The Vocational Student of the Year Award recognises outstanding achievement by a vocational student in a course of study leading to a nationally recognised qualification.
Warehouse and logistics supervisor Karen Rose decided that she and her team would undertake some formal training to gain extra skills. The training became even more important half way through when a curtailment of the refinery was announced.
“Completing the training kept us focused in a very turbulent and emotional time”, says Karen.
Karen completed her Diploma of Logistics in 2014 and in representing the Northern Territory, won the Vocational Student of the Year Award at the 2015 Australian Training Awards.
“It means a lot to me, not only personally for the work I put in, but because the exposure has helped me promote the field of logistics. Every business has a logistics cost and in tough times, looking at your logistics can really make a difference.”
Karen researched the training and learned about the advantages of VET. “I loved the flexibility the system could provide here in Gove, enabling us to tailor competencies and contextualise training to suit our needs.”
“Our registered training organisation (RTO) had expert staff from whom we learnt a lot and, as a supervisor, I now feel confident that I’m across this area, including the legislation. We’re using the policies and procedures we wrote as part of the training, right now.”
The RTO was a great support to Karen in her desire to help her team as it went through a tough time. When it became necessary for some of her team to be put off, Karen says that having a nationally recognised qualification helped every one of them quickly find another job.
Karen believes that the Australian Training Awards is important in not only showcasing amazing people and organisations in VET, but also the great diversity of the many career pathways that VET offers.