like those of a uni. also, to become a uni teacher, you only need a piece of paper. to be a tafe teacher howerver, you not only need a qualification, but you must have had previous work experience in the field

[photn]

TAfe is rising in quality. they are no longer the underdog and are so mis-represented. I am studying Diploma in IT Networl Engeenering and when i finish 1 year at UNI and ill have a degree. How awesum is that. and i am getting experience in the industry. not to mention its a WHOLE lot cheaper to go through tafe and the qualifications are nationally recognized.some even internationally.

Congrats mate on your new job. hope you go far on your endovours and in life.

[mark180227]

Originally Posted by 1tufel

i'm studying at RMIT tafe, and i am at the business campus, building 108. i have access to so many facilities. the classes are run just like those of a uni. also, to become a uni teacher, you only need a piece of paper. to be a tafe teacher howerver, you not only need a qualification, but you must have had previous work experience in the field

im at 108 aswell mate, what you studying?

[XRchic]

Hmmm so so can you fix my lawn now??? LOL.

Good stuff mate, well done!

[fordOwner]

Thank guys! I know it sounds like im blowing my own whistle, but I just had to tell someone

but yes Unfortunatly the Horticulture TAFE campus which I was enroled in is going down hill fast! When I went there back in 97 for a bit it was so good. Now non of the machines work and the grounds are terrible - especially for a hort' school. So thats why our classes were transferrerd to a golf course and Burswood Resort Casino's grounds Dept - Coz they have the latest technology in tools and equipment and our lectureres were the head Turf guys.

Ive had enough of assignments now thats for sure, I might have a years break and get stuck in agin next yr.

[uranium_death]

TAFE is a lot better than its image suggests.

University is a place where you go to learn theory.
TAFE is where you go to learn how the theory works.

I am at Uni and am sick of tutors crapping on, telling the class that as teachers, we have to cater to different learning styles. What is even better is the fact that about 5% actually apply what they say.

There is not enough practicum either.

I've seen friends go to TAFE and they get experience as part of their course, and as a result, have got a job afterwards.

Anybody who thinks TAFE is for idiots is gravely mistaken. I think for the money, TAFE is better.

[superpursuit83]

Congratulations mate, well done. Sounds like a position a lot of people would hae been hoping for.

[Ford_V8]

I did two cert IIs last year at Box Hill tafe, nothing but praise for them. Whoever said TAFE is for bogan dropouts has been grossly misinformed.

[crusher]

Congrats mate.

Kings Park will be a huge shining star on your CV. My mate did some work with kings park and reckons its brilliant there.

And you get to have lunch over looking perth. Gotta be the best lunch room in the state ay?

[fiery]

Well done fordowner, awesome stuff.
Tafe most certainly isn't the same as many years ago where it was looked at as the crappy education institute.

I completed a Diploma 2 years ago with Tafe and learnt far more than expected..

Good luck for your new job and hope you really enjoy it

[DoreSlamR]

When i did my apprenticeship i went to Murdoch TAFE, the place was an absolute JOKE, none of the fulltime lecturers (spelling?) were interested and the office staff were only ever interested when you were paying fees, was very hard to get motivated there, but i got through!
Its a good spot though i must admit, Garden city just down the road, with an awesome food court!

[robjh80]

Well done mate, sounds like you put in a lot of hard work and deserve the position, nice one, hope you enjoy ya new job, good to hear someone getting on well for a change.

[fordOwner]

Doreslamr...If your intersested in working at ECU as a groundsman Ill give you some details - They will be looking for one soon ;)

and yes I agree. Murdoch is a circus joke run by clowns with no idea.

[GXL078]

Kings Park is very nice. Keep up the good work.

[Hunter]

I went to TAFE in Brisbane, and um, lets just say that at the time, there were a lot of things wrong with the place.

Does anyone remember 'Choice Bro TAFE' from Merrick and Rosso's stint on Triple J.

[4.9 EF Futura]

TAFE is only crap if you dont put any effort into it.

Here, here! Same can be said for ALL facets of learning - TAFE, Uni, even learning to drive... what you get out is all about what YOU put IN!! The amount of times that ive heard "the teacher/lecturer/facilitator was lousy so i dropped out".... sheesh!

Congrats Fordowner, sounds like youve found something you really enjoy there!!

[congo3sr]

good on ya mate,all the best for the future

[Dark Horse]

That is excellent. Nothing wrong at all with doing a trade with TAFE as opposed to a degree at university.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by fordowner

Anyway I went for an Interview for a Green Keepers position at Kings Park (Perths premier Botanical parks and gardens which over looks the city) and I got the job!! 2 months after I completed the course. - Proof what at TAFE qually can get you. The pay is not as good as what the Uni pays me but to have Kings Park in my CV is gold. and they will pay for any further studies I may wish to undertake.

Man am I stoked! I start in a few weeks.

A neighbour many years ago was a landscaper and did some sort of Ag course at a TAFE. I used to help him out with some of the botanical (?) names of the plants. Was a good 20 years ago. Tippucina Lepidota blah blah blah. Seemed pretty mundane stuff but it really gave him a leg up when he completed it, ended up kicking on and getting some very good paying jobs out of it.

TAFE gets a pretty poor wrap in some circles, but excels in others. You're never going to be worse off doing something at TAFE, it's only ever going to be a benefit. Congrats on your new role.

I'm having a crack at a Uni correspondence course in IT (which goes against every fibre of my being) mostly due to the company I work for subsidising 80% of the cost and partially due to the excitement that a few tiers of management showed when they found out. Bear in mind I have 18 years experience in IT as well as nothing but glowing performance reports from the customers I service and doing a Bachelor degree is what excited management...

[DoreSlamR]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Here, here! Same can be said for ALL facets of learning - TAFE, Uni, even learning to drive... what you get out is all about what YOU put IN!! The amount of times that ive heard "the teacher/lecturer/facilitator was lousy so i dropped out".... sheesh!

Congrats Fordowner, sounds like youve found something you really enjoy there!!

for the record, i didn't drop out : so it is true... what you get out of it is all about what you put in it.

Originally Posted by fordowner

Doreslamr...If your intersested in working at ECU as a groundsman Ill give you some details - They will be looking for one soon ;)

Tis all good mate i got my cushy job i'm getting fat because of it though
:

[Josh_XC]

Mate i just got a job with IBM and they said apart of me getting the job was because i went to tafe instead of uni, they were looking for a hands on person and tafe delivers that more than uni

[S3SR]

tafe was the bomb, hands on approach taught by actually making you do it, oh and the ANSWERS as well, not read it from a textbook, then apply once a fornight.

tafe is cheaper, quicker if you work hard enough, actually aircon'd and not some air vent in one corner supplying hot townsville air

text books are free to borrow, if anything is just as recognised as some uni's

TAFE - the australians favourite education JCU - just a crappy university