VET students (Yr 10-12) acquired skills and knowledge to help them get the most out of their work placements through being mentored and interacting with industry experts throughout the day. This includes interactive Career Workshops, VET Industry Q&A Panel and Speed Networking. There was an extremely high level of interest in our region with SWC receiving over 900 registrations from students, teachers, and industry representatives.

The VET Summit was developed on the foundation of 10 years of feedback, consultation and requests received from VET teachers, Host Employers and Industry Stakeholders. The aim is to provide practical insights and advice to VET students to help them contribute meaningfully during their one-week work placement.

***If you are interested in participating in the 2024 VET Summit (2022 & 2023 both sold out!), please complete the EOI below***:

For Schools – https://forms.gle/Bpq6iM5ZCB67mZ4y7

For Industry Experts/Exhibitors – https://forms.gle/bpywWpfDGV9PhrU46 

Click here to read our 2023 Newsletter, The Link Vol.35!

Click here to read our 2023 Newsletter, The Link Vol.35!

Ambition PLUS is an immersive careers-focused program that aims to help students learn skills and knowledge to improve all aspects of their lives. The program provides tools and resources for students to grow their current skill set and discover career pathways that suit their interests and passions. Over 330 students from 10 schools participated in various activities, such as keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and masterclasses, that covered topics such as personal development, communication, leadership, entrepreneurship, and more.

The 2023 Youth Wellbeing Success Summit (YWSS) was a day dedicated to promoting youth wellbeing and success. The event connected school communities with local service providers, and fostered an environment of engagement for the service providers to share knowledge with the students. The YWSS featured a diverse range of activities designed to inspire and educate students. The Speed Wellbeing Networking session saw students rotating to multiple service provider stalls to ask questions and engage with experienced service providers. The interactive format of this session allows for a deeper connection between students and service providers, enabling the sharing of knowledge, resources, and valuable insights.

In 2023, SWC celebrated 11 years of Class Chefs!

Class Chefs is an unique event allowing High School Hospitality VET students to gain real life, commercial experience and work practices. For one night only, students take over the restaurant to create a delicious 3 course menu with the support of the Head Chef.

Under the guidance of the restaurant staff and the SWC team, high school students aspiring a career in hospitality will get a hands-on experience in all aspects of running a restaurant, front and back of house. Class Chefs allows students to experience working under pressure, demonstrate strong communication, outstanding teamwork, workplace time management and problem-solving skills. These skills are often difficult to demonstrate or master in the classroom yet are crucial in the workplace.

SWC would like to thank restaurants Cucina 105 and Bellbird Dining and Bar for their support over the years.

This video showcases some of the programs SWC completed in 2023.

PROJECT CARE is an aged and youth empowerment volunteer program and bridges the cultural and generational gap and promotes careers and volunteering in aged care and healthcare.

The Dare to Dream Big program is a social & emotional learning (SEL) early intervention program that works with primary schools to support children’s motivation and aspirations to become engaged in meaningful activities and career education. Students on the Future Links Tours get a behind the scenes look at different industries and explore career pathways and the importance of subjects and employability skills.

South West Connect, partnered with Schools Industry Partnerships to recruit schools in Region E to attend the ‘Girls Tech Day’. An annual event funded and hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in collaboration with Inspiring the Future Australia.

Class Chefs is a student restaurant takeover initiative created by South West Connect (SWC) in 2012, and has been funded by Regional Education Industry Partnership (RIEP) since 2019.

Class Chefs gives a group of up to 30 students the chance to run a restaurant for the day. They plan, cook, prepare and serve a 3 course fine dining experience (or 6 tasting plates) for up to 120 paying customers within a 3 hour session – comparable to some of the busiest restaurants in the city.

Under the guidance of the restaurant staff and the SWC team, high school students aspiring a career in hospitality will get a hands-on experience in all aspects of running a restaurant, front and back of house. Class Chefs allows students to experience working under pressure, demonstrate strong communication, outstanding teamwork, workplace time management and problem-solving skills. These skills are often difficult to demonstrate or master in the classroom yet are crucial in the workplace.

The Class Chefs format surpasses a traditional ‘watch and follow’ learning process, instead allowing students to take the lead, gain real life, commercial experience and work practices. This is a vital link to industry that students require to succeed beyond the classroom or training environment. The longevity and effectiveness of the Class Chefs initiative is a result of the contribution of all supporters of the program since 2012, thank you.

SWC Class Chefs Initiative 2012-2023 (PDF Download)

For more information visit:

Source – https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1667459557319380992?s=20

Website – https://www.swconnect.org.au/9news-story-swc-riep-class-chefs-initiative/

Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/SouthWestConnect

Twitter – SthWestConnect

Video created by RIEP, Training Services NSW.

Sourced from: https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/vocational/vet-programs/regional-schools-industry