Jeff Huddlestone
There has been an increase in students enrolling in tertiary study in Mount Gambier/ Berrin with the introduction of fee free TAFE this year.
Amity Pearson is one local student who has taken advantage of the joint state and federal initiative by adding horticulture units to her conservation and ecosystem management studies.
Already working in the horticulture industry, Ms Pearson said study costs had been prohibitive in gaining formal qualifications.
“The introduction of fee free TAFE has allowed me to further my education and helped me into a new career,” she said.
“I’ve just started work at LKDI Gardening, a local business specialising in landscape garden design, implementation and maintenance.”
During the 12 month Certificate III in Horticulture course Ms Pearson learned about the maintenance of nursery plants, chemicals and biological controls, crop spraying and the appropriate use of fertilisers.
“I also learnt to operate a chainsaw, which I’d never done before,” she said.
“It was good to learn new skills where I’d not had hands-on experience.”
TAFE agriculture and horticulture lecturer Paul Telfer said Ms Pearson was “an incredible student, really vested in her learning”.
Education partnerships South East Region manager Ally Skeer said Ms Pearson was one of around 300 students who had signed up for fee free TAFE at the Mount Gambier/ Berrin campus.
“The initiative, with courses subsidised by the state government, has had a very strong take up rate across multiple sectors and saved students thousands of dollars” she said.
